3D Printing is great, but it is pretty much the worst way to make any given part– except that every other technique you could use to make that part is too slow and/or expensive, making the 3D print the best option. If only the prints were stiffer, stronger, more durable! [JanTech Engineering] feels your plight […]
A lot of claims have been made about the purported benefits of adding chopped carbon fiber to FDM filaments, but how many of these claims are actually true? In the case of PLA at least, the [I built a thing] channel on YouTube makes a convincing case that for PLA filament, the presence of chopped […]
For most of us who are not astronomers, the image that comes to mind when describing a reflecting telescope is of a huge instrument in its own domed-roof building on a mountain top. But a reflecting telescope doesn’t have to be large at all, as shown by the small-but-uncompromising design from [Lucas Sifoni]. Using an […]
One major reason for the high cost of developing new drugs and other chemicals is the sheer number of experiments involved; designing a single new drug can require synthesizing and testing hundreds or thousands of chemicals, and a promising compound will go through many stages of testing. At this scale, simply performing sequential experiments is […]
3D printers are built for additive manufacturing. However, at heart, they are really just simple CNC motion platforms, and can be readily repurposed to other tasks. As [Arseniy] demonstrates, it’s not that hard to take a cheap 3D printer and turn it into a viable wood engraver. The first attempt involved a simple experiment—heating the […]
As the saying goes — when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. When life gives you a two-ton surplus industrial robot arm, if you’re [Brian Brocken], you apparently make a massive 3D printer. The arm in question is an ABB IRB6400, a serious machine that can sling 100 to 200 kilograms depending on configuration. […]
You can buy a wide range of RC car tires off the shelf. Still, sometimes it can be hard to find exactly what you’re looking for, particularly if you want weird sizes, strange treads, or something that is very specifically scale-accurate. In any of these cases, you might like to make your own tires. [Build […]
PLA (polylactic acid) has become the lowest common denominator in FDM 3D printing, offering decent performance while being not very demanding on the printer. That said, it’s often noted that the supposed biodegradability of PLA turned out to be somewhat dishonest, as it requires an industrial composting setup to break it down. Meanwhile, a potential […]
Color 3D printing has gone mainstream, and we expect more than one hacker will be unpacking one over the holidays. If you have, say, a color inkjet printer, the process is simple: print. Sure, maybe make sure you tick the “color” box, but that’s about it. However, 3D printers are a bit more complicated. There […]
A mosquito has a very finely tuned proboscis that is excellent at slipping through your skin to suck out the blood beneath. Researchers at McGill University recently figured that the same biological structure could also prove useful in another was—as a fine and precise nozzle for 3D printing (via Tom’s Hardware). Small prints made with […]