We at Spectra3D are excited to embark on a new adventure as an organization of creative individuals who love 3D printing! Our 3D printing and production services are recognized for high-quality 3D printed creations. Now, we’re expanding our horizons and becoming a full-fledged product development and sales firm. We are always committed to providing exceptional quality, creativity, and customer happiness. We begin our adventure with our Etsy shop.
This exciting new venture allows us to explore the design of one-of-a-kind products. We still plan to offer our customers an eclectic array of enchanting items through our pocket totems and worry stones. With our wealth of experience and passion for 3D printing, we at Spectra3D are determined to keep pushing the limits of our creativity.
Spectra3D is excited to announce the acquisition of a new Makera Carvera CNC machine, designed to give us additional options for the way our customers approach their projects. The Carvera is a fully automatic desktop CNC machine, specifically tailored for makers, engineers, and designers, and it comes with a plethora of innovative features. With its quiet and easy-to-use design, this machine offers auto tool changing, auto probing, and auto leveling, making it a truly hands-off experience.
The Carvera enables us to provide small format 3-axis and 4-axis machining, allowing for the creation of 3D models using a variety of materials, including plastic, wood, and even metal. With the Makera Carvera, our customers can now create a wide array of products, from simple machined plaques and art pieces to custom components and prototypes, expanding Spectra3D’s creative possibilities and productivity.
Recently, having my cell phone just lying flat on my desk began to annoy me ever so slightly. When I was in the middle of working on the computer and my phone buzzed, I wanted to be able to glance over at the screen without it pulling me away from my workflow. Plus, if I wanted to watch a video, hovering awkwardly over the phone was less than ideal. This inspired my newest design for this cool little cell phone cradle.
3D Printed Cell Phone Cradle
The Design
At first, my idea was to just create a simple cradle that would let me keep my phone upright near my computer. I quickly realized that, since I am often charging my phone while it is on my desk, making it easy to plug in while it was in the cradle was essential. To facilitate this, I added a split in the middle of the base of the cradle so that the charger chord will fit through the bottom. I also made it large enough that my phone can slip in and out of the cradle without having to unplug it from the charger.
The Cradle is designed to be able to easily charge while in use.
Then, I started to really think about the functionality of a phone cradle and how I would like to be able to use my phone. I realized that something else that often bothers me when I am using my phone at my desk is how quiet the speakers are, especially when they are competing with the drone of the printer. By adding sound channels to redirect the sound from the speaker area to the front of the phone, I was able to significantly amplify the sound.
The channels in the design that amplify the sound
When comparing the sound quality of the phone with and without the cradle, those little channels really do make quite a difference.
How you can get your own cell phone cradle?
If you would like to download your own copy of my cell phone cradle design, you can find it in a few different places, including Threeding.com.
With the development of 3D scanners and printers, anyone who has access to this technology can accurately reproduce objects found in the real world. This has many far-reaching implications, some of which could lead to greater innovation, others which could lead to a whole new host of problems. In this series, we will explore the copyright implications of 3D printing as designers, end users, and lawyers try to sort out the many legal implications of 3D printing and copyright law.
The Penrose Triangle
For the first installment, we will discuss the interesting case of Ulrich Schwanitz and The Penrose Triangle.
To get to the root of this tale, we have to go all the way back to 1934 when artist Oscar Reutersvard drew the first-known Penrose Triangle. Referred to as an “impossible figure,” the Penrose Triangle connects on each side at a right-angle. For decades, this optical illusion was confined to drawings on flat surface and was thought impossible to reproduce in 3D space.
The Penrose Triangle
That is, until Ulrich Schwanitz, a designer based out of the Netherlands, purportedly solved the problem. Rather than explaining how he solved the puzzle, Schwanitz simply included a YouTube video showing his design. The model was put up for sale on the Shapeways website for around $70.
Now, this is where it really gets interesting. Along came Artus Tchoukanov who had formerly been an intern at Shapeways. Tchoukanov was able to watch the above video and figure out how Schwanitz had created his design. Tchoukanov then went to Thingiverse, a 3D printing community that actively encourages the free and open interchange of design and ideas, and published his interpretation of Schwanitz’s solution.
The DCMA
Soon, a story about the mystery of the Penrose Triangle appeared, wrongly crediting Tchoukanov with being the first to arrive at a 3D solution. Schwanitz then responded by sending Thingiverse a DMCA (which stands for Digital Millennium Copyright ACT) Takedown notice, suggesting that the published Penrose Triangle solution was copyright infringement and that it should be removed from the site. Thingiverse promptly took the post down while explaining that it was the first such request that they had received.
Now that the first DMCA Takedown request has been handed out to a distributor of online 3D design content, it is possible that Schwanitz (who, by the way, allowed Thingiverse to put the post back up after he received a good amount of negative commentary over his request) has opened a whole can of legal worms. As 3D printers become more and more common and people are better able to produce their own parts and designs at home, these sorts of issues promise to be all the more prevalent.
Tell us what you think. If you were in Schwanitz’s position, how would you have handled the situation? How strictly do you think we should be policing copyright laws in regards to 3D print files?
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.
Belt Hangar 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.
Belt Hangar installed
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 are interested in learning more about how 3D printing can help you get organized and offer simple solutions to real-world problems, contact us at Spectra 3D.
