by Steve | Feb 9, 2015 | 3D Design, 3D Printing, Additive Manufacturing, Advancing Technologies, Autodesk, Future of 3D Printing
Advancements in 3D Printing In order to take your 3D part from concept to tangible piece, the part must first be modeled in 3D software. Autodesk, the company behind software like AutoCAD, Maya, 3ds Max, Inventor, and Fusion 360, has been rapidly incorporating 3D modeling capabilities into their existing software. Between Autodesk’s well-established software programs and new software in development, Autodesk is charging head first into the 3D printing market. Over the last year, Autodesk has released a variety of app-based software that is specifically designed for 3D printing. These apps include 123D Catch, a program that allows users to take a series of photos of a model that are transformed into a 3D design, 123D Design, a basic 3D modeling program, and 123D Make, a program that allows users to create 3D models in slices from individual layers. With these apps combined with Autodesk’s Spark, an additional software platform, Autodesk has been described as the “Android of 3D printing.” Autodesk Talks About the Future Recently, IDG Connect was able to sit down with Aubrey Cattell, the Senior Director of Business Development and Operations. Here are some of the most interesting tidbits about the interview. Cattell reiterates that, although the printing industry is 25 years old, it hasn’t yet blown up. In fact, there have only been 250,000 3D printers sold over the last 25 years. Despite this, Cattell believes that we are on the cusp of huge growth, citing studies that predict that the industry will grow to $16 billion in 2018. Cattell compares the current state of 3D printing to a “Homebrew Computer Club.” Essentially, at this...
by Steve | Oct 31, 2014 | 3D Design, 3D Printing, Additive Manufacturing, Autodesk, Future of 3D Printing, Uncategorized
Autodesk hopes to bolster the future of 3D printing The Announcement In May of this year, Autodesk announced that they were ready to jump into the 3D printing game. In a blog post by Carl Bass, Autodesk President and CEO, Bass explained how his frustration with the state of the 3D printing industry had led him to seek out a better option. The result of this search was twofold: the development of an entirely new open source software platform, Autodesk Spark, and a 3D printer, the Ember, that would be designed to work with the Spark platform. Through these innovations, Autodesk hopes to help shape the future of 3D printing in a more user-friendly direction. Development for Spark In an update from Autodesk CTO Jeff Kowalski at the Inside 3D Printing Conference this week, Kowalski spilled a few more details about the software. One of the things that really separates Spark from the competition is its “autocomplete” feature, which allows the software to anticipate the design and complete the shape for the user. The Spark software program will also be able to work with multiple materials and can be used on any available hardware platform. Like the software, Ember, the 3D printer, will be designed through a heavily collaborative process. So far, it is known that the printer will have a resolution of 10 microns and will primarily use photo-cured resin for its material, although it will also print other materials. It is estimated that the printer will go on sale for somewhere around $5,000. Raising the bar This week, Autodesk took their role in the 3D marketplace a...
by greg | Aug 19, 2014 | 3D Design, Autodesk, Spectra 3D Systems Designs, Training
Live Training in an Online World The benefits and place of live instruction in software and design training As a trainer for over 15 years, teaching 3D Studio DOS back in the early 1990′s. So many things have changed in that time, from the introduction of windows and 3D rendering tools that make an animators life less complicated, to the mass adoption of the internet by industry and education. However there is one thing that has remained constant, the need to learn the software. Online learning has become a staple of the training industry, and live, online learning has made inroads into the real classroom and as a form of high quality training. There are a lot of downloadable tutorials and online websites that offer Autodesk 3DS MAX and Maya training to view at your leisure. Many of these sites are free or very low cost and offer a broad range of topics to choose from. While these sites offer some good quality tutorials, there is no live person to ask if you have a question. Live, online learning is an emerging and highly beneficial tool for all user of 3DS MAX and Maya software. With the unique ability to work interactively with an instructor, ask questions and learn just as if you were in a real classroom. The 3D Professor offers classes starting at one hour plus a half hour of dedicated Q & A time with the instructor and attendance can costs as low as $50 per person, live, online training offers a high return on your training investment of both time and money. The 3D Professor...
by greg | Aug 19, 2014 | 3D Design, 3D Printing, Additive Manufacturing, Autodesk, Stratasys
Creating a Belt Hangar for 3D Printing. The Belt Problem! Have you ever noticed that your belts don’t really have a home? If you’re anything like me, one day you will find your favorite belt rolled up in the sock drawer and the next day it will be draped over the towel rack. Well, the other day, I decided to put an end to this – my belt would get a designated place once and for all. After deciding how many belts I would like to hang, in my case I decided six would be ideal, I started designing my new belt holder. Since I have some extra closet space, a design that resembled a traditional clothes hanger would be the most convenient. The Design. As a user of Autodesk Inventor, I was able to bring my concept to life with the aid of the design software. By choosing to place my prongs slanted upward, the belts can easily snap in place and by facing the belts backward, I can keep the prong of the belt buckle locked into place, preventing the belt’s hardware from wearing out. Then, I just hit print and let my Stratasys UPrint SE Plus, which I am a reseller for, do the work. In just a couple of hours, my print was complete. The Final Product. Now, each morning when I reach for my belt, I know that I can always find it hanging safe and sound in my closet. Plus, because of the beauty of 3D printing, whenever my belt collection grows further, I can simply print out another belt holder. If you...
by greg | Aug 19, 2014 | 3D Design, 3D Printing, Additive Manufacturing, Autodesk, Stratasys
3D Printing 101: Creating a New Wheel for a Dishwasher 3D Printing to the rescue! If you pay much attention to the news, you will see all sorts of wonderful stories about the power of 3D printing, or additive manufacturing. From a German engineering team who has discovered how to forgo the assembly line and print an entire 3D car, to scientists who are working on printing a fully-functioning human heart, the prospects for 3D print are astonishing. But with all of these groundbreaking advancements, many readers who are not highly trained scientists or engineers are left wondering – what can 3D printing do for them? In response, I give you, the dishwasher wheel. A Practical Application While cleaning up my kitchen the other day, I found that one of the wheels on my dishwasher was cracked and unusable. Knowing how ordering spare parts for appliances can be a huge pain, I was not looking forward to going online, hoping to find the correct model, or, if not, waiting on hold with customer service, then paying for the part plus shipping and handling, and waiting for weeks for the part to arrive. But then it hit me, this is a great application for my Stratasys uPrint SE Plus 3D printer. The Wheel and Clip Using one of the unbroken wheels as a guide, I carefully measured each piece and plugged the calculations into Autodesk’s Inventor design software. Then, I just sat back and waited while my Stratasys uPrint SE Plus created an exact duplicate of my existing wheel. Here is a comparison of the original wheel on the left...
