Article Series

Carbon Fiber 3D Printing, Part Six: Go Big or Go Home

One topic we’ve skirted around in our carbon fiber series so far is large-scale composite printing processes. The reason for this is because it is both a big topic, literally…

Carbon Fiber 3D Printing, Part Five: Applications

In the first part of our series on carbon fiber 3D printing, we discussed how the material is used in the larger world of manufacturing. As we’ve learned throughout this…

Carbon Fiber 3D Printing, Part Four: Matrix Materials

In parts one, two and three of this series, we’ve discussed the variety of technological developments taking place in the 3D printing of composites but have not yet covered the…

The Maker Movement Unmade? Part 4: Attack of the Clones

Read parts one, two and three of this series.  Determining a definitive cause of the economic misfortunes of some companies in the open source hardware and maker spaces might prove…

3D Printing and Mass Customization, Hand in Glove Part I

The industrial revolution saw the advent of mass manufacturing. The assembly line and the hourly wage worker invented, splitting up products into parts made through a series of repetitive serial…

The Maker Movement Unmade? Part 3: Casualties of Open Source War

Since the maker movement began to evolve out of hacklabs and hackerspaces, we’ve seen it transform in ways that led to some of the movement’s initial pioneers go sideways. These…

The State of Food 3D Printing, Part 3: Present and Future

Ok, so food printing is a thing, but why is it a thing and will it become more of a thing in the future? To answer these semi-coherent questions, we…

The State of Food 3D Printing, Part 2: Food Printers Available Now

The food printing space is still only in its formational stages, but there are early innovators who have actually made this science fiction concept into a reality. There are a…

The State of Food 3D Printing, Part 1: Beginnings

When 3D Systems showcased the ChefJet at International CES 2014, the concept of food 3D printing left audiences with a mixture of awe and confusion. Upon its acquisition of Sugar…

The Maker Movement Unmade? Part 2: The Roots of the Maker Movement

With the shaky ground that Maker Media (now Make: Community) stands on, this author was prematurely ready to signal the end of the maker movement. However, we have already received…

Carbon Fiber 3D Printing, Part Two: Continuous vs. Chopped Desktop 3D Printing

In the first part of our series on carbon fiber 3D printing, we really only just got started by providing a background on the material, some of its properties, and…

Carbon Fiber 3D Printing, Part Three: Beyond the Desktop

So far, we’ve covered some of the key aspects of carbon fiber manufacturing and how continuous carbon fiber compares to chopped in early modes of carbon fiber 3D printing. However,…

Carbon Fiber 3D Printing, Part One

Since the 1970s, carbon fiber has been used as a comparatively inexpensive replacement for metals like titanium, due to its high strength-to-weight ratio and stiffness. For that reason, finding a…

The Maker Movement Unmade? Part 1: Maker Media

For those of us who were drawn into the world of 3D printing because of the seemingly limitless possibilities of open source hardware, there may be a sense that, in…

3D Printing Unicorns, Part 3: Desktop Metal

When a privately held startup hits $1 billion in value, it magically transforms from an ugly mare into a beautiful unicorn (or so the legend goes). In the 3D printing…

3D Printing Unicorns, Part 2: Carbon

When a privately held startup hits $1 billion in value, it magically transforms from an ugly mare into a beautiful unicorn (or so the legend goes). In the 3D printing…

3D Printing Unicorns, Part 1: Formlabs

When a privately held startup hits $1 billion in value, it magically transforms from an ugly mare into a beautiful unicorn (or so the legend goes). In the 3D printing…

What is Metrology Part 24: Conclusion

This is the conclusion of our 25 part metrology series. It has lead to a lot of self analysis and future study due to curiosity.

What is Metrology Part 23 – Error and Perception

Margin of Error After a significant amount of time dedicated to this series, I have made some interesting insights.  When you think of metrology and measurement, humans need to understand…

What is Metrology Part 22 – 3D Translation and Rotation

This is a quick article on rotation and translation within 3D environments. It leads to interesting thought processes in terms of measuring the real world and the digital world.

What is Metrology Part 21 – Getting Started with Processing

This is a brief explanation of some basic concepts in Processing. It is important to lay down the foundation before one moves to the 3D realm.

What is Metrology Part 19 – Moire Effect in 3D Printing

This is a short excerpt on an interesting phenomena within visual perception known as the Moire Effect. We will address this in how it operates within the realm of 3D printing as well as metrology.

What is Metrology Part 20 – Processing

This is a brief overview of the coding language Processing. It has great intersection within the 3D printing and image processing realms of knowledge.

What is Metrology Part 18 – Pixelation

This is a brief article that touches on the topic of pixelation. Pixelation is very important when it comes to color measurement as well as how the physical world interfaces with the digital world through information theory.