Another week, another round of LinkBits: your source for brief bits of news from the 3D printing industry. The industry is booming and so are we, so here is a list of stories that we couldn’t quite fit into our complete article schedule for the week. Bon Appéprint!
Bioprinting Enters Oxford English Dictionary
Along with all of the other gibberish that has been added to our language, made increasingly incomprehensible from the distortion of reality caused by technological development, is the word “bioprinting”. That is, at least, if the Oxford English Dictionary is your go-to reference for what is and isn’t English. The OED defines “bioprinting” as “The use of 3D printing technology with materials that incorporate viable living cells, e.g. to produce tissue for reconstructive surgery.” And the OED’s example sentence: “welcome to the age of bioprinting, where the machines we’ve built are building bits and pieces of us.” Personally, I don’t need a reference book to define consensus reality. Then again, mambo dogface to the banana patch?
Mindstorms EV3 Lego 3D Printer 2.0
This month, one Maker and Lego fan built the second generation of a 3D printer made from Legos. He may not to be the first to do so, but his design is an interesting won, relying on the parts found in a Lego Mindstorms kit to run the X and Y axis and some twine to operate the Z-axis. And, reliving Stratasys founder Scott Crump’s first FDM 3D printer, the EV3 uses a glue gun as the printing material.
Arizona 360 VR’s 3D Printable VR Headset
When the founder of Arizona 360 VR, Rene Meeh, couldn’t find a proper VR headset for his OnePlus One smartphone, Meeh designed his own. Using Rhinoceros 3D, Meeh drew up his blueprints and printed the headset on his own printer, relying on magnifying glasses for the headset’s adjustable lenses. Meeh’s joins the list of the many 3D printed VR headsets out there as the first modified for the OnePlus One.
3D-Print & Scanning Roadshow 2015
Starting next week, Tri-Tech 3D, Central Scanning Ltd., and Steinbichler UK will take 3D scanning and 3D printing on the road across the UK. Starting in Nottingham and ending in London, the 3D Print & Scanning Roadshow will spend the next nine months visiting eight different UK cities to introduce the public to the technologies of 3D scanning and 3D printing. To attend the conference, visit the Eventbrite page here.
Pebble Time Smartwatch Conquers Kickstarter, Has 3D Printed Accessories
Pebble launched the impressive sequel to its original Pebble Smartwatch, released just three years ago. The Pebble Time Smartwatch blew past its Kickstarter goal of $500,000 in just 8 hours. With a colored e-paper interface, the low-cost smartwatch is capable of running a number of simple apps and has a battery life of seven days. And, notably for our readers, Pebble will be releasing the CAD files for their smartwatch so that users can 3D print their own accessories.
Two Miniature, 3D Printed Jet Engine Replicas
Researchers at Monash University, in collaboration with CSIRO and Deakin University, 3D printed all of the components necessary to build two small jet engines. Using the university’s metal 3D printing systems, the team 3D printed the gas turbine engines for the Falcon 20 private jet, manufactured by French aersopace company Microturbo, a subsidiary of Safran. The engines are currently on display at the International Air Show in Avalon and at Microturbo in Toulouse.
Shapeways 3D Prints 100th Anniversary Coke Bottle
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the iconic Coca-Cola contour bottle, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta has incorporated 500 specially designed Coke bottles into a ceiling installation. Working with Conran and Partners, Shapeways came up with a slinky-like design for the project, 3D printing all 500 bottles in cage structures to ensure that the prints would retain their shape during the manufacturing process. You can learn more about the project at the Shapeways blog or, if you happen to be in Atlanta, the installation will be up at the museum from now until October 4th of this year.
Welp! That’s it for LinkBits this week! As they say in the picture shows:
