GB 2014-10-29

Intel reveals “JIMMY” the 3D printed robot #DIY!

The idea of domestic robots isn't new, but Intel and Trossen Robotics are aiming to make it actually happen with the 3D-printed Jimmy powered by the chip firm's new Edison development board. Trossen has been offering the original Jimmy for some time now, a \$16,000 'bot powered by an Intel Core i5 chip, but its new little brother - the HR-OS1 - promises to come in at a tenth of the price and, so the theory goes, open up the space to those who aren't adept at robotics programming.

That's because Jimmy Jr.'s hardware is only one half of the equation. Intel's goal is to do the same thing with apps for robotics that software did for smartphones, with simple programs that can be strung together by the tech-naive.

T-Rex Skull Shower Heads Justify the Existence of 3D Printers

The next time someone asks you to explain 3D printers, and why anyone would want one in their home, you can simply bring up this article and show them that without 3D printing technology we may never have had a T-Rex shower head.

Available for download for free from MakerBot's Thingiverse, the T-Rex shower head model is actually available in two different versions for those who prefer wider or narrower shower streams. Just pair it with some triceratops-shaped soap-on-a-rope and your awful smell after a workout will be extinct.

Get More Info on GIZMODO.com

World’s First 3D Printed Graphene Battery Unveiled

Last week, New York-based additive manufacturing firm Graphene 3D Lab Inc. revealed that it has developed a 3D printed graphene battery.

A team at the Calverton, NY based company spent over five years on the project, having to design a material that can produce a battery of any size or shaping using a 3D printer. Still in prototype, the battery can already produce the same amount of power as a common AA battery.

A 3D printed graphene battery could unlock the ability for consumers to produce homemade power sources. Graphene has been heralded as a “miracle material” in recent years. It’s a thin sheet of pure carbon, one atom thick, first produced in a lab in 2003. Because of its incredible properties—200 times stronger than steel and able to conduct electricity 30 times faster than silicon—graphene is perfect for producing everything from batteries and computer chips to body armor and automobiles.

3D Printing industry forecast: 2015

Worldwide shipments of 3D printers (3DPs) will reach 217,350 units in 2015, up from 108,151 in 2014, according to Gartner, Inc.'s latest forecast. 3D printer shipments will more than double every year between 2015 and 2018, by which time worldwide shipments are forecast to reach more than 2.3 million.

"As we noted last year, the 3D printer market is at an inflection point," said Pete Basiliere, research vice president at Gartner. "Unit shipment growth rates for 3D printers, which languished in the low single and double digits per year throughout the 30 years since the first 3D printers were invented, are poised to increase dramatically beginning in 2015. As radical as the forecast numbers may seem, bear in mind that even the 2.3 million shipments that we forecast will be sold in 2018 are a small fraction of the total potential market of consumers, businesses and government organizations worldwide."

Read the whole article on Gartner.com >>

A Twist on Tool Design

BONE is an innovative concept for the creation of tools through generative design and selective laser sintering. An algorithm for each type of tool is achieve in order to mimic bone-like structures which are lightweight yet durable. The internal structure saves up to 60% in material and weight without sacrificing durability and strength. The concept aims to provide a near infinite toolbox using a computer, SLS machine and medium like steel powder.

Designer: Henrik Balzer