Nasa plans first 3D printer space launch in 2014
US space agency Nasa is planning to launch a 3D printer into space next year to help astronauts manufacture spare parts and tools in zero gravity.
It will be the first time a 3D printer has been used in space and could help reduce the costs of future missions.
The device will have to withstand lift-off vibrations and operate safely in an enclosed space station environment.
Nasa has chosen technology start-up Made in Space to make the microwave oven-sized printer.
"Imagine an astronaut needing to make a life-or-death repair on the International Space Station," said Aaron Kemmer, the company's chief executive.
"Rather than hoping that the necessary parts and tools are on the station already, what if the parts could be 3D printed when they needed them?"
In 1970, Apollo 13 astronauts had to cobble together a home-made carbon dioxide filter using a plastic bag, a manual cover and gaffer tape.
A 3D printer might have solved the problem in minutes.
"If you want to be adaptable, you have to be able to design and manufacture on the fly, and that's where 3D printing in space comes in,'' said Dave Korsmeyer, director of engineering at Nasa's Ames Research Center.
Nasa is also experimenting with 3D printing small satellites that could be launched from the International Space Station and then transmit data to earth.
Additive manufacturing, as 3D printing is also known, builds up objects layer by layer, commonly using polymer materials.
But laser-melted titanium and nickel-chromium powders are now being used to build much stronger components.
In August, Nasa successfully tested a metal 3D printed rocket component as part of its drive to reduce the costs of space exploration.

Dixons is the latest retailer to join the 3D printer party - it says it's stocking the only one certified for safe at-home use by adults and children.

The Cube from 3D Systems will be available to purchase from the Currys/PC World websites (currys.co.uk and pcworld.co.uk) from October 2nd, priced at £1,195.

However, it won't be in stores (yet). A Dixons spokesperson confirmed to PCR this product will be available online only for the moment.

The Cube comes with 25 free 3D print files designed by professional artists, and is compatible with Mac/Windows software that prepares files for printing from a personal device. It's available in five colours - white, silver, pink, green, and blue.

The 3D printer works using material cartridges made of recyclable and compostable plastics in 16 different colours, including metallic silver and glow in the dark. The coloured plastics are priced at £52.80 each.

Users can print objects up to 5.5" x 5.5" x 5.5" or 140mm x 140mm x 140mm.

Instead of cables, the Cube uses WiFi to let users send prints from the computer.

"The plug-in-and-play simplicity allows anyone using the Cube to start 3D printing as soon as they take it out of the box," read a statement.

"The Cube brightens up tech creativity in any home."

Manufacturer 3D Systems had a presence at the recent Midwich Tech Exposed event, where it showed off 3D printed products including a chainmail-style glove.

Maplin and Selfridges are among the other national retailers to stock 3D printers, while indies are remaining cautious over the devices.

 Wolfstan wrote:
This week I have read two more stories concerning the ongoing development in 3D printing and I believe that we will see a sea change in manufacturing, sooner rather than later. The NASA story, see below shows that the technology can print typically engineered parts. The other story about PC World selling a 3D printer shows a confidence in the product.

Once the technology removes the last real couple of hurdles of quality & cost, changes will happen. Whether you are a home user printing off a new part for your dishwasher, a mechanic needing a part to fix a car or , as mentioned, an astronaut needing a rocket part, you will be able to print it. Forget the threat to the miniatures market, this will affect mainstream businesses. That's what I believe anyway

BBC Story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24329296

Nasa plans first 3D printer space launch in 2014
US space agency Nasa is planning to launch a 3D printer into space next year to help astronauts manufacture spare parts and tools in zero gravity.
It will be the first time a 3D printer has been used in space and could help reduce the costs of future missions.
The device will have to withstand lift-off vibrations and operate safely in an enclosed space station environment.
Nasa has chosen technology start-up Made in Space to make the microwave oven-sized printer.
"Imagine an astronaut needing to make a life-or-death repair on the International Space Station," said Aaron Kemmer, the company's chief executive.
"Rather than hoping that the necessary parts and tools are on the station already, what if the parts could be 3D printed when they needed them?"
In 1970, Apollo 13 astronauts had to cobble together a home-made carbon dioxide filter using a plastic bag, a manual cover and gaffer tape.
A 3D printer might have solved the problem in minutes.
"If you want to be adaptable, you have to be able to design and manufacture on the fly, and that's where 3D printing in space comes in,'' said Dave Korsmeyer, director of engineering at Nasa's Ames Research Center.
Nasa is also experimenting with 3D printing small satellites that could be launched from the International Space Station and then transmit data to earth.
Additive manufacturing, as 3D printing is also known, builds up objects layer by layer, commonly using polymer materials.
But laser-melted titanium and nickel-chromium powders are now being used to build much stronger components.
In August, Nasa successfully tested a metal 3D printed rocket component as part of its drive to reduce the costs of space exploration.

PCR story: http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/currys-pc-world-3d-printer-is-online-only-for-now/032058

Dixons is the latest retailer to join the 3D printer party - it says it's stocking the only one certified for safe at-home use by adults and children.

The Cube from 3D Systems will be available to purchase from the Currys/PC World websites (currys.co.uk and pcworld.co.uk) from October 2nd, priced at £1,195.

However, it won't be in stores (yet). A Dixons spokesperson confirmed to PCR this product will be available online only for the moment.

The Cube comes with 25 free 3D print files designed by professional artists, and is compatible with Mac/Windows software that prepares files for printing from a personal device. It's available in five colours - white, silver, pink, green, and blue.

The 3D printer works using material cartridges made of recyclable and compostable plastics in 16 different colours, including metallic silver and glow in the dark. The coloured plastics are priced at £52.80 each.

Users can print objects up to 5.5" x 5.5" x 5.5" or 140mm x 140mm x 140mm.

Instead of cables, the Cube uses WiFi to let users send prints from the computer.

"The plug-in-and-play simplicity allows anyone using the Cube to start 3D printing as soon as they take it out of the box," read a statement.

"The Cube brightens up tech creativity in any home."

Manufacturer 3D Systems had a presence at the recent Midwich Tech Exposed event, where it showed off 3D printed products including a chainmail-style glove.

Maplin and Selfridges are among the other national retailers to stock 3D printers, while indies are remaining cautious over the devices.

 ph34r wrote:
As Frazzled says, printed parts have notable weaknesses. It is also worth noting that the super high quality engineering capable parts made by NASA and the super cheap consumer technologies are quite different creatures. Is 3D printing awesome, and advancing very quickly? Yes. Will it replace traditional manufacturing? No. There is no reason. 3D printing is great for fun, prototyping, limited run parts, and not for making things quickly and in bulk.

 Easy E wrote:

 ph34r wrote:
As Frazzled says, printed parts have notable weaknesses. It is also worth noting that the super high quality engineering capable parts made by NASA and the super cheap consumer technologies are quite different creatures. Is 3D printing awesome, and advancing very quickly? Yes. Will it replace traditional manufacturing? No. There is no reason. 3D printing is great for fun, prototyping, limited run parts, and not for making things quickly and in bulk.

I think you forget to end that sentence with a "yet".

Asda’s new service will offer customers the chance to bring along any object and get it printed in 3D.

Launching in the UK on a trial bases on October 15th, shoppers can get any object they desire (as long as it’s smaller than a family sized car) printed in 3D with prices starting from £40.

Regardless of the size of item, the printout will be scaled down to an 8-inch model.

The technique involves cameras being placed around an object or person to scan it in. layers of ceramic fluid are used to create the mould.

Asda expects ‘mini me’ figures to be one of the most popular print outs. "3D printed 'mini me' figures will add a whole new dimension to shoppers' mantelpieces and the lifelike models are also expected to be popular as personalised wedding cake toppers," said Asda in a statement.

Check out the video below showing the whole process:

HP is working on developing 3D printing technology, with a reveal planned for the middle of 2014,
says the company's CEO.
Meg Whitman made the announcement at the Canalys Channels Forum in Bangkok.
"We are excited about 3D printing," Whitman said.
"We want to lead this business. HP Labs is looking at it," she added, saying that to enter the market
would be an ideal move for the printer manufacturer.
Whitman went on to say that HP’s main focus in its 3D printing research would be the time and
cost required to print.
"To print a bottle can take eight to ten hours. That's all very interesting, but it is like watching ice
melt,” she explained.
“[HP is asking:] ‘How do we commercialise to print faster, at lower price points?’”
HP had previously tried to enter the 3D printing market, Luis Casado, global business director of
print production solutions at HP, told PCR, but the business fell apart when a 3D printing partner
failed to excite the company.
“Concerning 3D printing, we did partner with a company,” Casado said.
“The projection given to us was not interesting enough and so the partnership stopped and HP
drew out of 3D printing.”
On HP’s plans to re-enter the market, Whitman said that the company should have “something” to
show off in mid-2014.
"3D printing is in its infancy," she said. "It is a big opportunity and we are all over it. We will have
something by the middle of next year."

A fully-functioning metal gun has been 3D printed for the first time ever by a firm in the US.

There has been a great deal of discussion and controversy surrounding the 3D printing of guns and now, a metal M1911 pistol has been printed in 3D by Solid Concepts in Austin, Texas, using direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) technology.

DMLS, an additive manufacturing technology, works by taking 3D computer-aided design (CAD) data and slicing it up into numerous 2D components. Each component acts as a blueprint for the 3D printer, telling the machine where to sinter the metal material. Every component is sintered, building the gun up layer by layer. For the gun in question, each part was printed using DMLS technology except for six springs.

A video (below) has been released by Solid Concepts which shows the gun being put through initial tests. The firm are now claiming that over 600 rounds have been fired by the pistol and that it “functions beautifully”.

So is a 3D printed metal gun cause for concern? For now, at least, it doesn’t appear so. The 3D printers that are available to the general public are far from capable of printing in metal. According to Solid Concepts, the printers required to carry out such an action can cost in excess of one million dollars. Furthermore, a federal firearms licence (which Solid Concepts has) is needed to manufacture the gun.

And even though the firm has cracked the production of the gun, it currently doesn’t have any plans to sell it. Writing on the official blog, however, Solid Concepts has said that it is “weighing its options for the future” and that any commercially available gun would retail “in the five-figures”.

Keen to clarify the firm’s motives for 3D printing the metal gun, Phillip Conner, the DMLS manager at Solid Concepts said: “When we decided to go ahead and make this gun, we weren’t trying to figure out a cheaper, easier, better way to make a gun – that wasn’t the point at all. What we were trying to do was dispel the commonly held notion that DMLS parts are not strong enough or accurate enough for real-world applications.”

 Grey Templar wrote:
Again, it should be clarified it wasn't an actual 3-D printer. Its really just a way overglorified lathe that uses a laser.

The price of 3D printing using metal could be set to drop, as the UK Home Office formally outlaws 3D-printed firearms.

A new open-source 3D printer that uses metal has been created by a team at Michigan Technological University using under $1,500 (£917) of materials.

While the technology is in an early form, having only created a simple sprocket, the leader of the team, Joshua Pearce, stated that he anticipates rapid progress.

“Within a month, somebody will make one that’s better than ours, I guarantee it,” Pearce said.

“With an open-source approach, we are within reach of a Star Trek-like, post-scarcity society, in which ‘replicators’ can create a vast array of objects on demand, resulting in wealth for everyone at very little cost.”

“Pretty soon, we’ll be able to make almost anything.”

The breakthrough comes as the UK Home Office has introduced formal legislation banning 3D-printed guns.

"3D printed weapons are potentially lethal barreled weapons and must be viewed as such in law," the revised policy states.

"The method of manufacture is not material to this consideration."

The majority of the 3D-printed guns to appear so far have been created using traditional polymer-printing 3D printers, but a cheap, freely-distributed metal printer could affect the creation of such weapons.

While Pearce acknowledged the danger of more robust firearms being created using his team’s printer, admitting to “some sleepless nights”, the press release for the printer explained that he “believes the good to come from all types of distributed manufacturing with 3D printing will far outweigh the dangers”.

 Kilkrazy wrote:
Without 3D printing, mould making is cheaper now that it has ever been, which is why companies like Wargames Factory and Perry Bros have got into it.

Mould making is not the whole story, though. You still have to create functional masters and cast the plastic, box it and market it.

but a cheap, freely-distributed metal printer could affect the creation of such weapons.

The ability to PRINT PRODUCTION MOLDS is whats going to be the real death knell for GW, because the cost of printing those molds, i can guarantee, will be far cheaper than milling them.

You still need to have deeper pockets than most of us in order to actually be able to pay for the molds, printing the molds could conceivably cut the cost AND time in half, if not more.

 SOFDC wrote:

but a cheap, freely-distributed metal printer could affect the creation of such weapons.

I believe this man will have a heart attack, should he ever figure out what a hardware store is.

The ability to PRINT PRODUCTION MOLDS is whats going to be the real death knell for GW, because the cost of printing those molds, i can guarantee, will be far cheaper than milling them.

Only for people making forgeries of space marines in their garage, and probably not any higher quality than existing methods. Actual business competition will still have realities to face if they want to make an item as detailed as GW can in volume. There are reasons production molds are big ol hardened blocks of very carefully machined steel, and it's not because they like spending money. You're making a shield out of oak on the one hand, and particle board on the other.

You still need to have deeper pockets than most of us in order to actually be able to pay for the molds, printing the molds could conceivably cut the cost AND time in half, if not more.

And who is designing this mold? The guy who can get it right on the first attempt, in a reasonable timeframe? He costs money. Depending on how intricate your part is (Maybe something you can hold in the palm of your hand, with a metric crapton of fine detail that must be preserved, made of a plastic soft enough to be easily modified by hand...) a LOT of money.

The guy who doesn't cost much...at first? Hope you get lucky, there's a LOT of ways to mess up an injection mold. Easy to waste money, and a lot easier to waste time doing trial and error.