Sustainability, innovation, entrepreneurship
It has been some months that I’m reading and observing the development on desktop 3D printing. I’m getting quite obsessed with the subject and just decided that is time to save 950$ and get a CupCake CNC by Makerbot Industries. If I don’t, I’ll regret in 20 years for not having the equivalent of the Apple 1 of 3D printing.
Do you have a CupCake CNC? If so, what was your experience assembling it and using it?
The 3D printing devolution started a while ago. Since then, many of us have been dreaming on the day that 3D printers will be as ubiquitous as personal computers are today, unleashing an amazing power of creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation. First, it was professional printers designed for enterprise use, far from the hands of hobbyist. Then, FabLabs brought closer those machines to advanced consumers, accelerating the idea of personal fabrication.
A major shift came from the hands of Bre Pettis and the Makerbot Industries crew, releasing last year the first sub $1000 desktop 3D printer for personal use. Still, you have to build much of it yourself, although it will definitely become a reference when in 20 years we look back at this revolution. Other great solutions are out there, but most of them require a relatively large amount of time invested to make it work.
If you are like me and don’t have the patience or skills, you may want to check a new desktop 3D printer that has everything one may expect from a consumer product: plug & play, easiness of use, and affordability. It is the UP! printer from Chinese company Pp3dp. The first 100 units are selling for $1500 and after that they will sell for $3000. If interested, you better order yours fast since already 80 units have been sold. I wish I had those $1500 laying around!
A couple of reviews of the product are available online, including few YouTube videos.
If aiming to get an idea of what is this revolution about, check the book Fab: The Coming Revolution on Your Desktop: from Personal Computers to Personal Fabrication by MIT’s Neil Gershenfield.
We are at the tipping point of desktop 3D printing. The technology is rapidly becoming available for mass consumers due to its ease of use, pricing, and growing community of enthusiasts which are pushing it to the point of no-return.
This last December, Joris Peels - community manager of i.materialize - illustrated well the moment. First, with a review post named 2010: the Year in 3D Printing, and later looking at the future with Eleven 3D Printing Predictions for the Year 2011.
Photo credit: 3D printed teapots by creative_tools
Markus Kayser - Solar Sinter Project from Markus Kayser on Vimeo.
In a world increasingly concerned with questions of energy production and raw material shortages, this project explores the potential of desert manufacturing, where energy and material occur in abundance. In this experiment sunlight and sand are used as raw energy and material to produce glass objects using a 3D printing process, that combines natural energy and material with high-tech production technology.
Read more at Markus Kayser Website
Via Make
