Articles about 3D

We've all seen those adverts for partworks allowing you to build a scale model of the Titanic at a cost not far off that of raising the real thing.

Now though UK publisher Eaglemoss Collections is producing a partwork that allows you to produce something a bit more useful. In 90 weekly parts it lets you make your own working 3D printer.

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DIY laptop building is about to hit the mainstream thanks to a new project based on the Raspberry Pi that uses 3D printing to bring a revolutionary concept to the Kickstarter crowd-funding site.

Pi-Top is a 3D-printable fully-fledged laptop based on the Raspberry Pi kit that allows anyone to build an affordable, completely functional computer whilst at the same time learning some vital skills.

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Gartner says that 3D printers will be used to print medical devices in just two to five years. According to Pete Basiliere, research vice president at Gartner, in the next half decade "3D printing of medical devices will offer exciting, life-altering benefits that will result in global use of 3D printing technology for prosthetics and implants".

However it could be a decade before consumer level 3D printing reaches the mainstream. Basiliere continued, "over 200 startups worldwide are developing and selling consumer-oriented 3D printers, priced from just a few hundred dollars. However, even this price is too high for mainstream consumers at this time".

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In what will surely take photobombing memes to another level, university researchers have created a three-dimensional photo editing tool that lets you rotate and animate objects in two-dimensional photographs.

Students at Carnegie Mellon University say the tool will let people turn or flip objects in a single photo and even show bits of them that weren't captured in the original shot.

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Amazon is on a roll lately, delivering some incredible products. Hell, the Kindle Fire HDX tablets alone were home-runs, but the amazing Fire TV took it to another level. The online-retailer has leveraged Android in its own way, refusing to bow-down to Google. It is quite the feat, actually, to think that Amazon broke into the hardware business with relative ease.

While the company has infiltrated markets for tablets, TVs and game consoles, there is one place it is noticeably absent -- smartphones. The company already has its own Android app store, so it's a natural progression. Today, the company teases a product unveiling on June 18. What will it announce?

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On Friday, Finnish mobile maker Nokia announced HERE Connected Driving, a cloud-connected in-car navigation solution with offline mapping, real-time traffic information and mobile device app support. Labeled by the company as "the only end-to-end driving solution on the market", it will be officially demoed during the International Motor Show in Frankfurt, Germany.

Nokia's in-car navigation solution is comprised of four parts -- HERE Auto, HERE Auto Cloud, HERE Auto Companion and HERE Traffic. HERE Auto takes care of navigation instructions, with or without a data connection, similar to the company's HERE Drive+ Windows Phone 8 app. It provides turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation in 95 countries, while supporting 2D, 3D and satellite map views (street imagery is also included). According to Nokia, Continental's Open Infotainment Platform already integrates HERE Auto and it is expected to arrive in cars in upcoming months.

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Whenever new and exciting products are launched, shortly after the big bang a plethora of accessories surface to match even the most peculiar of requirements. Some are a hit while others are a dreadful miss. But what if nothing on the market tickles your fancy? Well if you happen to have a Nokia Lumia 820 lying around you can create something yourself.

Nokia has released a 3D printing development kit comprised of 3D templates, case specs, recommended materials and a best practices guide to manufacturing customized back cases for the Lumia 820, using (the name of the development kit pretty much gives it away) 3D printers. Pricey is an understatement, but that said the Finnish manufacturer does at least offer a solution for those seeking the ultimate in smartphone customization.

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In May, San Francisco startup Leap Motion announced Leap, its pocket-sized 3D sensor designed to bring Kinect-like controls to notebook computers. At the time, the company said there would be "thousands" of free developer kits for interested developers who wanted to participate in the developer program. Today, the company has come forward with some numbers to show how staggeringly high interest is in the little peripheral.

Twenty six thousand (26,000) developers in 143 countries and all 50 U.S. states registered to be in Leap's developer program. A remarkable 15,000 of those requests came in the first week of the program's existence.

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Perhaps my biggest surprise walking around Google I/O 2012: Autodesk, and a Chromebook! Cough, cough, gag, gag. What the hell is this? Why would Autodesk demo its big-iron 3D design products on the Samsung Series 5 550. This is not MacBook Pro with Retina Display.

As Randy Young explains it's all about the cloud and extending Autodesk customers' capabilities in the cloud. Let's say you're a builder. You've got AutoCAD and your client doesn't. They can view the design in Chrome. Sure enough, there's an AutoCAD WS plug-in available in the Chrome Webstore. Yes, apps for Android and iOS are available, too. But the developer is here promoting Autodesk 360 cloud service. The concept: Store and share design files in the cloud. If your customer is crazy enough to buy Chromebook. No problem.

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