3D printed tactile picture books for visually impaired kids

A University of Colorado Boulder team printed the first 3D version of children's book, allowing visually impaired children and their families to touch objects in the story.

"Goodnight room, goodnight moon. Goodnight cow jumping over the moon..." - "Goodnight Moon", written by Margaret Wise Brown of a bunny in bed wishing good night to his surroundings, has been printed more than 40 million copies and translated into at least a dozen languages. It was a logical choice for CU-Boulder's Tactile Picture Books Project, led by computer science Assistant Professor Tom Yeh to print out this highly popular children's book in 3D.

3D Systems announces iSense iPad 3D Scanner

Users simply attach the iSense to an iPad, and they can literally walk around and scan entire objects or environments. iSense is created for 3DS by Occipital and powered by the same software as 3DS' Sense scanner.

The iSense is ideal for physical photography on the go. It integrates with the Cube family of consumer and prosumer 3D printers and also offers direct upload options to Cubify for cloud printing, empowering users to easily capture and readily 3D print their memorable moments.

AirDog is world's first auto-follow drone

For extreme sports enthusiasts, the new AirDog from Latvia-based Helico Aerospace Industriesis is a perfect tool for their outdoor activities. Start-up company, Helico, has introduced AirDog, the world's first automated drone designed to track and video outdoor sports and activities, on Kickstarter looking to raise $200,000 for the production.

$249 Discov3ry universal paste extruder for 3D printers

Structur3D's Discov3ry extruder is an affordable, plug and play device which can easily be integrated with any stepper motor based, fused deposition modeling (FDM) desktop 3D printer. With Discov3ry extruder, home based 3D printing is not limited to printing plastics anymore, and it will enable makers to print a whole new range of materials, including silicone, polyurethane, wood filler, clay, ceramics, icing sugar, nutella, conductive paint etc.

Second-gen Form 1+ SLA 3D printer

Formlabs, an MIT Media Labs spin-out and the creator of Form 1 SLA 3D printer, has announced the Form 1+ on Tuesday.

The Form 1 3D printer were launched on Kickstarter in 2012, and pulled in nearly $3 million in crowdfunding. Later it has also closed a $19 million Series A, led by DFJ Growth. After over a year of successful printer sales, Formlabs has now launched its newest printer, the Form 1+, hoping to become one of the key players in desktop 3D printing.

The Form 1+ has a second-generation laser system that is four times more powerful than its predecessor, allowing it to print up to 50% faster. It also has a redesigned galvanometer control system, so it produces models with finer detail and a smoother surface finish. Numerous other components have been overhauled to provide a more reliable printing experience.

Custom historical recreations!

http://www.polygonz3d.com

This re-created Caterpillar 20 was modeled by Polygonz 3D from dozens of reference photos of actual CAT-20 tractors in the wild - in various states of decay. After the modeling project was complete, the client used a aerospace grade metal 3D printer to produce a 1/48 scale miniature.

http://www.polygonz3d.com

Affordable open source DLP 3D printer!

Meet the LittleDLPer, an affordable, open source DLP (Direct Light Processing) 3D Printer. DLP Projector based printers have been gaining in popularity in the last few years. The projector shines on the surface of a liquid plastic resin that hardens when exposed to a certain wavelength of light. The light draws and hardens a layer at a time until the entire model is built.

The LittleDLPer has been designed from the ground up to simplify the resin printing process, says Brad Hill, founder of LittleDLPer. To make it easy to self source, the LittleDLPer uses lasercut materials and standard T-Slot extrusion so you can easily build your own from scratch. It also uses high quality components such as linear slides and integrated leadscrew steppers to improve the reliability, according to LittleDLPer.

The LittleDLPer focuses on smaller high quality prints so its build volume is only 60mm(X) 40mm(Y) 100mm(Z) (2.4 x 1.6 x 3.9 inch). It takes approx 2 minutes to print 1mm at .05mm layer height. A 40mm (1.57 inch) tall print would take about 80 minutes to complete.

The LittleDLPer will be compatible with most general UV curing resin on the market. In order lower the barriers to entry for those looking to get into the world of DLP printing, Hill says the price of the LittleDLPer kit (projector not included) will be under $500, and an assembled 3D printer should be just under $1000. The startup plans to show off the LittleDLPer at Maker Faire Kansas City Jun 28~29.