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Tag: Formlabs

  • Martha Stewart Shops For A 3D Printer At CES

    3D printers were out in full force at CES this year as companies from all around the world hoped to prove their worth to attendees and the media. Little did these companies expect that they would have to prove themselves to Martha Stewart, but it does make for some entertaining videos.

    TechCrunch teamed up with Martha Stewart at CES to help her find the perfect 3D printer for her office. Her position of authority on lifestyle, home decorum and cooking means that her choice could actually be pretty influential for the millions of people that follow her advice. It could also help give 3D printing companies a lot of mainstream exposure beyond what they usually get.

    While there were a lot of 3D printers on show at CES, Stewart focused on two companies – MakerBot and Formlabs. Both companies are darlings of the 3D printing scene for entirely different reasons. MakerBot helped to start the open-source 3D printer revolution and is now one of the largest manufacturers of affordable, professional-grade 3D printers, like the Replicator and Replicator 2X. Formlabs, on the other hand, proved that stereolithography was affordable with the most successful 3D printer Kickstarter ever.

    Here’s Stewart’s visit to MakerBot where she talks with CEO Bre Pettis:

    She then visits Formlabs to check out the Form 1:

    On a final note, here’s why Stewart is looking for a 3D printer:

    Image via TechCrunch/YouTube

  • Formlabs Introduces New 3D Printer Resin Just In Time For Christmas

    Last year, Formlabs broke all kinds of Kickstarter records when its Form 1 3D printer pulled in almost $3 million. Since then, the company has been busy making more Form 1 3D printers for its customers all over the world while also experimenting with new resin types. In fact, it has a new resin available just in time for Christmas.

    Formlabs announced that it has developed a new white resin just in time for the holidays. As expected, it used the new white resin to print a bunch of snowflakes, but white isn’t just for the holidays:

    White isn’t just another color in our growing resin library; it’s been designed to produce parts that are exceptionally smooth and color-stable, for when the look and feel of your printed model is essential.

    If you want to see what the new white resin is capable of, check out this example 3D print of some flowers:

    Formlabs Introduces New 3D Printer Resin

    If you already have a Form 1 and want to get your hands on Formlabs’ new white resin, you’ll have to pony up $150 for a liter of the stuff. It’s definitely not cheap, but the Form 1 isn’t your average 3D printer. If you want to use the new resin, you’ll have to update your PreForm software with it. You can grab the latest update here.

    As for the future, Formlabs says it’s currently working on a number of new resins for “specialized applications.” It doesn’t say what those applications may be, but I’m sure Form 1 owners will appreciate any new materials that Formlabs can cook up.

    [Image: Formlabs]

  • Formlabs And Kickstarter Sued Over 3D Printer Patent

    Formlabs made history last month when it raised $2.95 million for its Form 1 3D printer on Kickstarter. The successful funding means the affordable 3D printer will make high-quality 3D printing possible for even more people. Well, that was the case at first, but now the startup is being threatened by a patent lawsuit.

    BBC reports that 3D Systems, a 3D printer manufacturer, has filed suit against Formlabs and Kickstarter over a patent the company was awarded in 1997. The patent covers a specific innovation in stereolithographic 3D printing that prevents 3D printed models from falling apart. Now 3D Systems says that Formlabs infringed upon its patent.

    So why is Kickstarter being sued as well? For one, Kickstarter profited from the success of the Form 1 by taking its usual five percent cut of the entire proceeds raised. 3D Systems also says that by promoting the Form 1, Kickstarter has caused them “immediate and irreparable injury and damage.”

    Unlike the usual patent trolls that dominate the tech industry, 3D Systems actually has a case here. They even have Formlabs co-founder Maxim Lobovsky on record saying they were able to offer the Form 1 so cheaply because a number of patents had expired.

    So, either Formlabs didn’t know about 3D Systems’ patent, or they just ignored it. Either way, the startup is now going to have to deal with a patent lawsuit that may bar them from being able to produce the Form 1 for backers. After raising almost $3 million, it would be a real bummer to not see the Form 1 become a reality.

  • Form 1 3D Printer Breaks Kickstarter Record

    The 3D printer world has been watching the Form 1 with great interest. It’s the first laser-equipped 3D printer that’s being made available at a ridiculously cheap price. It broke $1 million within the first day of funding and set the standard for 3D printers on Kickstarter. Now their campaign has only 44 hours left and the team has broken a record.

    The Form 1 3D printer is now the most funded technology project to ever grace Kickstarter. It has brought in a total of $2,549,954 since the campaign started a month ago. It knocked down the equally impressive Oculus Rift from its previous record of $2.4 million in funding.

    The Form 1 team was able to reach this milestone due to the continued support from the 3D printing community. They have sold out of every entry level Form 1 with the cheapest available printer now going for $2,699. Impressively enough, they were even able to sell out of the limited edition models that went for $5,000 and $8,000.

    They also added a new tier for backers who put forth $39. Those backers will receive a gyrocube created with the Form 1. Here’s what it will look like in motion:

    Form 1 Breaks Kickstarted Record

    A lot of Kickstarter projects receive a huge influx of funding near the end of their campaigns. It’s entirely possible that the Form 1 will be able to reach $3 million at the end. It only needs an extra $500,000 to succeed and those gyrocubes are pretty awesome.

  • Formlabs’ 3D Printer Reaches Kickstarter Goal In Less Than Three Hours

    Remember that awesome Form 1 3D printer from yesterday? The group behind the project, Formlabs, were asking for only $100,000 to help fund the manufacturing and material costs of the printers. They got the required amount in two-and-a-half hours. Amazingly enough, the funding didn’t stop there.

    At this time, the Form 1 3D printer has raised a total of $741,981. They are completely sold out of the first two 3D printer models on offer. There’s only a few left of the other sub-$3,000 models. Somebody has even pledged $5,000 to get the collector’s edition of the printer.

    The demand is obviously coming from those who have been waiting for a low-cost, high-end 3D printer. The current cheap 3D printers on the market use extruded plastic solutions that require a lot of post-printing work. The Form 1 promises high-resolution prints right from the start.

    The Form 1 printer is impressive to say the least, but how did Formlabs get the price down to an extremely affordable $2,299? TechCrunch asked Formlabs co-founder Maxim Lobovsky that very question. He said that the biggest decrease in price came from the use of a new laser that recently hit the market – a 405nm Bluray laser diode. They were also able to cut costs thanks to some expensive patents expiring and the reduction of unnecessary components found in more expensive 3D printers.

    The Form 1 3D printer is not the first of its kind to be featured on Kickstarter. There have been other attempts in the past to fund the future of 3D printing, but none have been as successful as this. The closest that another 3D printer has come to the Form 1 was another high-resolution polymer resin based 3D printer called the B9Creator. The Kickstarter only asked for $50,000 and was able to raise $513,422 in a little over a month.

    For now, Formlabs has been enjoying their early success. The Kickstarter still has 28 days left and nobody knows exactly how much money this project is going to pull in. It will at least pull in over a million, and it could end up being one of the most funded projects on the site. At the very least, it will enshrine 3D printing as one of the many industries that has benefited greatly thanks to Kickstarter.

    [Image Credit]

  • Formlabs Takes To Kickstarter To Fund Cheap High-Resolution 3D Printer

    3D printers are getting cheaper and cheaper all the time. Unfortunately, the cheap 3D printers aren’t that great with printing high-resolution models. More often that not, creators will have to sand down 3D printed objects to get smooth ridges and edges. One company is attempting to offer high resolution desktop 3D printers at half the price of traditional models.

    Formlabs, a startup 3D printer company, has created a Kickstarter for the Form 1 printer. They describe the machine as “an affordable, high-resolution 3D printer for professional creators.” The company is looking for $100,000 to fund the project. People have already pledged $86,951 with 29 days to go in the campaign.

    So, how high is the resolution of the Form 1 3D printer? The team claims that their printer can print layers as thin as 25 microns with features as small as 300 microns. They’re able to do this by ditching the extruded plastic method of low-end 3D printers. Instead, the Form 1 uses stereolithography, which uses a laser to draw on a layer of liquid plastic resin. Check it out for yourselves:

    The Form 1 is more expensive than other cheap 3D printers, but it’s significantly cheaper than stereolithographic 3D printers. Those interested in 3D printers can get one via Kickstarter for for the relatively low price of $2,299. The full set with 1L resin, and a Form Finish Kit will set you back $2,699.

    There’s been an abundance of 3D printers showing up on Kickstarter lately. All of these companies are also producing the hardware here in the U.S. It’s a sign that manufacturing is coming back to the U.S., but in amazing new industries. It’s a shame that 3D printing isn’t getting the recognition it deserves as the next great American innovation.