Therefore, a replenishment supply of spare parts or assemblies is just as impossible.

This situation was partially the case for the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR). The SPAWAR enterprise became engaged in three-dimensional scanning and printing to rapidly deliver a solution to a particular antenna that is part of their warfare systems. Que: the "scan-to-CAD-to-fab" method.

Scan to CAD to Fab

The process to develop new designs and parts is called the "scan-to-CAD-to-fab" method. This method is lowering the cost to produce (while increasing speed to fabrication) the product or assembly needing to be designed and fabricated.

In the case of the Navy, they had an antenna system that was originally fabricated from a sand casting. The sand casting was no longer available and they did not have an engineering drawing for the antenna. So they began a process of re-engineering to design a better solution, as the existing antenna had been developing cracking in different parts.

They took great care to scan the entire antenna using a 3D laser scanner. By late 2017, that data was converted to create a 3D CAD model, which was able to clearly delineate the full antenna range of motion and provide a working model, virtually, to a thousandth of an inch.

In essence, they created a blueprint of the equipment so that it could be referenced to fabricate a solution to the antenna's issues of non-performance. Eventually, they used their newly created engineering drawing to develop a specific nested-shell design with components that were additively manufactured on a 3D printer.

Remarkably, the total process from scanning to printing the prototype was approximately six months.

Their success with this replacement was attractive to not only others within the United States Navy, but also the United States Air Force. They're both collaborating to share knowledge and use this process because obsolescence of parts and lack of drawings are common occurrences.

• Read more about how the U.S. Air Force uses 3D printing.

The Lesson

The entire evolution demonstrates that 3D printing and additive manufacturing, combined with 3D scanning, is an effective, solid strategy to fix a problem that would have been very difficult to solve otherwise: obsolescence.

Parts and equipment age; some were designed 10, 20, or 30 years ago. As a result, spare parts are hard to find and must be reversed engineered. The process is generally long, slow, laborious, and costly.

Parts obsolescence looms larger than one might expect in the U.S. Department of Defense. When equipment and systems are designed with a useful long life – sometimes as long as 30 years – the original equipment manufacturer may have been acquired, or their business line that produced a part now obsolete was sold. It's also often the case that the manufacturer chooses not fill spare parts orders as they may be unique to a military specification or “milspec” and offer no economies of scale for the manufacturer.

Systems commands within the Department of Defense, in the past, have staff dedicated to finding solutions to obsolete parts. They may find alternative manufacturers for an obsolete part, or the part may be reverse-engineered and produced by another manufacturer. They sometimes cannibalize from other assets to find replacement parts that are now obsolete.

This was all common practice, until 3D printing and its advancements came along.

In this case, thanks to scanning technology that is now readily available, along with 3D printing and additive manufacturing, obsolete parts, particularly very precise ones, can be fabricated much more easily. This new process creates drawings and models that simply don't exist. Consequently, new parts can be fabricated to provide a solution to a problem that would otherwise be difficult to solve.

And if you and any co-founders aren't in a position to bankroll activity until product revenue (or crowdfunding) comes in, you'll need to ask for money -- which means looking for investors.

And to get potential investors to invest, you need to pitch them.

Pitching to investors means telling them what they need to know. Here is some advice from experts who have been on one or both sides of the process.

1. Start With a Quick Who/What

A few years ago, I was in the audience at a pitch event, and at least half the presenters never actually said the name of their proposed product, what it was or did, or who it was for, fast-forwarding directly to, "We look to be profitable within two and a half years."

Before you launch into financials and business plans and time frames, set the stage:

• Give your company's name
• What product(s) and/or service(s) you are creating
• Your target customer or market sector

For example: "We are creating a multipurpose 'Recorder'-like medical diagnostic add-on for use with smartphones, for use by medical professionals, first responders and others, replacing large, costly, and often non-portable devices."

2. Key Information Every Pitch MUST Include

"Every investor pitch must include market opportunity, revenue model and your ability to execute," says Brenda Christensen, CEO of Stellar Public Relations.

And Brenda is an expert.

She has raised $10M and then another $12M respectively for a major multinational publicly traded tech company and advised the startup that won the Demo God prize (for "Best Start-Up") in 2011 at Demo, which is the oldest startup competition in tech, now 25 years old.

According to Brenda, these are the four areas any venture capitalist (VC) will use to judge whether to fund or not:

1. What specific market gap are you addressing?
2. How are you addressing it?
3. How are you going to make money addressing it?
4. What team do you have in place to address it?

3. What NOT to Say in Your Pitch:

"Don't say, 'These are conservative estimates,'" cautions Ben Littauer, who has been an angel investor since 2008, and is a member of Walnut Venture Group. "Everybody does it, but investors have grown to hate it."

And don't over-geek it, says Brenda. "Anything that is heavily product/solution focused that goes into heavy technical detail is a deal-killer."

4. Do Your Homework

"Know your market space and be prepared to answer very detailed questions on how you are going to specifically execute," advises Brenda. In addition, you should also be prepared with the following knowledge on the investors:

• Background on the participants
• Who they've funded
• What their future funding focus is on

5. Tune Your Presentation Materials

"Understand that you have to have several pitch decks," says Ben. "One for investors to read, and one each for presentations of different lengths (speed pitch, 5 and 10 minutes, deep dive). For an in-person pitch, most decks ought to be really sparse so that the investors can focus on you.

Ben adds that if your company has been around a bit and done a pivot here and there, start from a fresh: create a new presentation and tell the story again; however, ultimately, what works will vary, Ben acknowledges:

I was judging MassChallenge a few years ago and had back-to-back pitches that were completely different. The first, for a financial tech play, was about ten slides in stark black and white, a bullet or two on each page or maybe a simple graph, with a couple of words or lines in bright red. Extremely effective.

The second, for an entertainment tech company, had perhaps 90 slides full of bright imagery - all for the same ten minutes. The CEO there ran the deck as though it was a stop-motion video. It was equally effective. The moral is that you need to fit your deck's 'personality' to yours and your company's. Rules can be too stringent.

6. Speak to Relatable Pain Points

"I met with a room full of very high level bank execs on a road show and most were not very engaged during the presentation," recalls Brenda. "When we showed them a feature of the platform that impacted them personally in their everyday working lives, they shot up and said, 'How much money do you need?'"

The takeaway: personalize the presentation to the investors pain and you will most likely walk away with funding.

7. DO's and DON'Ts for Screen Content

When it comes to screen content, whether it's for an on-stage display or table-top, don't make it more than fifteen slides!

"Overly detailed tech diagrams are non-starters," says Brenda. "If you can't pitch your idea in less than fifteen slides, VCs assume you can't execute on anything effectively."

8. Follow-up Info You Should Have Ready

"VCs will want to see detailed background on the executive team," explains Brenda. "Any presentation will highlight top-line achievements, so it's best to follow up with details post-pitch immediately."

What investors are looking to see is that teams have successfully executed with a proven track record - particularly marketing execs.

9. Presentation Tips

This might surprise you, but according to Brenda, VCs aren't that interested in your appearance or apparel. What they are interested in, is your pitch.

"Be yourself and keep it on-topic - show enthusiasm and passion with your ability to execute," explains Brenda. "Did I mention, 'ability to execute' again? I can't emphasize that enough."

10. Understand Your Goals For Pitch Events

"Remember that the goal of all but the last pitch is to get to the next conversation," says Ben.

Do you have any pitch tips? Add them in the comment section below! Looking for more great tips? Check out our other pitching tips blog posts:

• The Five Steps to Delivering Your Product Prototype and Business Idea
• Quick Tips on Presenting Your New Product (and Company) at Pitch Events

• A 2016 report by Lucintel predicts the skincare subsection will grow in value by 4% each year.
• Statista estimates general global retail sales to reach $28 trillion by 2020 (up from $22 trillion in 2016)

The stats don’t lie; the beauty industry is trending upwards, which is why beauty companies want to harness the mounting spending power of global consumers.

But what’s driving this beauty boom? Simple: technology.

Technology is helping to create new experiences for the customer. It’s putting the consumer in the driving seat of product design and enabling them to acquire exactly what they want, when they want it.

From try-before-you-buy apps and the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI), to the harnessing of augmented reality (AR) and 3D printed makeup, beauty brands are tapping into revolutionary methods to improve customer engagement, satisfaction and loyalty in an increasingly cut-throat market.

In this post, I discuss some of the major tech trends that are reshaping the beauty industry today and taking the world of appearance to a whole new level.

Personalization, AI and Virtual Testing

With such importance placed on digital devices in our lives today, it comes as no surprise that consumers expect a certain level of ease and efficiency when purchasing from a brand online. However, customers’ experience isn’t the sole technology focus for most companies. Brands are currently harnessing AI to personalize the products themselves in addition to the service.

According to market research firm Mintel, nearly half of consumers like the idea that a beauty product is personalized especially for them, and a third think such products give better results.

So, where are we seeing this play out?

Photo courtesy: Lancome.co.uk

Lancome’s custom-made foundation machine

Le Teint Particulier is a custom-made foundation machine which finds the exact match foundation for your skin tone using AI. Consultants determine your facial skin tone using a handheld digital scanner. An algorithm then chooses from 20,000 different colour shades.

Finally, the results are sent to a machine that mixes the foundation for you, on the spot.

Lidl’s DIY face mask maker

German-based supermarket chain Lidl, which offers a label budget beauty line, boasts its own DIY face mask maker.

The machine creates custom hydrogel face masks using fridge ingredients of your choice, such as milk, blueberries, kiwi, papaya or oranges. You are provided with 24 collagen tablets to mix in too.

ModiFace Skin AI

This AI tool is able to detect minute changes on your skin over time, including dark spots, discoloration, dryness, uneven skin, new wrinkles and rosacea. The technology is available via a mobile app or web-API capable of skin assessment.

Neutrogena MaskiD

Neutrogena has come up with a nifty solution to the ill-fitting sheet face mask that aims to be affordable for everyone. Its 3D printed face mask is customized to fit your exact face shape, skin type and unique needs.

The custom beauty concept, while not available until late 2019, will be formulated via an app.

"Smart" Beauty Tech

As we do more of our shopping online, beauty brands are increasingly turning to augmented reality (AR) to enhance the experience. Improvements in image recognition and face tracking is making these digital overlays more accurate too.

Examples include:

Virtual Artist

Using AR, Sephora’s app enables customers to virtually try on on shades of lipsticks and eye shadows via their smartphones or at kiosks in make up stores. The technology measures your eyes and lips in real time, before tracking those facial feature points to ‘paint’ the cosmetics.

It is also able to guide you through make up tutorials and color match to your skin tone. It potentially speeds up the lengthy process of ‘swatching’ and Sephora says more than 200 million shades have been tested through Virtual Artist since the 2016 launch.

Optune
Beauty tech creator Shiseido’s skincare system is an app which assesses the skin type of the user and the conditions of the immediate environment to determine the right products to support optimum skin condition.

The technology monitors a range of factors affecting skin — from temperature and humidity to mood and phase of the menstrual cycle — and then sends a unique product recommendation for that particular day.

The app is paired with a special device that loads a cartridge with the recommended product.

The HiMirror

New Kinpo Group offers an Amazon Alexa voice-controlled ‘smart mirror’ that provides unique beauty advice and analysis for users. Using AI, it rates difference sections of your skin on a scale of 100 and uses AR to enable users to virtually try on make up before manually applying.

3D Printed Makeup

I'm sure this one surprises you. Design agency Seymour Powell has unveiled a printer concept that would allow online makeup looks to be downloaded and printed directly on to the face.

Combining 3D-printing, facial recognition technology and AI-powered image analysis, the Élever would allow brands and influencers to sell make-up looks direct to consumers from wherever and whenever they want.

Then there’s Mink, the portable 3D make-up printer which boasts 16.7 million color shades. You start by downloading the Mink app to your device. Next, you import any image you like - a screenshot from Instagram or Pinterest, a Google image, even a selfie from your camera roll - then choose between printing the whole image or a specific color from it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByVxdwuBhoO/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again

After 15 seconds, the image of choice will be printed, this time in make-up rather than ink. You can then wipe or brush off and apply on your face wherever necessary.

The Power of The People

Alongside all these innovations within the beauty industry, crowd-led innovation is driving a great deal of the incentive for brands to push the boundaries of tech within the realm. Today’s consumers demand transparency and many favor being involved with or at least instrumental in product development.

Brands that listen to such desires are smart, since consumer-led feedback, whether on social media, an app or in person, encourages a continual line of communication between the company and customer.

It also helps to keep them ahead in a fiercely competitive market. Over the coming years, we can expect to see more beauty brands adopting these methods and creating entire platforms to address customers queries and needs, allowing for even more personalized products and services.

Final Thoughts

The concept of ‘beauty going tech’ is in fact more commonplace than you might initially think. The likes of Snapchat and Instagram have presented us with an array of filters and editing tools to enhance our digital look for some time now.

The catch? Some beauty industry experts question whether giving skin scores, encouraging further more screen time and placing even greater emphasis on appearance is a good thing. Indeed, in a world where we are already seeing increased anxiety in relation to overuse of technology, sleep dysregulation and perpetual distraction, is all this a move in the ‘right’ direction?

The answers to such questions are up to you to decide, of course. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all.

Regardless, the takeaway for beauty brands is this: tech can open up a whole new world and offer a more interactive experience between the beauty company and customer, meaning it must be a key part of future brand strategy.

Brands must be vigilant with tech R&D, and maintain an awareness and ongoing curiosity for new advancements to encourage further consumer interest, trust and sales. I have no doubt that the beauty industry will be an intriguing space to watch in 2019 and in the years to come.

• The vertical take-off and landing eliminate long runways at airports
• The airspeed of over 340 mph make it a great short commute vehicle

The big challenge, however, is the noise. For instance, the noise from the tilt rotor during landing is LOUD, and is why the aircraft hasn’t been widely accepted.

Testing Phase

During 34 years of testing, a lot of techniques were tested to not only decrease the acoustic signature of the XV-15, but to also increase its efficiency:

• The shape of the blades were changed a number of times (by mounting prefabricated sub-wings on to existing blades).
• A new control hardware was introduced to reduce noise.
• A major alteration was the design of a 4 bladed rotor to replace the 3 bladed rotor.

The problem, however, was that in the midst of 34 years of testing, by the time the aircraft made its way to the Smithsonian, it traveled with a truck full of “change orders” and “as built” documentation; as a result, no one was quite sure about the exact dimensions and the shape of the aircraft.

How 3D Technology Saved the Day

Having an artifact in a museum that curators couldn’t easily define was embarrassing. Even more embarrassing was when modern researchers made inquiries about the aircraft specifics, and no one had the answer.

Enter 3D technology.

In 2018, NASA Ames sent a team to scan the whole aircraft and create a 3D model, not only to create a historical record and resolve any future questions about the shape of the aircraft, but also to help build a 3D model that can be used in building models for Computer Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulation.

To eliminate the possibility of misaligning the scan data and to combine the accuracy of photogrammetry with the resolution of 3D technology, NASA team adopted and implemented the following measurement plan:

• Geodetic V-STARS photogrammetry system which utilizes a special calibrated camera taking multiple pictures from various locations of circular retro-reflective targets applied to the surface of the model. This creates an accurate, but a very coarse mesh.
• MetraScan 70 metrology system, which utilizes a handheld 3D laser scanner to measure large complex surface geometries.
• Handy 700 portable metrology system to measure small complex surface geometries.
• The 3D model created with photogrammetry was “covered” by stitching scans from MetraScan and Handy, using appropriate reference targets.

This approach of using a combination of photogrammetry and 3D scanning to create “as-build” models is becoming more and more popular.

Today, it is used in the following ways:

• Architectural documentation
• Historical preservation
• Demolition projects
• Upgrading and documenting plumbing systems
• Video game environment designs

Currently, one of the most popular applications of this technology is in the field of construction. For new construction, renovation or retrofit projects, the 3D scanning provides architects and general contractors with the information and insight into how to fix issues and make critical decisions before they cost time or money.

Once the project is scanned and the 3D model is generated, the 3D model provides an easy and economical way to generate “as-build” drawings required for permit sign off, and most of the drawings have a correlation of better than a 1/1000 an inch to the actual building.

Another interesting application is for Facility Management. For instance, if the cable routing and plumbing is documented in a 3D space, upgrading your facility becomes a lot more manageable; you would know exactly what needs to be removed, what will stay, and how much free space you will have for your upgrades.

And to think, it all started in 1950.

GrabCAD Print 1.34 Highlights:

Advanced Slicer for J750/J735

The PolyJet Advanced Slicer, introduced as an option in 1.31, is now on by default. It has improved accuracy in estimations and enables a few features which are listed here. It can be turned off from Preferences > PolyJet if you need to use the old slicer for any reason.

Tutorials and Example Files for FDM and PolyJet

You can now access GrabCAD Tutorials and Example files in the Help Menu of GrabCAD Print related to your selected printer. Our application engineers are constantly adding new content to help you better utilize your machines; the content will be available via the Help Menu.

Preview Surfaces That Require Support for FDM Printers

Using the toggle in the view bar labeled “Preview Supported Surfaces,” you can quickly see where supports will be generated on your models. This feature was introduced for PolyJet printers in 1.24 and is now available for FDM printers too.

This provides a faster alternative to FDM Slice Preview to aid in preparing your tray, as it shows how orientation and support settings (such as self-supporting angle) will affect the surface of your print.

Scheduling Enhancements for PolyJet Prints

The predicted "End Time" for PolyJet jobs now has improved accuracy. So when you are viewing an active PolyJet job in Schedule View, the prediction will be updated throughout the job to account for Print pauses and other errors in the initial estimation

Slice Delay Setting For PolyJet Printers
Checking the slide delay option will reduce the occurrence of depressions on the model. This option should be used only after talking to Stratasys technical support. Using the option will increase the job's printing time.

Support Material Now Displayed in PolyJet Tray Settings Panel
The list of materials shown in the Tray Settings panel for PolyJet printers now includes the support material.

Notifications/Updates Relevant to Your Printer

GrabCAD Print will now notify you about updates for select printers like the F123 series and J750. These may include information on new materials, learning content and others. When one of these printers is selected and an update is available, you will see a gift box in the bottom left of your screen.

Check out the release video to see the 1.34 updates in action!

Update Now

GrabCAD Print checks for updates on startup and will prompt you to update the next time you open the app. If you're using GrabCAD Print in Offline Mode, you will need to manually update your components here:

• GrabCAD Print desktop app
• GrabCAD Job Manager for PolyJet users

So if you're in a design rut, or need tech inspiration, hopefully these podcasts will help!

Technology

TechSwamp

As tech innovators seek to innovate to make our lives run smoother, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to imminent policy shifts that may impact those very innovations. Hosted by The App Association, “TechSwamp,” gives a unique insider’s perspective on the tech industry.

Recode Decode

Interview based show, “Recode Decode” asks provocative and relevant questions. Kara Swisher gets really interesting and personal answers out of people like Elon Musk. Not to be missed by keen techies.

FT Tech Tonic

A weekly chat that addresses the way technology is changing our global societies, economies and daily lives. Hosted by John Thornhill, innovation editor at the Financial Times, FT Tech Tonic guarantees its listeners receive a dose of raw tech intermingled with high brow intelligence.

Analog(ue)

There are a multitude of podcasts about our digital devices in the world today, but Analog(ue) takes a unique approach to a recurring theme. This is a podcast about how our modern technology makes us feel and how it changes us, for better and for worse.

Accidental Tech Podcast

ATP is a true tech podcast phenomena. The three hosts are all developers, so they really know their stuff, and listening to their in-depth chats makes you feel as though you have a backstage pass to a private gathering of industry trailblazers.

So, if you’re fascinated about everything tech—from the minutiae of programming languages to the latest industry news— this is the podcast you want to check out.

Exponent

Hosted by authors Ben Thompson and James Allworth, this podcast is about all things tech and society — because whether or not we work at a technologically driven company, we’re still affected by the digital world.

Future Tense

This podcast takes a closer look at the latest tech innovations and simultaneously discusses them in the context of politics, media, environmental sustainability.

Clockwise

The fast-paced discussion with two hosts and two industry guests features a range of topics—from Windows 10 and cord cutting to online advertising and drones.

Crazy/Genius

This is one of my favorites. It tackles some of the biggest questions concerning tech and culture. From Facebook and Netflix to local news and surveillance, host Derek Thompson covers it all in an easy to digest format.

MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Podcast

MIT’s “Artificial Intelligence Podcast,” features top professors from various universities (MIT, Harvard, Columbia, Berkeley) as well as industry pioneers and ground-breaking thought leaders such as Eric Schmidt (Google), Ray Kurzweil (futurist), Guido van Rossum (creator of Python), Marc Raibert (Boston Dynamics) and many more.

The Internet of Things Podcast

“The Internet of Things Podcast,” is a weekly show that cleverly wraps up the industry news, deep dives into controversial business concepts, discusses complex policy issues and interviews IoT luminaries.

Danny In The Valley

Run by west coast correspondent for The Sunday Times Danny Fortson, this podcast is high brow but undeniably thought provoking.

The Future of Everything

How will future science and technology transform business and culture? And, more importantly, how will technology affect the way we currently live, work and play?

In this podcast, award winning Wall Street Journal reporters travel across the US to answer these very questions as they evaluate current affairs, interview key players and try their hand at predicting the future.

GeekWire Podcast

Seattle based podcast, GeekWire, shares up to date tech news, commentary, insight and trends relating to technology, mobile, start-ups, and more. You’ll hear from editors, reporters and special guests.

Design

Design Matters

It’s 100% worth checking out Debbie Millman who takes to this podcast to talk to designers from various fields. She gets stuck into their unique stories and seeks to find out what drives them to do what they do.

MakerCast

MakerCast is a podcast on product design and development that debuts brand new episodes every week. It includes interviews with designers and manufacturers who share stories and insider tips to those in the industry.

O’Reilly Design Podcast

This Podcast explores how experience design – and experience designers – are shaping business and the Internet of Things.

Adventures in Design

If you’re looking for something with va-va-voom to kick start your morning, Adventures in Design is a daily show that keeps its listeners entertained and inspired from start to finish. With nearly 600 episodes to date, this podcast covers the reality of trying to live your creative dreams.

Happy Listening

There you have it! We hope we’ve inspired you to check out some of these ground-breaking podcasts and expand your listening horizons. There is so much information regarding tech, 3D printing, design and engineering out there, and one can read blogs, ponder over statistics, analyse reports or watch video content to our heart’s content.

But sometimes, it’s somewhat satisfying to bring it back to basics and simply... tune in.

Safe to say, you won’t be running out of listening material any time soon!

One of the reasons these sound bites have struck a chord, I believe, is because in the age of Netflix and smart phones, podcasts offer a refuge of sorts. A refuge from over stimulation. An escape from screen time overload, endless scrolling and seep disrupting blue light. A chance to focus on the here and now. For one hour, or however long an episode runs, you can tap into something present.

They are also a great (and often free) way to listen to key voices from within your industry or areas of interest, from all over the world. Indeed, podcasts allow you to take on vital information, seek advice where necessary, stay up to speed with the latest trends and can be seamlessly worked into your day.

If you’re looking to expand your podcast horizons, we’ve compiled a list of the best 3D printing and engineering podcasts out there right now. Happy listening!

3D Printing Podcasts to Try

3D Printing Today

Co-hosted by Andy Cohen and Whitney Potter, 3D Printing Today Podcast offers an in-depth look at the technical, educational and entrepreneurial components of 3D printing. It focuses on tips and tricks for both hobbyists and professionals and touches on the trends and long-term potential of 3D printing.

3D Printing Podcast

For those in product design and development, the 3D Printing Podcast is an essential platform for learning more about the 3D printing world, including the latest news and up-to-date industry developments.

WTFFF?! 3D Printing Podcast

On this show you will hear from fellow designers and learn more about fused filament fabrication, as well as what design software to implement, what printer to purchase, what tools to use, what designs to favor, what new materials are available and what your business strategy should ultimately be to ensure success.

Engineering Podcasts to Listen To

The Engineering Commons Podcast
The podcast covers a variety of topics of interest for product designers, developers, and engineers, including challenges faced in the industry and advice for young designers and newly qualified engineers. A great one for any students out there!

Beyond CAD by Civil FX

Civil FX sees the worlds of civil engineering, special effects, and 3D visualization collide. Product designers who work with InfraWorks, Lumion, Sketchup, 3ds Max, and Revit will find this development podcast especially useful.

Engineer vs Designer

This podcast explores the often conflicting and yet highly interlinked worlds of engineers and designers. It features a diverse range of interviews with product designers and developers, making it a valuable source of information and inspiration for designers and engineers alike.

Have any other podcast recommendations? Leave them in the comment section below! And stay tuned next week for the Best Tech & Design Podcasts to Listen To.

That’s where we need your help!

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be publishing photos of our 3D prints on our Instagram channel, @GrabCADCommunity and we need YOU to be the judge and like and comment on your favorites images.

The GrabCAD employee who’s 3D print gets the most likes on Instagram, gets a prize from the Marketing team -- not to mention major bragging rights around the office.

So be sure to follow us on Instagram so you can help judge!

Entry #1

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2ReGMfHv2j/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

This guitar was printed years ago but is still in mint condition. It's printed via the MakerBot Z18. Previous attempts had been made to print the body on MakerBot Replicators in puzzle pieces, but when the Z18 arrived, they wanted to print it as a single piece. In addition, as the engineers were prepping the job, they found that they couldn’t print it totally upright (it was about a half inch too tall).

The solution? They had to slant it both sideways and back a little. It took about 4-5 hours to slice, and what was estimated to be a 205 hour job (8.5 days). It ended up closer to 10 days in the end!

You can check out the CAD Model* here: '62 Fender Stratocaster

*Tips on the CAD model

While putting the finishing touches on the guitar print (using an Amazon guitar kit) the engineer noticed that the strings were way too high off the neck. This was because the CAD model of the guitar used an actual Fender neck.

The solution? They printed a small wedge to put in between the neck and the body to get the neck to the right height. Also, the string tension was bending the body pretty significantly, since the infill was so sparse and there wasn't any reinforcements in the inside; so the wedge has a bit of an angle to compensate for that.

Entry #2

View this post on Instagram

#MondayMotivation: "This was actually my FIRST attempt for this kind of Photoshop map relief printing, and it came out great on the first try!" - Shuvom. . . .Can anyone guess what it's a map of?! Comment below! #3Dprinting #3Dprinted #GrabCADIGcontest

A post shared by GrabCAD (@grabcadcommunity) on Sep 16, 2019 at 7:09am PDT

This map was created using Photoshop and on the engineer's FIRST TRY! It was done as a part of a tutorial on 3D printing full-color, fully-textured displacement mapped parts in Photoshop.

To learn more on how it was created:

• How to 3D Print Displacement Mapped Parts Using Photoshop
• Things You Didn't Know Your Stratasys J750 3D Printer Could Do

Entry #3

View this post on Instagram

“The hardest thing to do in #3Dprinting is controlling transparency.” -- GrabCAD Engineer. But don't worry, we have you covered in how to do that in our #tutorials: grabcad.com/tutorials #tutorialtuesdays #grabcadigcontest

A post shared by GrabCAD (@grabcadcommunity) on Sep 24, 2019 at 7:10am PDT

"The hardest thing to do in 3D printing is controlling transparency," -- Shuvom Ghose. Shuvom discussed this in detail at the GrabCAD Boston Meetup this month, but if you missed it, catch his tutorial on How to 3D Print Textured Objects Inside Clear Plastic Blocks.

Fun fact: the "Radar sub assembly" in the front of the rocket is actually just a soccer ball Shuvom downloaded from the GrabCAD Library!

Entry #4

View this post on Instagram

#MondayMotivation: Our GrabCAD #Instagram Contest has kicked off! This first set of #3Dprinted cubes are unreal. Check the blog to find out how you can participate: grabcad.com/blog #3Dprinting #grabcadigcontest

A post shared by GrabCAD (@grabcadcommunity) on Sep 9, 2019 at 10:28am PDT

Entry #5

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2wU-hTn9An/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Also, are you sharing your 3D printed projects and @Stratasys creations on Instagram? Be sure to tag us or use the hashtag #GrabCAD so we can check out what you’re working on!

I love animation, antiques, photons, trigonometry, and the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. How to bring them all together in one project? 3D-printing!

I was inspired by this 3D-printed sundial to develop a voxel slicer that can slice a hollow cylinder to approximate a zoetrope.

For subject matter I went with the classic zoetrope trope: Eadweard Muybridge's galloping horse. And obviously rainbows as well because they are awesome.

Strategy: Project the frames of our animation at discrete angles via rows of "pixels" in the form of tiny, angled rectangular apertures filled with VeroClear & Vivid Vero Colors.

Challenge: How to squeeze in the maximum number of pixels without them overlapping?

Solution: Arrange rows using a "wave" pattern, with minimally different adjacent angles, oscillating back and forth as needed. Offset the rows horizontally to distribute the pixels evenly.

Fun fact: Some guys had a bet about whether or not all a horse's hooves are ever off the ground all at once while galloping.

Vivid Vero colors are much more transparent than their non-vivid predecessors - Pure Vivid Cyan is especially pretty.

Here you can see a single slice of voxels intersecting a surface shader I used in the design process. From the top: Dark-grey is air. The light grey ring is support material with some yellow for stiffness. There's a thin translucent white layer on the inside to scatter the light, then the apertures.

Left: All animation frames as rendered by the surface shader. Right: A single frame.

Print it!

The shade took over 3 days to print and almost maxed out the height of the J750's build volume. It's 4mm thick, 18cm tall and 30cm in diameter.

As you can see there's quite a bit of overlap between frames - one can see 3 frames simultaneously from any given angle, but... If you squint you can kinda see a horse! There's room for optimization, but it works!

Let's light it up and make it spin!

I toyed with the idea of using a fan and turbine, though ultimately decided to mount a geared motor over the bulb. The turbine can stay because it looks cool, and I already super-glued it in. It's printed on our Stratasys F450mc in Nylon 12 w/ Carbon Fiber.

All About That Base:

For the base, I felt a Victorian aesthetic would be appropriate, and I'd been looking for an excuse to play with our Artec 3D scanner. I found a beautiful ornate cast-iron lamp base and got scanning. I only scanned half of it, since this was easier that trying to scan it 360. The patterns repeat, so I could work with a good partial scan.

I used Rhino to clean up the mesh, make everything symmetrical, scale it up a tad, and prep for hardware and electronics.

I like how there are angry bearded dudes on this thing.

I printed it in 4 sections on our Stratasys J750 so I could get almost the entire surface glossy. (It seems like this is how it might have been cast originally.) It's printed in VeroBlackPlus with a 0.5mm clear-coat added in GrabCAD Print for an extra glossy finish. I might patina it later.

Putting it all together:

Left: The assembled & wired base. I found some period-perfect fabric-covered cord from Sundial Wire. The motor's power supply and speed control are tucked away in the bottom section.

Above: The motor mount and clutch plate were printed on our Stratasys F370 in Natural Translucent PLA. I used threaded rods so I could dial in the height and level the motor mount. There's a roller bearing between the shade and motor for smooth starts & stops.

Here's a video of it in action:

I'm quite proud of this lamp. It's a functional anachronism and probably the coolest thing I've ever printed. It's hard to see the horse if you don't know to look for it, but once you see it it can't be unseen.

I'm already thinking about the best next iteration: Higher fidelity animations could be rendered with a reduced the frame width... but a purely abstract geometric-rainbow-gradients loop could also be fun...

Want more 3D printing tips from Case? Check out 3D Printing: Industry Secrets eBook where Case shares some of his best tips and tricks!

In some nations, populations are greater than the capacity of housing. But what further complicates the socioeconomic equation is that economies don’t always support citizens from having suitable homes of their own. Homes in places like Asia and South America can be too expensive, given the dynamics of supply and demand.

Now with 3D printing, affordable housing can become a reality for many who otherwise would never be able to live in decent homes.

The Crisis

Reuters reports that a critical shortage of affordable housing in many parts of the world has promulgated innovative solutions via 3D printing. In areas such as Hong Kong and El Salvador, they are fabricating components such as pipes and containers as part of the home structure.

According to the United Nations, at least 150 million people (about 2% of the world's population) are actually homeless. However, about 1.6 billion people (more than 20% of the global population) lack some form of adequate housing.

How 3D Printing is Helping

A U.S.- based nonprofit called New Story works with a construction technology firm called ICON; the collaboration has resulted in the development of a 3D printer that can print a 600- to 800-square-foot home in less than 24 hours at a cost of $4,000.

The homes, they report, are expected to last as long or even longer than standard concrete ones. A durable 3D printer can work under very rigid and rugged conditions, including irregular power and water supplies, which might be common in some of the environments that they serve.

Such conditions have posed challenges to traditional home-building and deterred builders from taking on the infrastructure challenges of building homes where conditions might be too harsh.

Now, innovative solutions are being explored as a solution. More specifically, countries are turning to additive manufacturing and the flexibility of 3D printing. They're prototyping these 3D-printed homes in El Salvador and plan to partner with other nonprofits and governments around the world as they develop proof of concept and learn from the initial homes that they built.

The project doesn't necessarily wait for construction technologies to take hold in some of the developing nations. Instead, the technology can be brought to them with just a 3D printer that's able to fabricate the homes.

They call it a powerful tool towards ending homelessness, and indeed it seems to be.

3D Printers in the Architecture Industry

Using 3D printers in architecture is not entirely new, as it's currently being used around the United States. New Cities, Future Ruins (NCFR) is a four-year initiative that invites artists, designers, and thinkers to engage in some extremes of urbanism in America's Western Sun Belt.

Two married architects put their skills to work using a 3D printer to fabricate structures that could be used to provide shelter in some of the geographic regions that this urbanism focused on. The architects were profiled in a New York Times article that called them "the Lewis and Clark of the digital building frontier."

3D printing has also been used to put up structures by the military, as well as provide structures in a disaster area where new housing and shelter are needed immediately at a moderate cost. While these efforts have been successful, overall the entire movement is in its infancy and continues to be developed.

Nowadays, 3D printing is all about solving problems and affordable housing is one that it's helping to solve. As large-scale 3D printing becomes further developed by innovators and design thinkers who can solve problems with the technology, it's going to be a more critical component in construction.

It also serves a very important social function that benefits humanity in a big way.

Below, I share my experience and offer some tips so you (spoiler alert) enjoy the MakerBot as much as I did.

Unboxing & Loading Materials

Unboxing the printer was simple and quick to do. Even setting up the printer itself was easy. All I had to do was follow the onscreen prompts and load up the material.

When loading up the printer materials into the machine, however, I didn’t know that there was some grey material that you had to purge FIRST, until you get to your actual material.

• Tip: You have to let this material run for about a minute or two until you get your material or support.

MakerBot Software

After the material was ready, all I had to do next was download the MakerBot software, which I was really happy about because it supports Mac. I simply made a MakerBot account and then linked my account to my printer.

Next, I downloaded a few STLs from the GrabCAD Community and was able to print these models quickly and easy.

• Feature Highlight: The Heated Chamber maintains consistent temperature throughout the printing process, so layers bond at a controlled rate providing higher dimensional accuracy and part strength.

What I Really Liked

The MakerBot software was simple to understand and even gave me an estimated time when my print would finish. It also gave me an estimate on how much material would be used depending on how big my print was.

• Feature Highlight: The Smart Spool sends information to MakerBot Print using an RFID chip. The information can be on material type, color, and the amount of material remaining.

Overall my experience with the MakerBot METHOD was amazing. If you are looking for a starter 3D printer, I would definitely recommend the MakerBot METHOD.

I will be looking into more 3D printers in the future and I will continue to give you more honest feedback!

Haven’t watched the video of us unboxing the MakerBot METHOD? Catch it here!