Cubify’s 3D New Content

Up to now Cubify’s 3D model content has been somewhat simplistic. Toys, simple personalized items and the like have been the staple of online 3D content within 3D Systems’s Cubify operation. But now they’re taking a different and far more serious direction. 

 

If you hit the Cubify site now, (dubbed “2.0” by 3D Systems), you’ll see much deeper content, specifically in the fashion and decor genres. To create all this content 3D Systems has hired a group of designers who are dedicated to producing outstanding 3D content. We spoke to one of them, Annie Shaw, pictured above. 

 

The fashions at this point are primarily accessories, such as the “pointy epaulets” worn by Shaw in this image. The designs are all capable of being produced on the new Cube entry-level 3D printer and can be made in a wide variety of colors. We understand they’re even working on dress designs that could show up in Cubify’s repositories this year. 

 

One angle we found very interesting was that the content is not exclusively directed to consumers. In the image at the top we see a 3D printed spiky heel. We understand that 3D Systems wants to offer 3D printed “components” to traditional designers who may incorporate them into their own product designs. In this case, the heel is 3D printed, but the upper can be whatever the shoe designer imagines. 

 

Content for consumers; Content for industry. We like it.

 

Via Cubify

MakerBot’s Digital Content

While Thingiverse has been a wonderful source for 3D models for the initial wave of 3D printing, it’s not exactly consumer-friendly. It has a large number of models (over 218,000, according to a recent statement by MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis), which is good and bad. It’s good because the model you want is somewhere in Thingiverse. It’s bad because the number of models makes it difficult to search. 

 

Once you find a model it is uncertain whether it will successfully print. Model geometries are sometimes just pathological. 

 

To solve this MakerBot has launched a digital store catering to those who don’t want to spend time searching for the perfect model. Just select a model from the relatively large collection of custom made 3D models in MakerBot’s new Digital Store and you’ll be able to print them immediately without issue, as they’ve been specifically designed for easy 3D printing. 

 

MakerBot has hired a special in-house team to create these models, which do not require supports to print, nor any glue to hold multi-part models together: all multi-part models are snap-fits. 

 

At launch some six “collections” of objects are offered for paid download, with prices ranging from USD$0.99 to USD$2.99, depending on the object. You can also purchase an entire set. The sets available today include: 

 

• Around Town: a collection of quirky figurines in various roles (see red dude above). 
• Chunky Trucks: mini-construction equipment and personnel, superb for a child’s sandbox
• Cosmic Cadets: Rocket parts that can be assembled into larger units
• Dragons of Glastonbury: Knights, Wizards, Damsels, Castles and of course, Dragons
• Famous Flyers: Notable aircraft from history, ranging from a Montgolfier-like balloon to an F-117 stealth fighter
• PetPals: Strange pet-like creatures and their habitats

 

We think this is a great idea; the last thing MakerBot (or any in the 3D printing community) needs is someone to purchase a 3D printer and be disappointed that they can’t successfully print things due to poor 3D models. Now that's far less likely to happen. 

 

Via MakerBot

Solid Concepts’ Printed Metal Gun on Sale

In just short of two months 3D printing firm Solid Concepts has introduced, and will now sell a 3D printed metal gun.

 

While the model M1911 semi-automatic pistol is made from stainless steel and Inconel 625 it’s going to cost you a bit more than your standard issue US Army pistol.

 

According to Solid Concepts its 1911DMLS will run you $11,900, a figure that should buy you an entire arsenal not just a single weapon. However, for some firearms enthusiasts the 1911DLMS might be worth the money as Solid Concepts has stated it’s only planning to make 100 of the laser sintered pistols.

 

Read more at ENGINEERING.com

Fabulous Cosmo 3D Scans Released

Fabbaloo friend Cosmo Wenman, the fellow who produces incredibly detailed 3D models from scanned museum pieces, has released new sculptures. The two new releases are among the most famous statues in the world: the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory of Samothrace. 

 

Wenman did not actually scan the actual pieces, but instead scanned highly accurate plaster casts presently exhibited at the Skulpturhalle in Basel, Switzerland. Wenman explained that this museum is ideal for obtaining 3D scan due to the acceptance by its management, the breadth of their collection and the fact that it's "a pretty sleepy place" where you can take as much time as required to set up the numerous required photos. 

 

Winged Victory is an astonishing piece. While the real sculpture is held in the Louvre in Paris, you can obtain your own copy by ordering one from Wenman's Shapeways shop. Pricing is quite variable, as it depends on the material selected and size of the print. The least expensive is a USD$266 10" plastic print, while if you happen to be in a spending mood you might choose the USD$22,512 25" stainless steel version. 

 

The Venus de Milo is also available from Wenman's shop, but he has also released both 3D models on Thingiverse for you to download and print yourself. We've inspected the models and found it is indeed incredibly detailed. Wenman has obviously spent considerable effort to ensure these models are perfect.

 

Even better, Wenman has segmented the models into multiple easily-printed pieces. Print them, glue them together and you'll soon have a large classical sculpture in your hands.  

 

One warning: the incredibly detailed Winged Victory model includes almost 5M triangles; you'll need a bit of horsepower to process it. 

 

Via Shapeways and Thingiverse

The Smithsonian Releases 3D Scans

We've written about the Smithsonian's forays into 3D scanning previously, but now you can access some of the 3D scans they've been collecting. Last week the institution released the first batch of 3D scans, all of which can be viewed online and several are suitable for 3D printing. 

  

As of this writing, some 17 models are downloadable. Some are marked "print ready", meaning they are in STL format. 

 

This is clearly only a beginning. The Smithsonian has 137 million items in its vast collection, with less than three million on display. The initial batch of 3D models represents a mere 0.0000124% of all their items. 

 

So far the collection includes a wide selection of unusual artifacts, such as the woolly mammoth skeleton, Abraham Lincoln's life mask, the Wright Flyer and others. Each model may be viewed online in 3D and in many cases file downloads are offered. 

 

While the 3D models may be tagged "print ready", some do include significant overhangs and lack flat bases. Unless you have access to a powder-based 3D printer you may find yourself spending much time picking off support structures. Be careful when selecting a model for printing.  

 

Via SI 3D

3D Printed Dinosaurs So Large They Could Eat You

If you manage to make your way to the rear of this year's 3D Printshow in London, you're in for a treat - and a shock. There, you will be face to face with not one, but several full-size 3D dinosaurs. They have many teeth. Big teeth. 

 

They are so gigantic they could not possibly be 3D printed. Or could they? 

 

In fact, they are: Crea'Zaurus 3D produces these astonishing 3D models with 3D printing technology. Their process begins with an artist consulting with actual paleontologists to develop a very accurate 3D model of the creature in question. 

 

Then the model is segmented in 200-600 different 3D printable parts, which are produced on an Objet 3D printer. We're not sure of the cost of these prints, but it is likely very high, as will be the time required to print them. The pieces are assembled into a complete model, which is then used as a master for casting copies. 

 

Multiple dinosaurs are displayed at the 3D Printshow exhibit, the most notable being a Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops heads. But there are "smaller" dinos, such as this one, approximately the size of a dog. The detail is amazing, as you can see in this image and detail closeup. 

 

We spoke with Crea'Zaurus 3D Directice Génerale Cyrielle Langiaux, who told us the initial model is very expensive to produce, but the casts can be had for as little as €8,000 (USD$10,700). Casts are also more appropriate for the usual outdoor installations of these creatures: Objet 3D print material is photo-curable, meaning if left out in the sun they could deteriorate. Not so with casts.

 

The attention to is ferocious. The Crea'Zaurus 3D team even 3D printed each of top feathers on this bizarre creature, attaching them individually. 

 

The next time you need a 3 meter dinosaur for the backyard, there's simply only one place to go. 

 

Via Crea'Zaurus 3D

We Found a 3D Zinjanthropus!

There are a great many exhibits among the booths at this year's 3D Printshow in London, but one caught our eye. In spite of perhaps the least adorned booth in the entire hall, African Fossils provides something we've been seeking for quite some time: 3D models of our ancient ancestors. 

 

We've searched high and low looking for 3D models of Australopithecus, Zinjanthropus, Homo Erectus and other prehistoric artifacts, but could never find a good source. Until today when we had a discussion with Samira Leakey (yes, THAT Leakey family). 

 

Ms. Leakey works on the African Fossils project, an effort to bring the discoveries of our ancestors to the world. Their site provides an interactive 3D lab, where one can visually browse specimens gathered from field research. You can, for example, select the Paranthropus boisei and inspect it in 360 degrees. 

 

But here's the part we're most interested in: each fossil also includes a "Download" button. You can obtain a .OBJ format 3D model of all the specimens. These, of course, can easily be converted into STL format with a free tool such as Meshlab, making them suitable for 3D printing. 

 

Meet your ancestors, and print them. 

 

Via African Fossils

World Heritage Sites Digitally Captured

CyArk, a non-profit initiative, proposes to digitally capture 500 key culturally relevant heritage sites across the world. They are building a repository of 3D information to protect the sites against damage from the environment, terrorism, vandals and any other threats. 

 

Their process is to use state-of-the-art laser scanning equipment to capture the physical structure of the sites up to 2-6mm accuracy. That's impressive for the very large structures being scanned - and it also means there will be mountains of data to be stored. Some of the current projects include: 

 

• Guatemala's Tikal
• Scotland's Stirling Castle
• Uganda's Royal Tombs at Kasubi
• Mission San Luis Rey
• Mexico's Chichen Itza (seen above)
• Egypt's Ancient Thebes

 

So far, the CyArk project list contains 79 works, some of which are still in progress. Each project contains images, videos, plans and some contain 3D models that you can view from your browser - but we have yet to discover a way to download the models so that 3D printing could be attempted. An enquiry received this reply:

 

Sorry, we don't have our content available for download. 

 

Via CyArk (description) and CyArk (project list)

3D Printing for Math Professors and You, Too

We're looking at a PDF, strangely stored on Thingiverse, where one normally finds 3D models. The PDF is an academic document entitled, "3D Printing for Math Professors and Their Students". 

 

It's exactly that: a paper taking the reader through the process of linking mathematics and 3D printing. Yes, this means generating intricate 3D models mathematically, instead of painstakingly developing them by hand. 

 

The paper uses Wolfram's Mathematica tool as the mathematics generator. To give you an idea of how it works, let's look at their first generation, a dome: 

 

1 surface =

   Plot3D[{Sqrt[1 - x^2 - y^2]}, {x, -1, 1}, {y, -1, 1},

   RegionFunction -> Function[{x, y, z}, x^2 + y^2 <= 1],

   BoxRatios -> Automatic]

2 Export["C:\\Users\\Owner\\Desktop\\hemisphere.stl", surface]}

 

You'll need a bit of algebraic knowledge to follow this, but basically a graph of points is created using a formula and then it is converted into an STL file for 3D printing. 

 

The paper continues with several fascinating examples: 

 

• Transform a 2D image into a 3D profile based on light levels
• Convert an elevation map into a 3D landscape model
• Develop a 3D portrait using Kinect scan information

 

There are more examples, too, each progressively more complex. 

 

You'll be an expert by the time you finish the paper. 

 

Note: You'll need a copy of Mathematica for this experiment and it's not free. If you're a student you qualify for significant discounts, but otherwise you're spending USD$295 and up depending on the type of license you'll need. 

 

Via Thingiverse