3D Printing View Week in Review

With 3D printing technology and applications such hot prospects today, each week brings amazing news on that front. Let’s take a minute to look back at the announcements for this week.

The price of 3D printers has come down to a level almost anyone can afford. The industry is moving at such a fast pace, companies are regularly introducing units with lower price points around the world. The Maplin Velleman K8200 is priced at £700 ($1,040). This model is the first unit to be offered from a high street retailer in the U.K. for home use. The increase in popularity of this technology will introduce many new players, which will bring more innovations and drive even lower prices in the industry.

Jennifer Lawton has been named president of MakerBot, the 3D printing company. Prior to the new position, she had been the company’s chief strategy officer. As the chief strategy officer, she was responsible for overall strategy and growth of the company, including strategic partnerships, product development and retail. Her appointment comes as the company is being acquired by Stratasys (News - Alert). MakerBot will remain an independent brand and will still be led by Bre Pettis, CEO and co-founder, as well as by Lawton.

While the idea of the “octopus drive” may be something better reserved for science fiction, it's rapidly becoming science fact thanks to a new prototype developed by engineers at the Fraunhofer (News - Alert) Institute for Manufacturing Engineering, future boats, submarines and other watercraft may be able to put an engine inspired by octopus movement to use, and the prototype came around thanks to 3D printing.

The idea of a standard cast—which most of the time involves plaster or, more recently, fiberglass—has left a lot of people with images of incredible inconvenience, unwieldiness and general bulk added to the idea of a broken bone. But as is so often the case, the concept of 3D printing is prepared to step in and change the way we think about things, this time using some new designs to create a cast that's much handier overall.

3D printing has been seen going in a variety of different directions, building most anything from small plastic trinkets to things that wouldn't ordinarily be expected to come out of a small device that might fit into a normal office, or even onto a desktop. For architects Benjamin Dillenburger and Michael Hansmeyer—the minds behind a new project called Digital Grotesque—3D printing is about to go a lot farther than anyone might have thought, into full-on room construction.

3D printing is increasingly not only an industrial application, but an art application as well. Artist Ioan Florea is using 3D printing to create paintings with a lot of texture. With an exhibit now in Indiana at the South Bend Museum of Art, many visitors to the show want to get close to the paintings. "My paintings address both the visual perception and the tactile," Florea told Live Science. Because of the volume of materials he uses for the large paintings – which are found on 10-by-8-foot canvases – he uses very light materials.

Finally, this week TMC (News - Alert) announced an exciting agenda for the 3D Printing Congress which will be held August 27-29, 2013, at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. 3D Printing Congress will feature robust programming, highlighting the maturation and evolution of the 3D printing industry. Attendees will access information and demonstrations on 3D printing capabilities, usage and adoption trends, and more. 3D Printing Congress will fill its agenda with a number of informative sessions and events.

That’s all for this week in the 3D Printing View. Have a great weekend!