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Qumarion Is A Toy Mannequin For Automatically Animating 3D Models

GADGETS

Creating a 3D model is hard enough. Animating them takes the skill required a whole other level. The Qumarion Humanoid Input Device aims to simplify the process, allowing animators to simply move a humanoid model to register a movement on the computer. Made by Celsys, it’s a miniature articulated mannequin that you can position in various poses. While similar contraptions have been available in the past, most mannequins have served to act as reference for artists — something they can [...]

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Filabot Reclaimer Recycles Old Plastic Into 3D Printing Filaments

GADGETS

Home 3D printing is quite economical now. Still, the expenses on those $30 spools of plastic you use to form your finished products can add up after many projects. The Filabot Reclaimer could change that. Created by researchers at Michigan Technological University, it’s a plastic extruder that turns throwaway plastics into usable filament for 3D printing. That means, all those milk jugs you clean out drowning your cereal, plastic water bottles, old toys and all sorts of plastic products that [...]

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3Doodler Is A 3D-Printing Pen

GADGETS

Home 3D printing is hot right now. Problem is, the learning curve isn’t quite that low — you’ll need to understand 3D modeling at a competent level to really get anything done. The 3Doodler lowers the bar on the skills front, letting you produce 3D-printed creations by simply doodling with a pen. Unlike other 3D printers, this isn’t a tabletop rig hooked up to a computer. Instead, it’s just an unusually chunky pen that contains all the hardware, software and [...]

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Cubify Cube, A 3D Printer That Looks Like A Home Appliance

GADGETS

Most home 3D printers look like mini versions of industrial machines. Which is why they belong more in a workshop or a home office than next to the family laptop in the living room. Cubify (who also makes the CAD modeler, Invent) is looking to change that with the Cube, possibly the first desktop 3D printer that looks more like a home appliance than an industrial contraption. Granted, the Cube is far from the prodigious 3D-printing beast that the Makerbot [...]

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MakerBot Replicator 2X 3D Printer Can Print In Two Colors

GADGETS

Desktop 3D printers — they are improving. And I wouldn’t be surprised if we can make some incredibly detailed toys out of them in just a few short years. The MakerBot Replicator 2X takes us closer to that, bringing two-color printing and a much finer printing resolution. A two-color version of the recently-released Replicator 2, it brings the same 100 microns per layer of resolution, allowing you to produce 3D objects that are smoother with little post-production work (e.g. sanding) [...]

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Staples Easy 3D Offers Commercial 3D Printing In-Store

GADGETS, SIMPLY COOL

The era of cheap 3D printing is upon us. That is, if you’re willing to make do with the less-detailed and size-limited results that can be produced with home 3D printers. If you want industrial-quality creations, you’ll still need an industrial 3D printer. Soon, you might be able to get just that from your local office supply store with the Staples Easy 3D. A new partnership between the office supply chain and MCOR Technologies, it seeks to make getting a [...]

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Cubify Invent Is A CAD Modeler For 3D Printing Enthusiasts

GADGETS

There are plenty of 3D design tools available to help you put all the wild ideas in your head into a more tangible digital model. So far, though, there has never really been one that’s designed specifically for 3D printing projects. That’s where the Cubify Invent seeks to set itself apart, having been built from the ground up for use in additive manufacturing. Made by 3D Systems, the software is a design tool aimed at the growing audience of hobbyists [...]

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Burritob0t 3D Prints Edible Burritos

GADGETS

We’ve seen little robots that can leap over walls, tow full-size cars and even eat dead human carcasses for fuel. But we don’t really need those. We just want a robot that can make the perfect burrito every single time. And the Burritob0t is just the automaton for the job. Made by NYU student Marko Manriquez, the robot is actually a 3D printer of sorts. Instead of printing 3D designs into real-world plastic shapes, though, it’s designed to print burritos. [...]

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Solidoodle Is A $499 3D Printer

GADGETS

Both the Roland iModela and the original Cupcake CNC make for excellent 3D model builders at under $1,000. What I’ve been waiting for, though is one that can cross the $500 threshold which could make it casual hobbyist fare rather than a box for more serious amateur designers and prototypers. I guess I didn’t have to wait long with the introduction of the Solidoodle, a $499 3D printer. Despite the low price, it’s actually quite the powerful machine. Able to [...]

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Sony HMZ-T1 Puts 3D Right In Your Face

GADGETS

I am not a big fan of 3D movies. Partly because it’s unnecessary extra cost. Mostly, though, I really just can’t sit through one without throwing up (hence, my unadulterated love for 2D Glasses). The Sony HMZ-T1 “Personal 3D Viewer” might leave me a convert, though, with its promise of 3D minus the headache-inducing crosstalk. Instead of wearing stereoscopic glasses, you wear that monstrosity on the picture over your face. The first of its kind (according to Sony, anyway), the [...]

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Sculpteo Turns Your Photos Into Customized 3D Minifig

ENTERTAINMENT, WEB

Ever wished you can have a miniature statuette of your boss that you can slap around every time you get frustrated at work? Now you can with Sculpteo, a 3D printing service that will fashion vanity minifigs based on two pictures you send in. When you order, you need to upload two photographs, one face-on and one profile, along with some text specifying things you want to see in your plastic figurine (like if you want to be half-naked with [...]

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BFB 3000 Brings Affordable, Fully-Assembled 3D Printing

GADGETS

While some companies have built home 3D printers for cheap, they’re far from the robust plastic-shaping machines that $50,000 commercial versions usually are. Bits From Bytes is the latest company to bring the function to consumer homes with the BFB 3000, a fully-assembled 3D printer designed for schools, hobbyists and small businesses. How affordable is it? The printer itself retails for $3,000, which is considerably cheaper than what similar things are normally selling for. If that still sounds too steep [...]

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3D-Printed Mini-Branding Iron Fits In Pocket, Burns Through Wood

ART, GADGETS

Finally, a reason for non-smokers to carry a lighter around. Shapeways is taking orders for custom-made, 3D-printed mini-branding irons that snap on to the top of lighters (the non-Zippo variety), allowing you to pull out a lighter from your pocket and brand anything in sight – even your cheating ex-boyfriend’s you know what. Hooray. Designed to replace the head of disposable lighters (that removable section which partly covers up the flames), simply pop the new cap in and your pocket [...]

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Cupcake CNC Gives You A 3D Printer For $700

GADGETS, LATEST, TO DO

How cool would it be to have a 3D printer at home? Can you imagine the kind of buffoonery you can concoct with one of those things in tow? Assuming you’re the kind of dork who likes to design 3D models, you can literally be printing your own batch of plastic toys right from the comfort of your own garage (or your mom’s basement, whichever the case may be). Maybe, you’ll even end up with one cool enough to get [...]

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