3d

Kickstarted 3Doodler: It's a pen, it's a 3D printer

If 3D printers seem too expensive, or too technically complex, WobbleWorks' 3Doodler 3D printing pen looks like a budget- and user-friendly alternative. It also looks like a ton of fun.

The idea behind the 3Doodler is that it takes the core functionality of a 3D printer, essentially an extruder and a heat source, and jams it into a pen-shaped handheld device. Loaded with either ABS or PLA plastic, common feedstock for traditional 3D printers, the 3Doodler "prints" plastic objects by letting you draw them in freehand in three-dimensional space.

The brainchild of WobbleWorks, a robotic toy company formed … Read more

Here's the 3D-printing institute in Obama's State of the Union

A little over a year ago, 3D printing was a funky new technology that you might find at modestly sized booths in the basement level of the Las Vegas Convention Center at CES. Tonight, President Obama mentioned it in the same breath as Apple and Intel during his State of the Union address, while talking about ways to create new jobs and manufacturing in the United States. Here's the passage from the transcript:

After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three. Caterpillar is bringing jobs back from … Read more

Say 'I love you' with your 3D-printed chocolate face

If your love is sweet, then 3D-print yourself for Valentine's Day and give the gift that says so.

At a recent workshop in Tokyo, attendees made bite-size versions of their heads in chocolate.

Hosted by 3D-printing firm KS Design Lab and FabCafe, the event, which was limited to women, produced about 20 little chocolate faces that looked just like their human originals. … Read more

Dive into TheBlu 3D Oceanic Screensaver and help save the oceans

What happens when you combine a high-quality 3D screensaver, social media and games, and environmental activism? You get TheBlu, that's what. TheBlu is something new, an interactive 3D app specifically tied to a social cause, protecting the oceans. TheBlu's realistic underwater world is relaxing and soothing but also educational, and making purchases to add to it supports oceanic conservation, according to Wemo Media. You can dive right in simply by downloading the free screensaver. TheBlu 3D Ocean Screensaver is far more than any screensaver we've yet seen, though, with an interactive display, social connections like chat, and … Read more

YouTube yanks video of 3D-printed rifle magazine

A video showing a gun magazine created by a 3D printer was pulled off YouTube today, only to reappear later in the afternoon.

The removal notice for the popular clip, which was posted by a Texas group known as Defense Distributed, said the video was removed "as a violation of YouTube's policy against spam, scams, and commercially deceptive content."

"Yes, YouTube removed this video because permissive liberals flagged it as inappropriate," the group said in a Tumblr post. "Please steal this and put it everywhere before it is again taken down."

Talking Points … Read more

3D printing with stem cells could lead to printable organs

Some day in the future, when you need a kidney transplant, you may get a 3D-printed organ created just for you. If scientists are able to achieve that milestone, they may look back fondly at a breakthrough printing process pioneered by researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland in collaboration with Roslin Cellab, a stem cell technology company.

The printer creates 3D spheroids using delicate embryonic cell cultures floating in a "bio ink" medium. They end up looking like little bubbles. Each droplet can contain as few as five stem cells. Basically, this comes down to the printer "ink" being stem cells rather than plastic or another material. … Read more

Next up for 3D printing: a moonbase?

We've put a man on the moon. Perhaps setting up a 3D moonbase will be next.

The European Space Agency (ESA) and architecture and design firm Foster + Partners are jumping on the 3D-printing bandwagon and exploring the feasibility of using three-dimensional printing to create buildings on the moon.

Engineering teams from both parties, and additional partners, are investigating the properties of lunar soil, known as regolith, to see if the material could be used to print "bricks" for a moonbase, thus solving the sticky issue of transporting construction materials from our planet. Previous research from Washington State University and NASA has suggested that moon rocks could be used to print useful objects like tools or replacement parts. … Read more

My Facebook profile transformed into a 3D-printed monster

I can hold my Facebook profile in the palm of my hand. It's shaped like a pink butternut squash with a top hat, no arms, and a bit of blood dripping from its teeth.

This strange creature came about through the Creators Project, a globe-hopping initiative from Intel and Vice that supports artists working through technology. The initiative has been around since 2010, but the Facebook 3D-printable figures project just started this year.

The 3D-printable Facebook project can take three different forms. There's Monster Me, which turns out a little monster. There's Crystallized, which interprets your social data as a pretty crystalline form. There's also Astroverb, which turns out a personalized visual horoscope. These are all pretty abstract concepts. Given the choice, I had to go with the monster.… Read more

Get six 10-foot HDMI cables for $12.99 shipped

I don't know about you, but I never seem to have enough HDMI cables. Maybe Obviously it's because I live in a gear-heavy household (Roku boxes everywhere!), so I'm always looking to pad my supply.

Today's deal ought to last me awhile. Today only, and while supplies last, 1SaleADay has a six-pack of 10-foot gold-tip HDMI cables for $12.99 shipped. That works out to about $2.16 per cable, which is less than what you'd typically pay for a single 6-footer.

By now I suspect that most people (or at least most CNET readers) … Read more

With new 'Star Wars' on tap, Lucasfilm bails on Episodes II and III in 3D

With the creative team for "Star Wars Episode VII" now in place, Lucasfilm and Disney appear to be using the forward movement on that project as an excuse to shelve plans to release 3D versions of Episodes II and III.

In a news post today on StarWars.com, Lucasfilm announced the abandoning of the release of the 3D versions of the two prequel films.

"Lucasfilm has decided to postpone this fall's scheduled release of 'Star Wars' Episodes II and III in 3D," it wrote today. "Given the recent development that we are moving forward … Read more