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LinkBits: 3D Printing News for the Week of March 14

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!

The Countertop Challenge

the micro-BLOCK 3D printed device for firstbuild challenge copy

This week, MakerBot and GE have launched the FirstBuild #CountertopChallenge.  The goal of the project is to design a 3D printable kitchen accessory to help GE FirstBuild develop the crowd-sourced kitchen of the future.  Today is the last day to enter and there are already a number of exciting projects submitted, including The micro-BLOCK, a 3D printed utensil organizer and storage appliance. Not only can the micro-BLOCK keep all of your knives, measuring cups and spoons, and spatulas in one place, but it can also house a touchscreen device for controlling your web-connected appliances, such as the FirstBuild Chill Hub smart fridge.

Animaris Geneticus Bellus


Artist Theo Jansen has been creating his wind-powered Strandbeest series with 3D printing for some time and 3DPI’s been covering the evolution of these beautiful and whimsical creatures since our inception.  Shapeways has just published a blogpost on Jansen’s most recent Strandbeest, Animaris Geneticus Bellus, including a link to purchase it in all of its glory.

Airwolf 3D Sets Guinness World Record for Most 3D Printers Operating Simultaneously

On December 13, 2014, Costa Mesa, California-based Airwolf 3D spent 24 hours 3D printing 201 prosthetics on 159 different printers on behalf of the charity Robohand.  While the story may have taken place last year, the record is now official, with Airwolf beating out the previous record holder, LeTourneau University.

A LEGO-Built 3D Printing Pen


As a part of a university project, Vimal Patel built a unique 3D printing extruder from LEGO components and a hot glue gun.  Capable of 3D printing long strands of biodegradable filament, Patel’s device is meant to be an experiment in accessibility so that anyone with some LEGOs and a glue gun can build their own 3D printing gun.  The files for his gun can be downloaded for free and accessed using Lego Digital Designer.

Riley Tsunoda’s Tsudoshi 3D Printer

One of our readers, Riley Tsunoda, sent us what is likely to be his first in a bright future of TED talks. At TEDxKamuela in Hawaii, the 17-year-old shared with a local audience his experience of building a 3D printer from scratch as a part of a high school project. Riley named the printer “Tsudoshi” after his grandfather.

Welp! That’s it for LinkBits this week! As they say in the picture shows: