All posts tagged: Printing

Sofas that self-assemble when you heat them up? How 4D printing could transform manufacturing

Sofas that self-assemble when you heat them up? How 4D printing could transform manufacturing

Published by skeptic

Imagine buying a flat sheet from a furniture store that changes into a sofa when you heat it with a hairdryer. Or consider the value of a stent that precisely expands inside a patient’s artery, adapting to their unique anatomy. Welcome to 4D printing, a frontier in material and manufacturing science that has been rapidly expanding over the past decade. While 3D printing has captured global attention for its ability to create objects layer by layer, 4D printing adds the element of time. It involves 3D-printing adaptable objects from materials such as polymers or alloys that can bend, twist or transform entirely when they come into contact with heat or moisture. By moving beyond the constrictions of static designs, it opens up remarkable possibilities in areas such as medicine, aerospace, robotics and construction. I was recently the lead author on a comprehensive report published in the journal of Smart Materials and Structures, charting the advances and challenges in this field. We outlined this industry’s potential, offering a vision of a future where smart materials redefine …

Nvidia Should Be Printing Money Right Now by Selling AI Hardware. Instead, Its Stock Is Falling

Nvidia Should Be Printing Money Right Now by Selling AI Hardware. Instead, Its Stock Is Falling

Published by José

Its CEO’s net worth dropped about $10 billion in a single day. Bot Drop Earlier this year, AI chipmaker Nvidia was riding high, enjoying a record-breaking valuation of $3.3 trillion. But this summer, investors started asking some tough questions. Shareholders started getting cold feet over AI companies’ sky-high valuations, as CNN reports, with widespread skepticism causing stocks to come crashing back down. As the company selling the shovels for the goldrush, Nvidia should be making money hand over fist. But instead, it wiped a massive $279 billion off its value on Tuesday, a precipitous drop of 9.5 percent in share price. The slump even erased about $10 billion from CEO Jensen Huang’s personal net worth, his biggest single-day drop according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Something’s off, in other words, despite the company’s growing revenue. Is this just the market’s correction to signs of a slowing economy? Are investors becoming wary of major investments in largely unproven tech that’s still far from turning a profit? While it’s still too early to tell if Nvidia’s most recent …

8 Best Online Photo Printing Services (2024): Tips, Print Quality, and More

8 Best Online Photo Printing Services (2024): Tips, Print Quality, and More

Published by skeptic

Starting at $13 per month Best for Printing Business Card and Postcards I covered SXSW for WIRED way back in 2006 and one of the strange things I remember is that everyone I met was handing out these clever little half-size business cards that came from a company named Moo. Moo still offers those cards ($21 for 100 of them), but it has also grown into a full-service print shop that can do anything from business cards to custom postcards to water bottles. Moo would not be my top pick for photographs, as that’s not really its specialty, but for artwork, invitations, postcards, flyers, and just about everything else, I’ve been impressed. I printed some postcards with some custom designs (including photographs and some of my kid’s artwork) and was impressed with the accuracy of the colors. All the paper I’ve tried has been high quality and the color matching is probably the best of all the services I’ve tried. You can upload your own designs for most things or use Moo’s templates, which offer …

The Exciting Fusion of 3D Printing and Woodworking Joints

The Exciting Fusion of 3D Printing and Woodworking Joints

Published by skeptic

If you enjoy 3D printing new designs and manufacturing furniture or projects using 3D printing techniques. You might be interested in a new blend which is taking traditional woodworking joints into 3D printing. Dovetail joints, known for their durability and interlocking capabilities in woodworking, are at the forefront of this transformation into 3D printing concepts. These joints are being re-engineered to leverage the benefits of 3D printing, enhancing both their aesthetic appeal and functional utility in contemporary design and production. By combining the strength and precision of classic woodworking techniques with the flexibility and innovation of 3D printing, designers and manufacturers can create products that are not only visually striking but also structurally sound and efficient to produce. Dovetail Joints In 3D Printing Traditionally, dovetail joints are prized in woodworking for their strong, adhesive-free connections. Adapting these joints for 3D printing requires several modifications to address the unique properties of printing materials. For example, the angles and clearances of the classic dovetail joint are adjusted to accommodate the mechanical behaviors of 3D printing materials, which …

Best 3D Printing Filament in 2024

Best 3D Printing Filament in 2024

Published by skeptic

Testing focuses on a few details: Dimensional accuracy, winding precision, and printing quality. Winding precision is a visual test where I check to make sure the filament works well on the spool, without any crossovers that can cause snags while printing. Print quality is done using a CNET calibration test that I use to test all of the 3D printers I review. When checking for filament quality, I’m looking for noticeable roughness and missing filament where moisture or other contaminants have interrupted the process of melting and cooling. James Bricknell/CNET Dimensional accuracy is perhaps the most important test as it measures the consistency of filament. As you move along, the filament changes in diameter and will cause the 3D printer to over- or under-extrude filament. This creates noticeable scarring in your model, or worse, complete failure. You want the material to have the same diameter the whole way through.  To measure the accuracy, I take a 5-meter (16.4-foot) piece of filament from the beginning, middle and end of the roll and measure the diameter at …

Best home printers 2024 with wireless connectivity for easy printing

Best home printers 2024 with wireless connectivity for easy printing

Published by skeptic

Best for: top quality printing with affordable upkeep Type: Inkjet with cartridges Functionality: Print Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, USB Size: Up to A3 You won’t find a better print quality for a cheaper price than the Canon PIXMA Pro-200, a home printer aimed at pro photographers and those looking to print their images at the highest quality possible. It’s all down to the eight dye-based inks (two more than in typical photo printers), which deliver a much more generous range of shades for both colour printing and mono printing. This clever printer expertly matches its inks to what you see on your screen, ensuring a truly optimal print, while there’s even a print mode dedicated to black and white printing to ensure your mono photos hit the spot. The 3-inch display is useful for checking ink levels and other print settings and, like the Epson Expression Photo XP-15000, it manages borderless printing up to A3 size, while you can also print directly onto CDs and DVDs with a manual feed tray. The footprint is also …

New TIME 6-axis 3D printer could change printing forever

New TIME 6-axis 3D printer could change printing forever

Published by skeptic

A new 6-axis 3D printer has been developed called the TIME system or True Independent Multiple Extrusion, allows for independent operation of multiple tools across all three axes, enabling the simultaneous printing of different parts or the combination of various materials within a single print job. Thanks to this development the 3D printing world could be on the edge of a significant breakthrough, as the innovative machine offers unprecedented flexibility and efficiency in the printing process. Watch the video below to learn more about the process of of building a different type of 3D printer that has 2 tools that move independent from each other. Different from an IDEX-system for instance. Where an IDEX is only independent in one axis, the TIME system is independent in all axes. 6-axis 3D printer At the core of the TIME system lies a meticulously re-engineered grill plate base, designed to provide unparalleled stability and optimal heat distribution. This sturdy foundation serves as the backbone of the printer’s intricate structure, ensuring that every component works in harmony to deliver …

Get Started With 3D Printing for Less With This AnkerMake M5 Deal

Get Started With 3D Printing for Less With This AnkerMake M5 Deal

Published by skeptic

Picking a 3D printer isn’t always the easiest choice, but if you know what you want there are some great options out there. And if you can get a great machine for your needs on a good discount, you can’t ask for a better day. The AnkerMake M5 is not only one of our top rated printers, but it’s my personal favorite. And thanks to Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, you can get one for way cheaper than usual.  As the first 3D printer made by a new company, the AnkerMake M5 surprised a lot of people with how good it is. The printer released to the public as one of the fastest printers you could buy, able to reach incredible print speeds without sacrificing quality. But its real superpower is the AnkerMake app, which made it easy to see your print in real-time from the camera on the machine as well as control nearly everything from wherever you are. If you saw a need to change the temperature of the bed or extruder, you could …

Elegoo Saturn 3 Ultra 12K Review: Resin Printing Made Easy (and Big)

Elegoo Saturn 3 Ultra 12K Review: Resin Printing Made Easy (and Big)

Published by skeptic

I’m a huge fan of resin 3D printers. While the liquid resin can be a little harder to work with than typical filament printers, the results are often much more detailed and look better. However, there are some limitations to the Elegoo Mars 3 that I used in the past. Things like its small print bed, or making sure it’s properly ventilated because resin printing can be toxic, mean I don’t turn to it as often as I’d like. The new Elegoo Saturn 3 Ultra, on the other hand, fixes all of these problems and more. What I love most about resin printing is that it enables me to be an even bigger nerd. I have friends who play a lot of D&D, and I like to make minifigs for them. When I make costumes for Dragon Con, I find it easiest to print a lot of the accessories or details that I don’t have the skills to craft myself out of other materials like foam. With the larger print size and a better filtering …

Sun and Mail publishers to combine print operations

Sun and Mail publishers to combine print operations

Published by skeptic

The Newsprinters site in Broxbourne. Picture: News UK Update: News UK and DMG Media’s plan to combine their printing operations in a new, separate company has been cleared by the Competition and Markets Authority. The senior leadership team of the joint venture will be drawn from the publishers’ existing two companies: Newsprinters managing director Darren Barker will become chief executive and DMG group production director Julia Palmer-Poucher will be chief operating officer. The plan involves the closure of two current DMG printing sites. Palmer-Poucher said: “The news industry has transformed and continues to change rapidly. We needed to make changes to our print capacity to underpin our commitment to our print titles and their readers. “This was a difficult but necessary step to provide a sustainable future for our print operations. Whilst I am saddened that our sites will close, this decision ends a period of uncertainty and allows us to proceed.” Thanks for subscribing. Close The new company is expected to go live in early June. Content from our partners Original story 3 October …