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Microsoft Integrates Autodesk's 3D Printing Platform Spark Into Windows 10
An anonymous reader writes: At Microsoft's Build 2015 developer conference today, Steve Guggenheimer, Microsoft vice president of developer and platform evangelism, announced new 3D printing features in Windows 10. More specifically, Autodesk Spark is being integrated into Microsoft's latest and greatest operating system. Spark is a platform for building 3D printing software, hardware, materials, and services. Adding it to Windows 10 is a big win for Autodesk.
Autodesk has tied themselves so tightly to Microsoft that they might as well just become another system utility.
And it isn't hardwired into dozens of services or "apps"
Just what you need more stuff to go wrong especially if you never plan on using it. A lean OS makes more sense than an over bloated one.
I agree with the sentiment, but I'm pretty sure 82 million billion gallons of sea water was enough to suppress any fire on the Titanic.
Left MS Windows for Linux Mint and never looked back!
Vote for Bernie in 2016!
Most users don't even use their regular 2D printers in any sort of creative or interesting way.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
I miss dot matrix printers: https://vimeo.com/58200103
Left MS Windows for Linux Mint and never looked back!
Vote for Bernie in 2016!
Some may grumble about this, but speaking as one who's developed an entire suite of tools for 3D printing, I see this as a very positive step towards streamlining the 3D printing process. I wouldn't call it bloat, as it seems to be an available tool rather than a resource-hungry feature loaded as start-up time.
While an interesting idea, I don't think this is a very good idea. Most people aren't even going to touch it, and it still requires a printer of some sort and a supply of plastic - all it will do is take up valuable space, and if this is a version of Windows you are supposed to download...
Making it a free, separate download though, that wouldn't be so bad. Microsoft actually has some really underrated software they offer for free - I think my favorite is Microsoft Mathematics. Definitely worth checking out if you're ever looking for a math suite.
"Set a man a fire, he'll be warm for the rest of the night. Set a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
If you look at the Spark workflow (http://spark.autodesk.com/about) prominent on the list of features is "copyright protection". How exactly this system goes about deciding what you are and are not allowed to print could be quite significant, especially if Microsoft's market share makes it the de facto standard.
linuxberg dead a head
I talked with folks from the Microsoft side at the build conference. The Microsoft team was pretty passionate how 3D additive devices can change the future of manufacturing and make communities. They were really focused on the needs of small-med-large manufacturers making high quality slicers and standard drivers wildly available. The person I talked to said that they wanted to help let printer manufacturers focus on the things they innovate and not worry about the software as much that was outside their area of expertise.
Some of the larger machine shops are talking about being able to build parts with additive processes that are impossible with current techniques. You can add cooling channels, hollow spaces, internal honeycomb structures that can't be forged or milled. I'm not a machinist but it sounded like a change on the scale of computer controlled CNC
Some of the larger machine shops are talking about being able to build parts with additive processes that are impossible with current techniques. You can add cooling channels, hollow spaces, internal honeycomb structures that can't be forged or milled. I'm not a machinist but it sounded like a change on the scale of computer controlled CNC
Nothing described there is outside the ability of current CNC technology in the context of additive manufacturing (i.e. 3D printing). This is what perplexes me with the announcement. As someone who has a 3D printer, and designs my own trinkets in CAD to make, I can't understand what exactly are they talking about? From what I can piece together, they want to replace the CNC system, which has been around for over 60 years, with a new setup. I sceptical as to why as well.
To give you a brief rundown of what gcode is, it's a set of coordinate instructions and other codes which are a simple way of instructing the machine. The whole idea is that you aren't running machine code, but rather a simplified code where the machine software then translates into manipulations of the machine. Coordinates are the main instructions which tell the machine where to move its tool head, spindle, or extruding head, but there are other codes for more complex machines to change tools, change materials, do custom functions, which are usually machine specific. Gcode can easily be written by hand. It's not fun for complex things, and for additive manufacture, it's much longer. Making honey comb, it's easy, you just program the machine to do it. It's a matter for the process or machine that determine the limitations, but the software/code side has never been the problem. It also follows the GIGO principle.
Yep, we haven't figured out how to allow a user to drag an Explorer window that's looking for something on a network, but we have built directly into our OS support for a third-party program to talk to fourth-party hardware.
We still haven't figured out a reliable algorithm that can draw things inside specified a rectangular region of the display, but you can run Android apps and have their GUIs splayed out across the display like a grisly sacrifice.
We still haven't figured out just how much we alienated our customer base by trying to force all computers to be tablets, but we are sure _this_ version of Windows is gonna be the one that everyone installs on their desktops.
It's OK Bender, there's no such thing as 2.
There are some Golden Girls around here somewhere looking for you, so they can go down on you.
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
Windows is not fucked up enough already, obviously.
From what I can piece together, they want to replace the CNC system, which has been around for over 60 years, with a new setup. I sceptical as to why as
Easy. They cannot control a g-code based platform because there are way too many open alternatives around already. If they build something proprietary that others will have to work with due to their market power, then they get to be a gatekeeper and collect "tax". That's all. Good old "embrace & extend" strategy again.
Now whether or not this will be successful or whether it even makes sense, I don't know. It could be a major flop with a framework/tool that essentially nobody will use, because 3D printers are far from something an average consumer needs or will buy. Even the hypothetical non-existent plug & play, "push a single button" replicator-like machine is not going to make this an ubiquitous piece of hardware on everyone's desk - most people simply don't need it and can get their trinkets and gizmos cheaper and ready-made elsewhere. However, the software could also end up becoming a defacto standard for consumer printers if they play their hand well ...
Ok, Microsoft, Bundling, I get it. But... has anyone here actually used Spark?
What exactly is it, is it the slicing and machine control software? Or is it a CAD program with emphasis on creating designs for 3d printed objects? Or is it both? How does it compare with the open source equivalents normally used with Repraps?