Novedge Pulse™ — Bob McNeel

Are we there yet? Really!Old news: Last week MakerBot announced their new Replicator 2 desktop 3-D printer. It is 37% bigger and more accurate—100 micron layers.This week Formlabsannounced Form 1, an even higher resolution desktop 3-D printer—25 micron layers. Funded by Kickstarter!As I mentioned last week, we have been watching 3-D printing technology evolve for the last 20 years. Every year week there are major advances, but until now the technology hadn't quite gotten there. That is to say, when will 3-D desktop printing start doing for product design what 2-D desktop printing does for graphics design?Have we arrived? Our check list: CostPurchase price under $3,000: Yes.Supplies: Close enough.Accuracy: Good enough for most applications Yes.Speed: Maybe.Durability: Too early to tell, but that is no reason to wait.Ease of use: A software problem? If it is not easy enough for most Rhino users, it could be our fault.So the answer is: Yes, and faster than we ever expected!If you don't have a 3-D printer yet, buy one in the coming year, and expect to replace it in two years six months or less with something even more amazing [more...]