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3D Printing On Demand

Posted by timothy on from the safer-than-a-cnc-machine dept.

Iddo Genuth writes "The Netherlands based company Shapeways is beta testing a new service allowing people to print three-dimensional models. Customers can upload designs or use a creation tool hosted at the Shapeways website, then order a printed model of their designs for less than $3 per square centimeter. The printed items are shipped to the customer in ten days or less, bringing 3D printing to consumers and not just companies large enough to afford their own printers."

13 of 106 comments (clear)

  1. Dupe. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/01/1344232

  2. Reprap by gringer · · Score: 4, Informative

    The article says that "the cheapest three dimensional printers cost $20,000", so I might as well mention the hacker's alternative:

    http://blog.reprap.org/
    http://www.reprap.org/bin/view/Main/WebHome

    --
    Ask me about repetitive DNA
    1. Re:Reprap by iamdrscience · · Score: 4, Informative

      I've looked at a number of the "cheap" and homebrew 3D printers and honestly, I've been roundly unimpressed by all of them. The engineering effort is always great and their goals are surely worth persuing, but thus far the results of these printers leave much to be desired: at best looking like an *okay* hand-made model and more often looking more like an artistically shaped pile of poop. I don't mean to knock these projects, but the technology isn't really there yet. I mean, even some of the expensive commercial 3D printers don't produce spectacular results.

    2. Re:Reprap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      http://hydraraptor.blogspot.com/

    3. Re:Reprap by GoodNicksAreTaken · · Score: 2, Informative

      That is why RepStrap exists.
      Or you can purchase an inexpensive kit from Bits from Bytes

  3. not only is this not news by Libertarian001 · · Score: 5, Informative

    But it's a duplicate add from a few months back for the same company pimping their crappy service. Why do I say crappy? I've done a few prints (30+, actually) on the Objet Eden, the same manufacturer this SERVICE BUREAU is using. My bureau uses a high end machine set to high resolution. These guys use the low end machine set to high speed. And they've decided to write some proprietary translator to take my perfectly functional files and mangle them so they can't be used (and these guys have major self-induced scaling issues). In short, they're a bureau, nothing more.

  4. Nothing new about this... by swatje · · Score: 5, Informative

    There is really nothing new about this kind of service... Materialise is offering this service for already 10 years... http://www.materialise.com/materialise/view/en/91955-Online+service.html

  5. Re:Eh? by ShieldW0lf · · Score: 3, Informative

    You can get your own printer for under a grand from Bits from Bytes. Then you can use it to make them for your friends.

    I'm planning on getting one in the new year.

    --
    -1 Uncomfortable Truth
  6. Cheap!? by Aladrin · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.shapeways.com/model/6280/limbtaker_trophy.html

    This bookend (21x22x23cm) is $7800. How is that anything close to cheap?

    Wireframe objects without much mass are considerably cheaper, but any statues with heft are insanely expensive.

    http://www.shapeways.com/model/6277/queen.html

    A chess queen... $319. Seriously!

    --
    "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
    1. Re:Cheap!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      No, wireframe models would still require tons of support structure during the printing process. Most recently this is a solid gelatin that you wash off manually with a high pressure hose (kind of fun). The gelatin gets printed as little mountains/pyramids underneath the parts that would otherwise be pretty much floating on air. The gelatin is only a little cheaper than the hard plastic material per square (sp?) centimeter.

  7. Re:Eh? by ljw1004 · · Score: 4, Informative
    "Shapeways -- 2d pricing for 3d products"!!!

    As always, the summary website is wrong. If you go to shapeways.com they explain:

    How is your pricing calculated?

    Our pricing is based upon the actual amount of material used in your model. So the actual volume of your finished object not the volume of the bounding box. If you click on the order tab next to any model the system will calculate the price for you. All prices includes shipping and handling.

  8. Re:A new copyright battle? by dbc · · Score: 2, Informative

    The surface finish and material properties of 3D printer output is nothing like injection molded or machined plastics. If you want a weak, brittle copy in the wrong color with a rough surface, sure. But ain't nobody gonna be printing missing Lego parts with these.

  9. Get a clue about how stuff is made by Animats · · Score: 3, Informative

    For those of you who have no idea how real, physical stuff is made, there's an entire industry of small "job shops" that will take your design and make a part for you. If you're anywhere near a industrial city, there's probably one in your neighborhood. Most will use machine tools, but ones with stereolithography machines aren't that rare.

    If you're in Silicon Valley and want to use a stereolithography machine, check out TechShop, which has one of the better ones. It won't be busy when you visit.