WTFFF?! 3D Printing Podcast Volume Three: 3D Print Tips | 3D Print Tools | 3D Start Point

Volume 3 Wrap-Up For The WTFFF 3D Print Podcast With Tom Hazzard & Tracy Hazzard

Fri, 22 May 2020 10:00:00 GMT

Since it first took off, the 3D printing industry has reached a certain level of maturity, and the WTFFF 3D Print Podcast has been there since 2015 to document its development. After airing well over 500 episodes since it started, Tom and Tracy Hazzard finally wrap up Volume 3 of the podcast to make way for more exciting things to come. 3D printing has always been a part of Tom and Tracy’s lives. Now, they are thrilled to embark on an even more exciting journey as they collaborate with Hewlett-Packard to do a special series. Make sure to tune in and don’t forget to subscribe!

3D Printed Echo Dot Holder Project

Thu, 07 Feb 2019 11:00:00 GMT

After waiting to disclose, Tom shares a 3D printing project that he has completed for Amazon – the 3D Printed Echo Dot Holder Project. As a great real-world 3D product example, Tom takes us into the entire process of how the project came to be which involved rapid design and production. Amazon reached out for a product that will not only hold up their Echo Dot but support a brand as well. Tom shares his experience together with some practical lessons that he learned along the way – from handling a two-color print to the difference in sizes between the CAD file and what the 3D printer prints.

CES 2019 3D Printing Recap

Wed, 30 Jan 2019 11:00:00 GMT

After some time where things took a downturn, 2019 saw a resurgence of 3D printing. Tom recaps his trip to the CES 2019 and lets you in on the cool things to see this year. He talks about the advances in 3D scanning, 3D printing, as well as new applications and capabilities. Reflecting on where the progress of 3D printing is heading, Tom shares his thoughts on the future of the industry – from where the prices are headed as well as the quality. He also gives out some of the interesting companies that are paving their own way in 3D printing

3D Printing In The STEM Education Curriculum with Brian Bobbitt and Jacob Spurling

Wed, 12 Dec 2018 11:00:00 GMT

Former guest and STEM mentor Brian Bobbitt gives an update on the STEM education curriculum program and 3D printing. He shares his insights on the new generation of students and their capacity to pick up software and projects a lot faster. Complimenting his journey as an educator, he brings one of his students, Jacob Spurling, who gives a first-hand account of the school’s program while sharing some of his projects. Jacob also talks about his process of executing his own projects and some insights that he has learned. Together, Brian and Jacob inspires schools to push the STEM education for more students to learn more and get quality experience about 3D printing.

Girl STEM Education with MakerGirl with Mary Hadley

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 11:00:00 GMT

According to a recent report by Microsoft, girls and young women remain less likely to pursue education and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math; in short, STEM. In that regard, the lack of representation of women in STEM-related careers continues to grow as an area of focus. Mary Hadley from MakerGirl talks about their Girl STEM Education and mentorship program. MakerGirl is an organization that started in 2014 at the University of Illinois that introduces young girls in the Champaign-Urbana area to the exciting world of STEM fields through 3D printing sessions and creative activities. They have over 3,000 girls that have gone through their program since then. Their goal is to show girls that they can be both analytical and creative in one space.

How Import Tariffs May Accelerate 3D Printed Consumer Goods with Steve Crimi

Wed, 03 Oct 2018 10:00:00 GMT

There are several markets now that are very viable for 3D printing, and that’s what Steve Crimi, CEO of Goldsol, Inc., is looking at right now. Steve, along with his business partner and wife, Brenda, sells lots of different products on Amazon in particular. He has spent his lifetime owning and operating successful businesses in the industries of electrical, energy efficiency, and LED lighting. Steve recognizes that 3D-printed end-use products, not just prototyping, are here to stay, and it’s a very big market in and of itself. Very recently, the US government is charging product importers a tariff of 10% percent, increasing to 25% at the beginning of next year. The vast majority of products purchased in the United States being imported, Steve knows importation may just not be cost effective anymore. Steve takes a look at how import tariffs may accelerate 3D-printed consumer goods.

The Tale Of The 3D Printed Doorbell

Wed, 26 Sep 2018 10:00:00 GMT

The story of a woman named Grace is something we can all relate to. Grace is an adult living in Texas and she was a first-time homeowner about two years ago. As soon as she signed the mortgage papers, she had every home security company on earth descending on their new home pretty much the day after they moved in. One particular home security system salesperson broke the plastic button that you push on the doorbell after ringing it too many times and frustrated that she’s not answering. Grace was unable to get a replacement after checking out the usual places – Lowe’s, Home Depot, Ace Hardware – and finally thought about having it 3D printed. She takes the whole doorbell unit and dropped it off at this company. Two days later, the doorbell was ready for pickup. It’s fixed, it worked, but it was not what she had expected. This goes to show that having something 3D printed isn’t as simple as finding somebody with a 3D printer and giving them a few bucks. Learn some important points you need to discuss with your 3D print maker to make sure you’re on the same page and getting what you want.

Are Engineers The Path To The 3D Print Tipping Point?

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 10:00:00 GMT

“What does it going to take for 3D printing to top and be more wisely adopted by manufacturers of products to become a more integrated and integral part of manufacturing around the world?” This is the question that Tom was inspired to answer while watching an interview of the CEO of MarkForged, Greg Mark. Struck by his answer that points to the role of engineers, Tom goes and gives his take on how these engineers will be the path to the 3D Print tipping point. He touches on the aspects of manufacturing, prototyping, and the demands of the consumer market to point out other factors that could push the industry besides engineering.

Is Desktop Metal 3D Printing Really Here?

Wed, 12 Sep 2018 10:00:00 GMT

Technologies have truly evolved that something as expensive as a metal 3D printing machine can now be offered as a desktop metal 3D printing machine and be accessible to a number of audience with the help of media. However, this could lead to many people think of the industry lightly. Tom goes deep into the processes of two companies, Desktop Metal and MarkForged. He highlights their similarities as well as dissimilarities in order to compare and contrast which one is more admirable. Talking also of the media published of the machines produced, he points out the tendency to gloss over the quality. Going back to Desktop Metal, he shares his words and review on whether it is a breakthrough in the metal 3D printing industry or not.

3D Printing Myths

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 10:00:00 GMT

We’ve seen 3D printers showing up in more dramatic TV series like Grey’s Anatomy in a recent season and among a lot of other TV shows. The general public has this perception that 3D printing is easy, but that’s just not the reality of it. It’s no surprise that the general public does not understand the amount of time, effort, and work it takes to go and make anything on a 3D printer that is a complete usable item or product design. Unless you do it yourself and you’ve studied it, you’ve been taught it, or you bought your own 3D printer and started learning CAD software on your own the hard way just to explore it, you’re not going to know that it’s going to take hours and hours. Tom debunks some of the 3D printing myths to help illuminate the eyes of the general public about the realities of 3D printing.

3D Printed Guns: Fair Game Or A Slippery Slope?

Wed, 05 Sep 2018 10:00:00 GMT

Any of you following the 3D print industry couldn’t help but see that an awful lot has happened in the courts and in the government with 3D printing, in particular regarding 3D-printed firearms. Cody Wilson was the first person to create a 3D printable gun and the plans for a 3D printable gun way back in 2013 or so. A big part of a documentary movie about 3D printing, Print the Legend, tells the early story of Cody and his 3D-printed gun which he put it out there and made it available for the world to download and print their own guns. Eventually, he was shut down by the government. Putting all the regulatory stuff aside, the bigger concern is the copyright issue. Tom delves into the topic of intellectual property and copyright violation in the 3D printing industry.

Advanced Dental 3D Printing With Faraz Abidi

Wed, 13 Jun 2018 10:00:00 GMT

Dental technology has come a long way since you got braces back in 80s. Now with advanced dental 3D printing as an option, treatment for patients has grown faster and more reliable than ever. The possibilities of high resolution polymer 3d printing are truly endless, with companies fighting to dominate several areas, including digital dentistry. One such company is SprintRay, a 3D Printer manufacturer that has revolutionized conventional fabrication methods in dentistry. Faraz Abidi, Head of Software at SprintRay, discusses how they delivered the Moonray 3D printers to over a thousand dentist offices, putting the power of 3D printing directly into the hands of their customers.

SprintRay’s founders – Amir Mansouri and Hossein Bassir – were two PhDs out of University of Southern California who did original research on Additive Manufacturing, also known as 3D printing. Faraz Abidi started with Sprintray after meeting Amir Mansouri at USC’s on-campus research lab called Contour. After Sprintray had very successful launch on Kickstarter, Faraz joined the team to help them execute orders for the backers. Now SprintRay has become a runaway success, taking the 3D printing industry to a whole another level.

Working Together To Teach 3D Printing with Rich Cameron and Joan Horvath of Nonscriptum LLC

Wed, 06 Jun 2018 10:00:00 GMT

For hardware companies, it has become very challenging to compete in that market. Recovering rocket scientist Joan Horvath and hacker Rich Cameron team up to form Nonscriptum when they realized nobody’s doing any training and authored quite a few books on 3D printing. Joan shares that something that’s been really valuable for them is writing books and teaching 3D printing to try to change how people teach math and science by using 3D prints. Their fascinating partnership works well because it presents two great sides to 3D printing, the educational and the professional side, which are so important because there’s a balance in what you have to teach and what you have to learn between the two sides. What’s important to education and what’s important in terms of the technical side or the design side of things. Learn more about Joan and Rich’s great perspectives to the industry and the education platform.

Industrial 3D Printing That Makes Additive Manufacturing Real

Wed, 23 May 2018 10:00:00 GMT

Coming from the engineering sector, Blake Teipel, President and co-Founder of Essentium, has always been looking at how to advance supply chains and how to advance manufacturing solutions in a wide variety of industries. Partnering with BASF, Blake is disrupting traditional manufacturing processes by bringing strength and speed together without compromising the material set. He shares that they’re committed to creating industrial 3D printing solutions for the world’s top manufacturers to bridging the gap between 3D printing and machining. Blake talks about the industrial or heavy duty use of 3D printing materials and shares what new tools are available on the market today.

Is PETG Filament Overtaking PLA?

Wed, 09 May 2018 10:00:00 GMT

PLA filament has been the most common 3D printing filament, especially in desktop 3D printing in home and educational environments. The reasons are that it’s pretty easy to print, the temperature required to print is pretty low, and most importantly there are no toxic fumes that are emitted. A material that’s been in development for a number of years and has now become a formidable contender is the PETG filament. It has all these wonderful colors and it’s got some great qualities in terms of translucency. The print characteristics and settings that you would use for it are very similar to PLA in pretty much all respects in terms of speeds and settings in your average 3D printer. Delve deeper into PETG to know if it’s worth switching over and making that shift.

The Shapeways 3D Printing Market Is Here To Stay

Fri, 04 May 2018 10:00:00 GMT

A recent article came out lately that said 3D printing marketplaces like the Shapeways won’t last. That not only does a disservice to Shapeways but the whole 3D printing industry as well. The truth is Shapeways 3D Printing Market offers tremendous value. It is a destination for consumers to shop for 3D printed goods or products. It’s a place where creators can put their 3D print models up and offer them for sale. The reality is it doesn’t matter if we have a place to put up our designs and sell them, unless there is a large audience of site visitors, viewers, shoppers who are going to continue to be driven there. However, if the products are useful and meeting some need or desire those consumers have, then it would become a destination for people to shop.

Best 3D Printers Under $500

Fri, 27 Apr 2018 10:00:00 GMT

There have been a lot of changes in the 3D print market in the last year. Some new printers have come out that are really capable at a very affordable price, and there are some that have been discontinued. It’s important for an update and a rundown of some of the best 3D printers under $500. There are a lot of good options for a 3D printer under $500 if that’s your market. Whether it’s for you personally or a gift or even for school, you don’t have to spend a fortune to get into it. The 3D printers that are mentioned are ready to go out of the box and don’t have to be assembled. Listen on to check out 3D printers under $500 or even less than $300.

Is The 3D Print Education Market Saturated?

Thu, 26 Apr 2018 10:00:00 GMT

There are a lot of different 3D printers available under $500 retail due to a lot of change in the market in the last year. A bunch of new players and a couple of Steady Eddies are doing really well. One of our favorite entry-level 3D printers has been discontinued. This brought on the realization that everything’s temporary, and if you’re not growing and moving forward, you’re shrinking and going backward. Is the 3D print education market saturated then? Does this mean it’s reaching a point where a company, even though they have a better product, doesn’t have as deep a pocket and not as big a marketing budget? The education market is one of the biggest markets in desktop 3D printing. You’ve got a lot of people battling it out for that space and it’s going to be survival of the fittest.

The Evolution and Production of Microphone Block, A 3D Print Project

Fri, 20 Apr 2018 10:00:00 GMT

3D printing is an absolutely wonderful process to create a product, develop it over time, and evolve it with flexibility. 3D printing is also absolutely right on the money and allows you to manufacture things a number of different ways. We reveal an important 3D print project that we have been working on, a Microphone Block, a real world project that we have done for our own business which has evolved over two years and now has reached a certain level of maturity. We delve into the evolution and the production of our project so you can learn great lessons and insights to help you along the way in achieving your goals with using 3D printing.

Self Service 3D Printing

Wed, 18 Apr 2018 10:00:00 GMT

When you’re using your 3D printer and you encounter a problem, what do you do? In these situations, it’s always smart to initially employ self-service 3D printing. You try to figure it out and solve it yourself first. If that doesn’t work, you could call the company for tech support. A lot of times there are issues that the company can help you solve. However, all too often the manufacturers of 3D printers will quickly tell you to subscribe to their service plan or replace the whole printer. That’s not solving the problem. Companies all too quickly punt the ball down the field instead of really trying to solve the problem. They don’t really dig deep enough and help you try to find the problem. Learning how to dig deeply into the problem, so you can ask the right question and go through the procedure with your tech support, can help you a great deal.

Reusable Filament Spools: Even More Impact By Having Less with Steven Gall

Wed, 04 Apr 2018 10:00:00 GMT

If you have been 3D printing for a long time, you are most likely one of those people who go through several spools of filament a day. The plastic that filament spools come in pile up over time and you don’t really know what to do with them. Steven Gall and his company Keene Village Plastics, one of the original filament manufacturers for the 3D printing industry, came up with a new filament delivery innovation that specifically addresses this dilemma. They introduce and deliver filament coils that come in reusable filament spools that you can buy one time and be able to use repeatedly from that point forward. This innovation not only solves a problem, but is so easy to adopt as a standard that you wonder why it’s never been done before.

A 3D Printing Business Case Study With World Class Magician, Adam Wilber

Thu, 29 Mar 2018 10:00:00 GMT

Running the world’s largest magic company, Adam Wilber had to create a lot of magic tricks for his repertoire. As a magician, he wants to create certain types of experiences for people that watch him. Adam discloses that the true magic of 3D printing lies in outsourcing creativity. He is able play within the world of magic, from idea to sketch to design and then to physical things that he uses. Adam gets help from designers and creators all over the world who can take on the tasks that he’s never had time to learn. He’s learned that this process is just easier and a lot less time consuming, and has enabled him to do a variety of stuff with his ideas that he would never have otherwise been able to do.

Why 3D Print Speed Doesn’t Matter

Fri, 23 Mar 2018 10:00:00 GMT

With 3D printing where it’s at, more and more people are asking about the 3D print speed. How fast does it work? Some people think its magic like a microwave where you can heat something up in a matter of three or five minutes. The reality is it takes time to print something layer by layer. The higher quality you want it, the longer it takes. If you want better quality, 3D print speed does not really matter. It may take ten hours or you may have to print overnight or even multiple days, but it’s still a lot faster and it takes a lot less of your own personal labor to make parts that you wouldn’t have been able to do ten years ago.

3D Printed Jewelry Designs: A Fusion Of Nature And Industry with Dimitra Tampaki

Thu, 22 Mar 2018 10:00:00 GMT

Architects embrace and take on the course for the love of design and designing. Schools and universities teach you, but once you’re thrown into the real world, you find out that most of the time, architecture is more about codes and construction and less about the designing aspect. Dimitra Tampaki’s mind goes between the scale of a building to the scale of jewelry, and she has successfully pioneered the market. She admits it’s a lot of work, but her 3D-printed jewelry designs embody her inspiration from nature and structure. Dimitra shares the breadth and scope of designing her products and how much fun and fulfillment she gets out of it.

What To Watch Out For From The 3D Printer Display Exhibit at SXSW

Fri, 16 Mar 2018 10:00:00 GMT

The idea of a 3D printer with one nozzle and four filaments going into it is amazing, and the piece of hardware that comes along it would be as equally amazing because it would be able to print one object with four different and solid colors. This is still a complex area in the world of 3D printing and it would be understandable if the actual printer was not coming out soon. However, at the 3D Printer Display Exhibit at SXSW there was a display of a 3D printers with CMYK printing features. While the display piece itself looks promising the features that it promises at that moment was truly questionable, mainly because perfectly printing every pantone color in CMYK is still not achievable. While most 3D printers came out from kickstarters, it is was a wise choice to keep your eyes open for what you’re going to be getting.

Live from SXSW: Disruptive Technology And Innovation with Jay Samit

Wed, 14 Mar 2018 10:00:00 GMT

Tom and Tracy go live from SXSW where they are joined by serial disruptor and digital innovation expert Jay Samit. They dive deeper into the subject of disruptive technology relating to 3D design. Jay focuses on providing virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality solutions for corporate and public sector clients. We’re living in this era of endless innovation where the biggest transformation is about to happen. He shares that disruption isn’t about what happens to you, it’s about how you respond to what happens. In his book Disrupt You!, Jay teaches how you can swim with the currents of change instead of against them, embrace innovation, and propel towards new opportunities, creative challenges, and success.

A Rundown On The Formlabs LA Roadshow 2018

Fri, 09 Mar 2018 11:00:00 GMT

The Formlabs LA Roadshow 2018 just recently concluded. Formlabs is a Massachussets-based company that designs and manufactures desktop 3D printers and was founded in 2011. The event was attended by over 150 enthusiasts and featured a panels composed of experts in the 3D printing industry. Joining the panel with Tracy was Sarah Reynolds from Hasbro, Aaron Sims from Aaron Sims Creative, and Aaron Bernard from Blizzard, among others. Formlabs showcased their recent developments which highlighted the new 3D printers’ capabilities to print very fine details as demo’d by a team from Formlabs. The significant takeaways from the discussions were the importance of having variety and a broader standpoint when building a design team and taking immersive classes to fine-tune skills.

How VR, AR and 3D Printing Is Creating Even Higher Demand for 3D Designers with George Egbuonu from VR eCards

Wed, 07 Mar 2018 11:00:00 GMT

Virtual reality, augmented reality and 3D printing are three high-growth technologies that are making people and businesses see the value they offer. While 3D models are the last media type to go mainstream, 3D printing is going in the direction of VR and AR. George Egbuonu from VR eCards believes that with innovation come early adopters. He shares how his company has been crossing the chasm and his insights how 3D printing can start going mainstream.

3D Printing Club, A Resource Community For Enthusiasts with Al Shuryan

Wed, 28 Feb 2018 11:00:00 GMT

If you have a question about 3D printing, 3D Printing Club will have an answer for it. What started as an interest group seven years ago, has now grown organically into a resource space for 3D printing enthusiasts. Al Shuryan created the club out of his interest in making items during the early computer industry. 3D Printing Club provides opportunities to everyone with conversation threads about the best budget printers or the best place to buy filaments. But their ultimate goal is to become a content reservoir to further the education of 3D printing.

The Design Cycle: Design Process Education Through 3D Printing with Craig Frehlich

Fri, 23 Feb 2018 11:00:00 GMT

When we give kids credit for their creativity and trust them with the skills they learned from us, amazing things happen. Craig Frehlich witnessed this from his students. What’s more surprising is when his students were taught the design cycle of 3D printing, instead of designing plastic phone cases they thought of stuff that have more meaning, use and impact. He knows that it will just be a matter of time before their meaningful ideas evolve to a level of efficacy that will help people’s lives. Craig explains the two pieces of the their design process education that focuses on kid’s research.

It’s A Game Changer! CEL Robox Dual 3D Printer Review

Fri, 16 Feb 2018 11:00:00 GMT

Two years ago at CES, we first saw the CEL Robox Dual 3D Printer that promised to 3D print using two colors and two materials. For product designers, this is the solution to single extrusion 3D printers. You can tell that this machine is on a different league right from the label of the box that says “Micro-Manufacturing Platform.” It is recommended that you follow instructions during the hard ware setup, because there will be small inconvenient problems if you don’t. The propriety slicing and printer control software is Automaker, for which operating the functions will take a little getting used to. Learn why this 3D printer is the real deal with its claim to be the game changer of the 3D printing industry.

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Sophia the Bionic Cat, A Story of Perseverance and 3D Printing Innovation with Karolyn Smith

Thu, 08 Feb 2018 11:00:00 GMT

It is a universal fact that dogs are man’s best friend. But there are times when cats can do a better job, like purring to make your brain feel lighter. The story of Sophia the bionic cat starts with army veteran Karolyn Smith who had a difficult time transitioning from her service. Both Sophia and Karolyn were disabled and chose each other as they keep moving forward with their lives. Just like Karolyn’s life was saved by technology, she wanted to do the same to Sophia who was found with her umbilical cord tied to her paw. The vets had to amputate the leg. With the help of 3D printing, Karolyn gave her a second chance in life with her prosthetic leg that shed more light to 3D printing innovation. Karolyn shares her inspiring story and how she didn’t let her lack of experience and lack of technology stop her from being an entrepreneur.

Lessons From An Aspiring 3D Print Entrepreneur

Thu, 01 Feb 2018 11:00:00 GMT

Wanting to be an entrepreneur and actually becoming a successful one has a fine line that aspiring 3D print entrepreneurs can cross easily by seeking mentorship. Mentors can further your goal. Advice from experts can help with the mismatch between the product and the market and get your ideas to distribution channels. Learn the steps of moving from aspiration to success. Never feel ashamed of looking for people who can help you to get to your goals.

3D Digital Factory with Jon Bruner of Formlabs

Tue, 30 Jan 2018 11:00:00 GMT

There’s a lot of new technology coming out in the 3D printing industry, like 3D metal printers and now there’s SLA desktop printers. Designers and engineers can now work with the machines using prototypes to figure out if their designs will come out the way they want it. This movement has created a demand for new capabilities, making outsourcing less of a challenge for designers and engineers. Jon Bruner sees 3D printers of this kind as a cool set of technology that can be used in immediate manufacturing that is the driving idea behind 3D Digital Factory. Learn how this ongoing program is looking at the digitalization of manufacturing, engineering and design.

3D Printing Apps Gone Multi-Platform with Drew Taylor

Wed, 24 Jan 2018 11:00:00 GMT

The 3D printing industry is once again stepping forward not only for it to tip but also to finally make people see the wide range it can offer. This time the field is making toys through an app called Toy Maker that lets parents 3D print toys with their kids. This is a lovely way to spend time with the the family, but Drew Taylor of AstroPrint also aims for Toy Maker to be a reference app for other 3D print designers to use. The APIs used for the app had an obvious use that AstroPrint saw to help others in the industry. With this simple app for parents, the complexities of the tech and the software and hardware are all taken away to better give enjoyment for parents printing on demand.

3D Business Mentorship: Startup Issues with Daniel McGuire

Fri, 19 Jan 2018 11:00:00 GMT

The 3D printing industry is moving to a worldwide scale where entrepreneurs are starting to realize not just the market that it can offer but also the unique services that come along with it. Scottish mechanical engineer Daniel McGuire receives 3D business mentorship to help solve some of his startup issues, like how to put value in his time and how to come up with short term goals to make him visible in the market. His mission is to make the everyday person realize what this industry can do for them. Daniels shares how he got started in the 3D printing business and what excites him the most.

3D Metal Machines Melanie Lang FormAlloy

Fri, 12 Jan 2018 11:00:00 GMT

Fused filament fabrication has found its genius little sister in the form of laser metal deposition. The process builds parts layer after layer using the heat of an integrated blue laser. This allows Melanie Lang and FormAlloy to use a shorter wavelength than IR lasers which then allows for a wider range of material processing. Their blow powder system and modular powder feeders allows them to use different materials on the fly. With this technology that was inspired by aerospace engineering needs, they build parts that have complex geometric structures without any support material in deposition 3D printing. Learn more of the processes and materials used with 3D metal machines and how it is becoming a useful tool with flexible design build concepts.

Design Challenge Accepted: 3D Printed Mens Shoes with Philippe Holthuizen from FUSED Footwear

Fri, 05 Jan 2018 11:00:00 GMT

For some people, seven months can pass by just as normally at it should. But Dutchman product designer Philippe Holthuizen managed to disrupt the footwear industry with his 3D printed men’s shoes in that time frame. In just a small amount of time, Phillippe was able to achieve a lot in design and development, from styles to texture, using his 3D CAD skills and background in shoe designing. But his bottom line is pretty much the same with other 3D print product designers; to become part of the disruption wave. He wants to share the materials he uses and his processes to the community to help other designers and eventually help push the industry to the tipping point. Learn more of Philippe’s design and marketing concepts and how he plans to keep on disrupting.

3D Print Post Processing: The Designer’s Viewpoint

Thu, 04 Jan 2018 11:00:00 GMT

During Inside 3D Printing 2017 in San Diego, one big issue that kept coming up was 3D print post processing and how it has become one of the causes of the delay for the progression of the industry. Post processing in 3D print can be defined as painting, finishing, dyeing, plating and polishing. All of which involve coordination with other sources that will translate to logistics issues and timeline expansion. This is the reason why most product designers think that 3D print post processing is missing its mark, because it is still not in that place where it can make products on demand and come out exactly how customers want them. Find out more of the struggles and the solutions and how you can help to make things happen for 3D printing.

Forget Disruptive Technology, Disrupt You! Instead, with Jay Samit

Fri, 29 Dec 2017 11:00:00 GMT

A lot of people often think that they want to change the world, but it is those who want to change themselves first who can actually make that change happen. By looking into your values, you can identify what your strengths are and use it as leverage to make that great impact possible. Combine this with confidence and solving problems will be easier. Take it to the next level and become a part of the disruption wave by working with people with the same goals. Leader in innovation and author of Disrupt You Jay Samit shares how companies can keep up with the disruption and why taking action around the idea has more worth than just having an idea.

3D Print Disrupting Retail: FB Live

Wed, 27 Dec 2017 11:00:00 GMT

There is no better time than now to start bridging the gap between buyers and 3D print product designers. While there are a handful of reasons why the 3D print industry isn’t tipping as fast as it should, there are also a handful of reasons why product designers, manufacturers, buyers and even students still studying the trade need to pool together and start bridging the gaps on design, skills, labor, product and marketing. Learn more about 3D print disrupting retail and ready signs like showroom, last mile delivery and inventory costs.

3D Print Education Made Simple with Brain Bobbitt

Tue, 26 Dec 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Having a physical model to hold in your hands is powerful to a student learning engineering and design. But when Brian Bobbitt started integrating 3D print education to the curriculum, there weren’t many resources. With the help of Project Lead The Way, exposure to design and production got easier. Getting a foundational education in CAD at the high school level translated to better skilled transitioning college students later. Brian Bobbit shares how educating the students early can cast away stereotypes and get their interest level high early.

Creating Business Through Augmented Reality Marketing with Michelle Calloway from Revealio

Sun, 24 Dec 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Can you imagine a world where you can get information and content on a product right then and there just by pointing your smart phone at it? What could have been just a fantasy twenty years ago is now possible with Augmented Reality. Founder of Revealio Michelle Calloway found a way to use this technology and make human connections that bridges the real world with the virtual world through cards that magically come to life. Learn how augmented reality marketing can empower business owners and make heart-felt connections with their clients.

3D Jobs From Production To C-Suite with Jennifer Killingback from Alexander Daniels Global

Tue, 19 Dec 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Every manufacturer in the 3D printing industry is looking for the same pool of talents these days; there is a growing need for more engineers and designers. Even with the crop of graduating students coming in, there is still not enough to fill in 3D jobs with the right skill set. Jennifer Killingback of Alexander Daniels Global reveals what they are looking for in candidates from production, programming, post processing, sales and business development. Find out what your LinkedIn profiles should look like to get that phone interview and learn how you can get more involved in the industry by attending expos and cons.

Inside 3D Printing San Diego 2017 Recap

Fri, 15 Dec 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Is the 3D printing industry progressing fast enough? Is AI going to take the place of engineers and designers? Such questions were answered in Inside 3D Printing San Diego 2017. Although a smaller event compared from last year, it was the panel track and the attendees that pulled the event together and made the trip worth taking. This turned into a concentrated effort to push and put pressure on the future of the 3D printing industry. Product designers and business owners from Idaho, Colorado and even Guatemala came in to learn what they need to explore and how they can expand in terms of software, material, machinery and clients.

500th Podcast Episode: 3D Print Predictions & Lessons Learned

Thu, 07 Dec 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Not knowing if there will be enough topics to talk about and interesting guests to interview is every podcaster’s worry during their early stages. Tom and Tracy Hazzard asked the same questions in April 2015 and got their answer 500 episodes later. As designers and developers, making 3D print predictions is both exciting and frustrating since a lot of companies have come and gone, but there are new disruptors that even they never saw coming. Listen to their stories of how they look for hidden gems and how after 500 episodes they are still passionate and excited for the progress being made in the 3D print industry.

Custom 3D Print Fashion: A Steadily Growing Trend with Danit Peleg

Fri, 01 Dec 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Custom 3D print fashion is a growing trend with the world of fashion shifting to a new phase of design and production. While studying fashion design, Danit Peleg found that design and producing clothes through a desktop 3D printer is a great way to make her fashion ideas come to life, all in the comfort of her home. Learn two processes, equipment and materials she uses when making her clothes and find out why she doesn’t consider 3D printed fashion designing a job.

The 3D and VR Design Gap with Taylor Freeman of Upload IO

Thu, 16 Nov 2017 10:00:00 GMT

I’ve got introduced to someone that as I was starting to talk with him I thought, “I’m not just going to write an Inc. article about this. I’m going to air the audio for you.” I think it has such great relevance in some of the many things we’ve talked about filling the design gap. In this case, I’m talking with Taylor Freeman of Upload.io. They are a company that are in San Francisco and Marina del Rey that has these amazing classes that are teaching virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, X reality. It’s just an amazing company that is building the University of the Future. They have the coolest space. I’ve got a little sneak preview from Taylor. I am now going to take Tom and we’re going to go up there in the next months because it is just such a cool space to look at but such cool tools to play with. I just really thought that you would find this really interesting and really start talking about how the skills that you might be building over in 3D design really translate themselves into becoming virtual reality designers, augmented reality designers, really build this future of this idea of marketing all the way through to product, through 3D printed on-demand end results. I love that idea. I really thought you should hear this. Let’s go to my interview with Taylor Freeman.

3D Printing Glass with Eran Gal-or of Micron3DP

Thu, 09 Nov 2017 11:00:00 GMT

We’re going to take a real journey down a very old and really ancient material that has been used on this earth, manipulated by men for thousands of years and learn how one company is actually harnessing it and has now been able to control it through 3D printing. It’s actually very exciting. The company is MICRON3DP and they’re a company out of Israel. I’m going to have an interview with Eran Gal-or who is one of two partners in this company. Technically, he’s an industrial designer but he’s the CTO. They came up with the seed of this idea many years ago. The company is now been in existence for two years. It’s impressive what they have done.

I actually have some experience with glass as a material as a design student and then even after design school, going and taking a class or two at certain places in Corning, New York and others around glassblowing. It really is an ancient craft. If you’ve never had the chance to go to Corning, New York and take a tour of some of the museums there and the factories going on and demonstrations they have, I highly recommend it. It’s quite something to learn about certainly how glass has been manipulated and manufactured over time here in the United States. Glass has been around for thousands of years and has been manipulated for ages. It’s one of the primary materials probably along with clay and wood that some of the materials that had been manipulated by men from the earliest of times. Now, MICRON3DP is doing it in a 3D printer. They have invented this way to manipulate it. MIT had also experimented with it and was developing it but MICRON3DP has taken it a lot farther.

3D Print Meetups with Chris Kaminsky of MI3D

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 10:00:00 GMT

On today’s episode, we’re going back into our past stomping grounds as we were new people in business and industry. Reminiscing about Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is one of the first places we lived for a number of years and decided intentionally to go there for business purposes. There’s a guy named Chris Kaminsky who has started Mi3D for Michigan and has a Meetup group and association about 3D printing there in West Michigan. This is reminding us of how we were involved in multiple pre MeetUp.com meetups back in the day when we were there and we were young. There were some of those early CAD meetups because 3D CAD was really new. There wasn’t too many people who did it. They were very, very expensive systems like Alias on Silicon Graphics workstations that were six-figure systems. Your average people couldn’t afford that, big corporations only. Then there came this lower cost CAD and it started with 3D Studio, which had in the early days release 1 and release 2 back then. This was the early to mid-90s. People were really new to it and wanted to know about it and you would get together about all the CAD. We were using CAD and creating models and animations of products that we had designed and that was the real innovative thing.

Today, we talk about 3D printing being able to rapidly prototype or manufacture products without tooling in an additive way. This is the big new hot thing going on. Back then, it was just about visualization, having a rendering. It wasn’t really photorealistic back then but it was a rendering. You didn’t have to draw and sketch it out by hand. The meetups around 3D CAD was the idea that we didn’t have quite as much resources to YouTube videos on how to do stuff. It gave us an opportunity to network with others who are struggling to solve problems; how to create textures or how to do these things and that’s really the whole point of it. When you’re in an emerging technology or a technology that’s learning how to get applied or that has a steep learning curve like 3D CAD. When you have all of those things, you really need to get together and have best practices and have conversations and get inspired and learn from other people and get out of just behind YouTube-ing it. YouTube did not exist when we were there.

We’re remembering even the worldwide web was in its infancy. We had email but it was dial-up internet and you went to AOL or something. From within AOL, you’re on their platform, which is really like a bulletin board service on steroids. You would dial into a bulletin board in the early days. From there, you could click a button to go to the worldwide web. It was crazy. That’s where you would post on a bulletin board that you’re going to have this meetup and you would call people and do it the old-fashioned way.

We wanted to really bring Chris Kaminsky on of Mi3D because we really wanted to talk about that there really is value in creating this local community meetups and getting the groups together and really organizing it. He’s been finding really good success in this and then finding good traffic because he has a great community there in Grand Rapids. We’re going to talk a little bit about that with him so you can see where he’s going. We want to encourage all areas to really do more of this 3D print meetups. It’s very, very valuable to have some face time. Chris presents what we think is a very common experience many of you may have had, or if not, a good model for what you might do in your local area. Let’s go to the interview with Chris and then we’ll talk some more on the other side.

3D Print Ecosystems, End To End, with Arden Rosenblatt of PieceMaker Technologies

Thu, 26 Oct 2017 10:00:00 GMT

Today, I’ve got a really interesting conversation to share with you that I had recently with Arden Rosenblatt of PieceMaker.com. This is a company that has really dealt with how to bring 3D printing to mass market retail. They’ve dealt with all of the systems involved in that. It’s really fascinating. I’ve often talked with a lot of different people that are working on different pieces of the puzzle. This is a company that really has had to create an end-to-end solution, dealing with content to how would people interface and interact with it then actually having it printed right there for them at a physical location in a museum gift shop or retail store. They’ve also gone on to do other kinds of solutions, a little more business to business, but it’s really all centered around the same thing. How to help companies, especially big brands, take advantage of the opportunities that additive manufacturing, in particular 3D printing, offers. I hope you really will enjoy it. Let’s go to the interview with Arden and then I’ll talk to you a little bit more on the other side.

3D Print Hacking Mastermind with Anil Pattni of TinyHackerHouse

Fri, 20 Oct 2017 10:00:00 GMT

We are going to talk about hacking and making today. It’s hacking in a general sense. It’s a definition. Broadly used hacking is the way we’re talking about it today; involved in everything from real hackers in makerspaces to even also incubator-level hacking with software and life hacking. Anil Pattni who I got to meet at the FREECon, the Freelance Conference in Austin, Texas which we went to. It was so interesting to meet him. It was ironic because he started doing some of the first OC Maker Faire stuff here in Orange County, California and yet we met him in Austin, Texas which is where he is now. It was like, “How did we not meet you before?” that kind of thing.

3D Print Bump Stocks

Thu, 12 Oct 2017 10:00:00 GMT

In light of the recent events in Las Vegas, Tom and Tracy talk about 3D print bump stocks. This is not a statement or debate about the Second Amendment or even of the legality of things, but more of a discussion about the ethical, moral and even physical risks that designers must think about when creating something.

Finding a 3D Print Manufacturer with Jason Ray of Paperless Parts

Thu, 05 Oct 2017 10:00:00 GMT

We got an interesting episode today. We’ve got a guest who’s been on before, Jason Ray. It was December 2016 for something called Sightline Maps, which we loved the project because we think it’s really cool, topographically three-dimensionally mapping for government use, for school uses. The idea was that you would topographically print them on 3D printers so schools would learn what the stuff look like. He’s come back to use because he’s working on a new venture. It’s called Paperless Parts. It is a new kind of a service for getting quotes and finding a 3D print manufacturer to work with for making 3D print manufactured products. At the same time, sometimes it’s getting your first part. Getting that, “Is this manufacture-able in 3D printing and what’s the quality of it?” We call them design sign-off samples. That’s a really critical important part in our design process with our clients. I think it is for a lot of people. It’s one thing to print it on your own printer, but at the end of the day, you need to go ahead and make it in the final material, in the final version that you’re going to do. That design sign-off sample is important to get quoted and help establish whether or not a 3D print manufacturer is a good quality 3D print manufacturer.

Building Your Own Food 3D Printer with Nina Hoff of ByFlow

Thu, 28 Sep 2017 10:00:00 GMT

We’re going to interview Nina Hoff of byFlow. She’s the CEO of a Dutch company that specializes in 3D printing for some time but they really spun this off and started this company in 2015 in which she is the CEO. She’s a very young 25-year-old CEO, which we think is amazing. It’s a company she has with her brother and her father and a couple of other partners as well. We just love the idea of really getting something that’s so mainstream in terms of food 3D printing, finally.

Disaster Zone 3D Printing with Field Ready

Wed, 27 Sep 2017 10:00:00 GMT

Tom and Tracy reads out a statement by Dr. Eric James of Field Ready to spread the word and get some help for their GoFundMe for those who feel so inclined to donate. It would help the use of 3D printing in disaster zones that Field Ready is working with right now due to the recent hurricanes.

Affordable Textile Printing with 3D Print Parts with Charlie Runckel of FabricZoom

Thu, 21 Sep 2017 10:00:00 GMT

Today, we’ve got an interview that’s going to be a little bit different. It’s definitely 3D print related but it’s in a very different way. I wanted some prefaces for all our listeners saying while this isn’t absolutely the deepest 3D print subject, it’s still really cool and there are a lot of parallels with the 3D print industry and a lot to learn from it. Especially if you are involved in a 3D print startup that’s maybe making a new machine or even if you’re in the education space. I think there are a lot of great nuggets here for you.

We’re going to talk to Charlie Runckel of FabricZoom. It is an affordable fabric printer that uses off-the-shelf 3D print parts to have created its initial beta run here. They are based outside of Portland, in Beaverton, Oregon. The team had been coming up and thinking about how to make an affordable fabric printer. They were looking the cost of all of the parts and all of the time it would take to develop it. What they’ve come up with is just great. They really modeled what the 3D print industry has done.

Working with Scanned 3D Models with Scott Tarcy

Thu, 14 Sep 2017 10:00:00 GMT

Scott Tarcy of CAD Design Help is an expert in doing engineering and CAD work in general. Scott has a lot of experience working with CAD files in his CADDesignHelp.com company. He has a unique perspective and has a lot of experience. Scott was very interested on our recent episode on the Matter and Form desktop 3D scanner. He was surprised that we were so pleased with it and that it actually worked for us because his experience with desktop 3D scanners has really not been that great. We’re going to talk about that in this episode. Also about really the details, ins and outs of working with CAD files that have been 3D scanned and how you can and cannot work with them.

He’s also going to tell us about this new 3D Print The Future TV Show that they filmed several episodes of the first season and it launches on Amazon Instant Video. You’re going to hear about that as well.

Closing The Retail Innovation Gap with 3D Printing with Sterling Hawkins of CART

Thu, 07 Sep 2017 10:00:00 GMT

We’ve got a really great guest today, someone who we had so much fun talking to. His name is Sterling Hawkins from AdvancingRetail.org. But really, that’s just the tip of the iceberg of who he is and what he’s about. He’s all about retail and innovation.

What is great is, he’s the first person we’ve talked to on this podcast who really has that retail perspective first and sees the opportunities and understands not only the potential, but how 3D printing is eventually going to be adopted more, how you’re going to get more application of it. Let’s talk with Sterling Hawkins about closing the retail innovation gap with 3D printing.

3D Printed Fidget Spinners

Wed, 06 Sep 2017 10:00:00 GMT

We’re going to discuss 3D printed fidget spinners today. We’ve seen a lot of opportunity with this product, both in the engineering side of things as well as in design. We’re going to mention a few favorites of ours that we’ve seen and what we like about them. We’re also going to share some ideas that we have on how this can be a great project, both for adults and for students.

Bevel 3D Scanner Review

Tue, 05 Sep 2017 10:00:00 GMT

We’re going to review the Bevel today. This is a 3D scanner that goes on your phone, a handheld scanner. It was a Kickstarter by Matter and Form. We’re going to share how we tested it and tried out, and what results we got from it. We’re also going to discuss some of the areas that we think could be improved, both with the product itself and from a business standpoint.

A 3D Print STEM Ambassador with Grant Mackenzie of CEL

Thu, 31 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

I have a great interview with Grant Mackenzie. He is the sales manager for CEL who does what I’ve referred to in the past as the CEL Robox 3D Printer. Those of you that have listened to Tracy and I for a long time know that we saw their CEL Robox 3D Printer at CES in 2016. That’s more than eighteen months ago, January of 2016. We were very impressed with this 3D printer. We had arranged and we’re told originally we were going to get a review unit. For one reason or another, just the circumstances that came to be, we never received such a review unit. I even looked at trying to buy one and get one, but it was hard to come by.

Free CAD Software Is Not Always Free

Wed, 30 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode, Tom and Tracy Hazzard talk about free CAD software, and how most of them are not really free. These software usually come at the price of privacy, of dealing with ads, of having your profile up there on the internet, etc. They discuss some possible ways to change things for the better.

CAD Part Size vs. Actual 3D Printed Size

Tue, 29 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode, Tom and Tracy Hazzard talk about CAD part size versus going to your actual 3D printed size. They discuss how and why this is a problem, and also provide some great tips and examples of what you can do to avoid this problem or how you can deal with it when such issues with actual 3D printed size arise.

3D Printing in Fashion with Stephania Stefanakou

Thu, 24 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

Stephania Stefanakou, who we’re going to talk to today, she’s out of Toronto. She not only has an artistic approach mindset. She really wants to take emerging technology like 3D printing in fashion and help the fashion industry move forward and really make wearables wearable. Wearables differently than you might think. Wearable is going to be an overused term in the industry. You say wearables, people naturally think of the Fitbit, SCOTTeVEST or maybe smart shoes that have a chip in them and this is not that. This is what she calls passive wearable technology. It’s not super high tech with chips. They’re not trying to put electronics into clothing, but make clothing that works better because of the technology and that’s where the wearable comes in. Because of the technology and because of how it was made as well through the use of 3D printing in fashion and other smart materials.

Where to Find 3D Print Files

Wed, 23 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode, Tom and Tracy Hazzard talk about where to find 3D print files. Not only that, but specifically where to find 3D print files that are good, that are actually printable, and that will work for your printer. They provide examples of where they find some 3D print files themselves and how some of these sites work.

3D Print Lithopanes

Tue, 22 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode, Tom and Tracy Hazzard talk about 3D Print Lithopanes. They’ve played around and experimented with it themselves and explain how they did it and what software they used. They also give great examples of how you can use 3D print lithopanes in your business, to make an impression and make sure that people don’t forget you.

3D Print Legal Task Force with Farah Tabibkhoei of Reed Smith LLP

Thu, 17 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

We’ve come to meet another person involved in the 3D printing industry from a legal perspective and from a different legal perspective than we’ve interviewed in the past. We tended to interview people who have much more of an intellectual property background and/or directly corporate attorneys for someone in the 3D print industry. We’ve done that way. In this case, Farah Tabibkhoei of Reed Smith is a Senior Associate there but she’s also a founding member of a 3D print legal task force that they’ve developed. That task force has 50 attorneys on it.

3D Print Opportunity Cost

Wed, 16 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode, Tom and Tracy Hazzard talk about the opportunity cost of 3D printing. They go through their own genesis story with 3D printing and how they saw that not buying a 3D printer would cost them a great opportunity. They also go into how 3D printing changes your production process, your design process and it’s helping you with your business that not doing it really is a missed opportunity. Tom and Tracy also discuss how a leap of faith is needed but you have to think about the opportunities that you would be missing if you don’t start now.

Cheap 3D Printers

Tue, 15 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

Today, we’re going to talk cheap 3D printers. We were really impressed to find and to learn that there are some really cheap 3D printers out there. If that’s your biggest limiting factor is cost. They’re kits though, we have to be really careful that most of the ones with the cheap prices and the one we’re particularly talking about, the Lewihe. It stands for length, width, height, the first two letters of each. It’s not bad looking for what is a $75 printer. It’s a kit printer.

3D Printed Self Driving Vehicles with Buddy Bernhard of Local Motors

Thu, 10 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

This is a big episode. Seriously, the biggest 3D parts I’ve encountered are what we’re going to talk about today. I’m so excited about this episode. I really love Buddy Bernhard from Local Motors, which is who we are going to talk to. We’re going to talk cars, 3D printed cars if you didn’t guess already. He just has such a passion for 3D printing in general. I love the whole model, that you’ll hear as we go forward and listen to this episode, about really how open they are about sharing what they’re doing with 3D printing. They just are passionate about moving the market forward.

Reasons to Buy a 3D Printer

Wed, 09 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode, Tom and Tracy Hazzard answer one of the most common questions they get asked. “Why should I buy a 3D printer? Should I buy a 3D printer? Is it for me?” They share their thoughts on what they think are the best reasons, and also some reasons not to buy one. They also share some of their personal experience with their daughter to show how buying a 3D printer may really be for you.

Matter and Form 3D Scanner Review

Tue, 08 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

Today, we’ve got another in our series of product reviews. It is a review of our experience with the Matter and Form desktop 3D Scanner.

For those of you who have been following the podcast, that is a big deal if you’ve known us, if you’ve listened to a lot of episodes. We don’t usually scan. We talk about that, I don’t know how many times. It’s a big deal.

High Quality 3D Scanning and Computer Modeling with Barbara Wood

Thu, 03 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

We’ve got a really good interview today that I think takes us further into the whole 3D scanning and creating a real product out of that exploration. I was at CEO Space, which is our networking and executive and entrepreneurship education forums we participate in quite a few times a year. They have five of them. We’ve done two this year or something like that already. It’s just one of those things where you meet people and they know that we are in the 3D printing industry and they bring me things. LoraLee Harmon, who I absolutely love, she’s a CEO Space Club President and such a great connector, excitedly runs up to me on the last day of CEO Space and has these 3D print figurines in her hand of a bride and groom. She had some with her.

I’m sitting there looking at them going, “I’ve never seen this good quality before. The face’s expression is there. The colors look vibrant.” I was shocked at that and she goes, “I know this woman of 3DTransformations, Barbara Wood. Would you like to meet her? Maybe you could interview her.” I go, “Maybe? We’re definitely going to interview her. I may even go and order one of these for my daughter’s wedding.” She was explaining a little bit about Barbara Wood and 3DTransformations out of Charleston, South Carolina. It’s more than figurine printing to me. She started the business with this vision of really helping to give people something to feel and touch about people they love. Especially, started out in helping the blind to be able to have a better experience through 3D prints of loved ones and things like that.

3D Printed Wedding Favors

Wed, 02 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode, Tom and Tracy Hazzard share their experience creating 3D printed wedding favors for their daughter’s wedding. They talk about how much time it took to create the designs, to test print and iterate, and to do the actual printing. They provide tips that you can apply to your situation if you ever have to 3D print wedding favors or things of that nature for yourself, a friend or relative, or for your business. They also explain how 3D printing has added a very personal touch to the wedding that only 3D printing can provide.

Tom and Tracy are Back!

Tue, 01 Aug 2017 10:00:00 GMT

We are back. We were gone a lot longer than we thought. It was one of those things where in April, things just started to get overwhelming with everything that we have going on in our business, in our personal lives. We thought it was going to be a short hiatus and then it turned into a bit of a longer hiatus. We realized we’ve never taken a vacation from our 3D print podcast since we started it.

We really appreciate your patience with us and that you’re back with us as well. Thanks again guys, for all the support in the interim. We are going to do our very best to bring you great new episodes with lots of energy and lots of new angles and topics.

Power Advice From A SolidWorks Expert

Thu, 20 Apr 2017 10:00:00 GMT

We had a listener communicate with us over Facebook recently and leave what was the longest comment we’ve ever had to a post. It wasn’t just the longest, it was the most detailed and informational I’ve ever read on Facebook. This was in response to our recent episode sometime last month about 3D printed surface textures. Her name is Jen Davis-Wilson, who we actually realized we have a lot in common with once we talked to her. She used to work for IDEO, and has some great experience and insights to share.

CAD Design Help

Thu, 13 Apr 2017 10:00:00 GMT

We have an interview today with Scott Tarcy of CAD Design Help. I love that we’re going to bring in somebody else who has a different CAD design view. Somebody else really who is trying to do something similar that we are in helping to be a resource for people interested in 3D printing in one way or another. His focus is a little more in the CAD side of things. It’s a bit of a cross section. He’s more of an engineer, actually is a degreed engineer, a mechanical engineer. He has worked inside a couple of different corporations, doing real serious engineering work on products. He’s complimentary to what we do on WTFFF and 3D Start Point and we thought it would be good to have him on. He’s a great resource and he’s got a podcast. It’s called The Engineering Entrepreneur Podcast. I think he’s 24 episodes into it or something at this point. I think it’s really an interesting model of who he’s talking to that’s very different than who we’re talking to. There’s plenty of room in the space for someone else with a little different perspective.

Teach Yourself CAD

Thu, 06 Apr 2017 10:00:00 GMT

We’ve been having a lot of CAD software and slicing software reviews in recent months. We’re going to continue to do that because there’s so many of them out there. Today’s episode is a little different. We actually have an interview with a new startup company who’s created a new CAD software called SelfCAD. This is a product that’s been in beta for a little while. By the time this is published, it is fully released. We’re going to talk with the CEO and creator, Aaron Breuer, who had decided to create SelfCAD, about why he did that. Honestly, I was a little surprised to see someone who’s entrepreneurial going after what seems to be a really crowded market of CAD software. When you listen to him you can really understand why he did it.

Review of the MakerBot Replicator+

Tue, 04 Apr 2017 10:00:00 GMT

In October MakerBot launched their first new 3D printer in years, since the 5th Generation 3D printer was released back in 2013. Ever since the Smart Extruder+ was released in February 2016, there has been hope that MakerBot, with the backing and resources of Stratasys, is on a path to deliver best in class products, and continue to be a leader in desktop 3D printing. Here at WTFFF!? and 3D Start Point, we were given the opportunity to work with MakerBot’s latest 3D Printer, the Replicator+, as soon as it was released. The testing for this 3D printer review has been conducted over the course of several months, more than 100 3D prints, and three large spools of filament.

So after all of this testing, has this new MakerBot 3D Printer proved to be a big step forward for the market leader, or is it just another incremental improvement?

3D Print Life Support

Thu, 30 Mar 2017 10:00:00 GMT

We have a returning guest today, Buzz Baldwin from 3D Printlife. He’s got something new to talk about today, which is why we wanted to have Buzz back on, because so many things have changed. We saw him at CES earlier this year and said when he was ready to launch Life Support we would have him back on the show. Buzz illuminates what 3D Print Life Support is all about, and teh details of 3D Printlife’s new Kickstarter Campaign.

Wiivv 3D Printed Sandals

Wed, 29 Mar 2017 10:00:00 GMT

Today we’re talking flip-flops, sandals, 3D printed sandals. We haven’t been able to talk about it since we visited Wiivv Wearables’ factory a month and a half ago. We went down to San Diego and got to see their whole operations with how they make their custom fit insoles today, but they gave us a preview that we couldn’t talk about until now. We had such a great conversation with Shamil Hargovan of Wiivv Wearables almost six months ago now. We did our first interview podcast with him. As soon as we were done we were asking them, “When are you going to make flip-flops?” He was like, “When I come down to San Diego next, I will share something secret with you but you can’t air it.” So, we’ve been holding out. It’s only been maybe about six weeks since we were down there. We haven’t had to keep that secret too long. It was fun to not only see how they were currently making their flagship or their first product line that they’ve really refined that manufacturing process.

For those who don’t remember or haven’t listened to that episode, we’re talking about their custom fit orthotic insoles. They fit the form of your foot. That’s what they primarily make in that factory in San Diego. They will be adding this new line to be making the Wiivv Wearable sandals. It’s really an interesting idea that they’re really looking at their factories not being 100% 3D printing. That’s going to come across a little bit in the interview with Shamil here. We are doing something a little bit out our ordinary course of Wednesday, because it’s a Wednesday podcast, and we’re adding an interview in here because we thought you should hear straight from Shamil about why they’re doing this and some of the great features that they built in.

3D Printed Surface Textures

Tue, 28 Mar 2017 10:00:00 GMT

Today we wanted to respond to a listener’s email, who wrote in very recently, March 22nd. Actually, We also want to just point out, and this is a good example, that we do get your emails. We do get your social media posts. If you’ve got a question or a good suggestion for a podcast topic, please write in and let us know. We just may very well put it on the show and sometimes without much delay. I thought this one that wrote in just this past week was a really good one. Something we’ve touched on a little bit in some past episodes, but I think some of those episodes may be so old now that they’re not even really available on iTunes because we’re getting up there now in episodes.

The subject is surface textures. This is written by Casey Snider. Casey wrote in about the idea of adding subtle or maybe shallow surface textures to 3D models for 3D printing. Casey is really looking for methods that would preserve an object’s basic geometry. Let’s dive into this subject and review the best ways to do it!

3D Printer Software & Hardware Development

Thu, 23 Mar 2017 10:00:00 GMT

We had a rare opportunity to interview two current employees of MakerBot on the record about a lot of issues around not just the new printers, but really all the things that are surrounding the 3D printer that are going on within MakerBot to support the user.

When they dove in, they talked about the fact that just upgrading the printer and solving features wasn’t really enough to support the user overall. Whether you’re a prosumer, an educator, a hobbyist, it doesn’t matter where you’re coming in from. It just wasn’t enough and they had to dive deeper into all of these areas, ecosystem and software and other things, to try and really make a more robust system.

I think that in the world today of 3D printing, as a company, if all you’re doing is creating a 3D printer and shipping it and that’s all you want to do, or maybe also sell some filament, you’re really doing a disservice to the customer or you’re leaving it up to the customer to figure out the rest of it on their own. I think they may not have as much success. I certainly admire what they’re doing at MakerBot. We’re going to speak with Mark Palmer, who is Head of Experience Design at MakerBot, which is more of the hardware side of things in the world of MakerBot.

We’ve spoken to Mark before. There’s a previous episode about it. We really talked more about the industrial design process and thinking about that. This is not a repeat by any means of that conversation, this goes beyond that and where MakerBot is today with all of the things they’re doing around the printer to support the users.

We also have Andrew Askedall joining us for the first time. He’s the Senior Director of Product Design. Now, at MakerBot, he’s more on the software side of things and speaks with that knowledge and experience behind him. We get to hear a lot of different aspects today.

3D Printer Maintenance Skills

Wed, 22 Mar 2017 10:00:00 GMT

Tom shares his thoughts on the pros and cons of developing 3D Printer maintenance skills. Is it better to develop those skills so you can help yourself through inevitable issues that will arise, or does it make more sense to use a 3D printer that does not require much maintanance?

3D Printing Metal, FFF Style!

Tue, 21 Mar 2017 10:00:00 GMT

Today Tom sheds light on a new 3D Printing company that had invented a new technology for metal 3D printing. This is different from anything else that has been created to 3D Print metal, a Game Changer! Vaner Systems has invented a way to 3D print, FFF Style!

MakerBot Behind The Scenes

Mon, 20 Mar 2017 10:00:00 GMT

Today, Tracy is going to interview Tom about his visit to MakerBot. They talk about the work environment at MakerBot, what kind of a workplace it is and how things are set up. Tom also discloses an announcement from MakerBot that is just being released today, March 20th. They discuss the new developments that the company are focusing on as well.

3D Mixed Media Art

Wed, 15 Mar 2017 10:00:00 GMT

We’ve got a 3D Mixed Media artist on the show today that we are interviewing named, Leisa Rich. We have featured her before in a past episode. The way we found her was just through our research for interesting 3D printed objects out there or 3D printing artists. Hers was art. She had some installations and was using 3D printing in really interesting ways.

3D Printer Shootout

Tue, 14 Mar 2017 10:00:00 GMT

In this episode, Tom and Tracy Hazzard talk about Make Magazine’s Printer Shootout and their point ranking system. A lot of people use this as a factor in choosing which 3D printer to buy, and it sometimes is misleading and can lead to a lot of frustration. Their ranking system is too tight and doesn’t necessarily accurately show what users need, at least not consistently.

3D Print Waste?

Wed, 08 Mar 2017 11:00:00 GMT

A recent LinkedIn Post by the CEO of a Venture Capital firm inspired the discussion for today’s episode. Is 3D Printing Waste really a big environmental problem, or is it misunderstood, and really having a positive environmental impact on our world?

Closing The 3D Print Gender Gap

Tue, 07 Mar 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Tracy interviews and moderates an indepth discussion with two other women who are significant influencers, about the gender gap in the 3D Printing industry.

3D Slash CAD Software Review

Tue, 07 Mar 2017 11:00:00 GMT

In our continuing series of CAD software reviews, here is another installment with a review of the gamified 3D Slash CAD Software. Listen to learn all about this unique CAD software, which is remeniscent of Minecraft.

Transforming Filament Spools

Fri, 03 Mar 2017 11:00:00 GMT

EU Makers has created a filament spool that is designed to be repurposed and reused. This company took it even one step further by offering free 3D models that you can print and really make the spool a useful object in their home. In this episode we are covering our favorite designs and how this can be a fun weekend project.

Medical 3D Printing

Thu, 02 Mar 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Today, we’ve got a really interesting interview with someone in the medical side of 3D printing, someone who’s trying to bring the world of 3D printing together with the world of medicine, by the name of Jenny Chen of 3DHeals. We’re not talking about footwear this time or orthotics. We’re talking about actual healing of the human body, healthcare 3D printing.

3D Print Volume Discounts?

Wed, 01 Mar 2017 10:00:00 GMT

In this episode, Tom and Tracy Hazzard talk about volume discounts in the 3D printing industry. They discuss how and why volume discounts are not applicable in 3D printing and additive manufacturing. They also talk about how shopper mindset has to change on this topic, and why that change is not going to happen overnight.

Vocademy, Not Your Average Makerspace

Tue, 28 Feb 2017 10:00:00 GMT

I had a chance to visit Vocademy recently to meet with Gene Sherman, get a tour and a much better understanding of what Vocademy is all about and what makes it different. Vocademy is a makerspace, but not your average makerspace. It is a hybrid of a makerspace and an education institution of shop classes, STEAM labs, and workshops.

Are We Really Worried About Our Designs Being Stolen?

Mon, 27 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

In response to our episode with Hector from 3D Shook, Joseph, a long-time listener said he was really happy with Hector’s response to our question about being worried about his STL files being distributed unfairly or stolen essentially. Joseph said he feels that our crippling fear of people stealing our designs is hurting us and not helping the 3D printing industry either.

3D Printed Fine Art

Fri, 24 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

3D Printing is being used by established fine artists to create some truly inspiring works of art. In this Design Inspiration profile, 3D printing was a critical part of the creative process, but it is not obvious. That reality makes this art even more impressive.

3D Printed Molds

Thu, 23 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

In this episode we have an interview with the CEO of an amazing new company, Graham Bredemeyer of Colider. This company has invented a 3D printing process that instead of 3D printing prototypes of objects or products, 3D prints molds and injects them with resins inclusing silicone, urethane, and other casting resins. So now you can 3D print finished working products in materials that have not been possible until now. Tune in to listen to this fascinating process, and the possibilities of what can be done, and why Tom is salivating at the opportunity.

To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or wtfffpodcast.com or shoot us a message at info@wtfffpodcast.com or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don’t forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled Thursday podcast episodes!

Seven Sins of 3D Printing

Wed, 22 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Today Tom & Tracy run down their list of the top Seven Sins of 3D Printing that are holding it back from truly being Lean Manufacturing. While 3D printing inherently solves a lot of problems with achieving Lean Manufacturing, there are others that are still holding 3D Printing back. What are they? Listen to this episode to check it out!

Clear 3D Printing – New Possibilites

Tue, 21 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Recent publications have touted the availability of completely clear FFF 3D Printing material, and some unique projects that have been made using it. Tom & Tracy explore and discuss the potential of this emerging material, and its potential impact on the industry.

3D Printing Apps Promote Ease of Use with Drew Taylor of AstroPrint

Mon, 20 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

In this WTFFF?! episode we decided to follow up withsomeone we met at SoCal MakerCon. Back then we didn’t have enough time to getin depth about what they do; the company is AstroPrint.

In the SoCal MakerConinterview with him I said that their company is just apps and software, so it didn’tquite excite me. But now that we havelearned more about it, I actually think it really is exciting.

Drew Taylor is one ofthe founders of AstroPrint, and we had a really good interview with him.

Diversify Your 3D Print Freelance Work, But Not Too Much!

Fri, 17 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Today Tom and Tracy Hazzard discuss why you should diversify your 3D print freelance work, but maybe not too much! Where and how to get started and how to promote your skills in a professional and concise manner.

End User 3D Printing

Thu, 16 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Today we are bringing you a follow-up interview that was mentioned in our episode with Brandon Davis where we talked about his mission with the new Blue Dragon and end user 3D printing, of FFF 3D printing. I think this is really interesting that we’re focusing on people who are really choosing FFF printers for end use production. This has happened multiple times now.

I think maybe because it’s more flexible. That’s really just such an interesting thing and that’s what they’re discovering here. Because here partnering with Blue Dragon to make the printer accommodate the materials and do the things that they need. The company we’re talking to is Jumpstart CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility is what the CSR stands for. They’re looking at how you can improve the human condition and health wellness, that kind of thing, through sensor technology, software enabled systems and 3D Printed products.

Planktomania – 3D Print Plankton

Wed, 15 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Today, we’re going to talk about 3D print plankton by Planktomania. Their website is a great resource for teachers and students out there. This just shows how 3D printing creates endless possibilities specifically in for education. Something micro can now be printed and held and experienced, taking the learning process to a whole new level.

MorphiApp CAD Software Review

Tue, 14 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

MorphiApp is a tablet-based CAD software that I think is a great starting point for kids or even adults who are just getting into 3D printing and CAD softwares. It has a free version and a paid version. It is only for Apple or iOS based devices for now though. But is impressive in it’s capabilities, and you can do a lot with it, even in the free version.

Building Bytes 3D Printed Bricks

Mon, 13 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

An interesting project out of the Netherlands, a hot bed of 3D printing, is our inspiration for this episode of Design Friday. It comes from designer/architect Brian Peters who made 3D printed bricks that he calls Building Bytes. We are so intrigued by the customization you can get with these, each brick is different and designed to be unique from the others to create these structures. Videos and more over at 3dstartpoint.com.

Estimating the Power of 3D Printing with Ron Hollis of CLSI

Fri, 10 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

An incredible interview with one of the earliest adopters and mover and shaker in 3D printing, Ron Hollis. He’s been fascinated with 3D printing since the early ’90s back when it was only referred to as rapid prototyping. He has a wealth of knowledge and business lessons to learn from such as how current 3D print companies should follow his business model with Quick Parts and how they are missing out on utilizing a key asset of their business. It was fascinating to hear about where everything we are doing today came from and why this economy has worked, along with some surprises that came from potential business failures.

Applied 3D Printing with Brandon Davis of Blue Dragon

Thu, 09 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Today, we’re going to talk about what I think is the mantra so far for the year, applied 3D printing, applications of 3D printing, applied technology.

We have a recurring guest, Brandon Davis, he is the founder and CEO of Blue Dragon. Brandon has been so much in sales and customer support in his history. That’s how we met him. He used to work for Leapfrog. He has always been really closely tied with the customers and what they’re doing with the printers and how they’re servicing the printers. He’s really providing a higher level of customer service than a lot of other sales forces that I’ve come across.

I think that has helped him really understand what companies need. Now, he’s built a company that’s making a printer with the applications in mind that is customer’s need and making it flexible enough to be adjusted for that. Now, instead of starting with the printer, we’re starting with the customer first and what they need to print and how they need to print it. That’s fantastic.

Women In 3D Printing Meetup

Wed, 08 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Today, Tom is going to ask Tracy questions about the Women in 3D Printing meetup that she attended virtually. Tracy will talk about the things that she learned and realized in this meetup, like the role of tech in jobs, how everything comes back to art and design and how companies in the industry need to have a little more end user empathy focus.

Simplify3D Slicing Software Review

Tue, 07 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Simplify3D, from my experience and in my opinion, is the best slicing software that I’ve come across so far. It’s not free, but it is well worth it’s price. Simplify3D, not only does it have more capabilities than any other slicing software I’ve used, but it really is a very comprehensive program and it has a well done user interface.

Debunking the 3D Print IP Loss Hype

Mon, 06 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Some very bad information is out there about the “threat” of 3D printing to businesses. Tom and Tracy Hazzard discuss two recent articles that pushed out some misinformation about the industry. The trademark and licensing industries have gotten 3D printing all wrong, and don’t have their systems set for this new technology.

OLO, The First Smart Phone SLA 3D Printer

Fri, 03 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

While not in the FFF realm, the OLO smart phone printer isdefinitely noteworthy and is the subject of this Tech Tuesday. It came out of avery successful Kickstarter campaign for a resin 3D printer. It’s very simple,very small, very cheap, and uses your smart phone and an app to create thefinished products. Quite an interesting concept and another interesting gatewayinto 3D printing for a new or younger user.

Scan The World Inititative

Thu, 02 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Today, we’re going to take a deeper dive into scanning, and in particular 3D scanning art, and on an initiative that is really trying to scan the whole world in reality. It’s pretty ambitious. We’ve got Jon Beck on the show. He’s Project Manager at MyMiniFactory for the Scan The World project. It is very cool. It is the idea that they’re going to scan sculptures around the world in hopes of 3D print art preservation and 3D scanned art preservation of course. Also, to really make these 3D scans available to people around the world to be able to print and experience the art when they don’t have the ability to travel to see the original.

Scan The World Inititative

Thu, 02 Feb 2017 10:00:00 GMT

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Gold Liquid 3D PRinter

Wed, 01 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Liquid gold or gold 3D printing can forever change the industry of jewelry design. But are all jewelry designers going to need to go learn CAD? Or will that limit their artistic skills and creative process? Also, you’ve got to have the right printer for these types of designs or you’re not going to get the feedback you need.

3D Print Get Rich Quick Guide: Yeah Right!

Tue, 31 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

We get a little bit critical today of a book called 3D Printing Business: How to Get Rich from Home with 3D Printing. We found this book on Amazon and even though it was only $4, we think it is totally not worth it! But it’s not just the book, it’s the whole concept of ‘3D Print Get Rich Quick’ that we think really hurt the 3D printing industry. 3D printing is not a get rich from home overnight type of thing. It’s just not that.

Disrupt Sales with Marketing Automation that Feels Human

Mon, 30 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Disrupt the normal sales process with human-like marketing automation. Discover how to create an email sequence to get people to take action on their request, and why it’s critical to consider the timing of your follow up emails. You learn why this sequence accelerates prospects to do business with you when compared with typical approaches to email contact.

What do you get when you combine an engineering nerd with passion for marketing automation with a pinch of heavy metal? You get, Paul Sokol!

Paul has a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Central Florida but don’t let the scare you. He really understands the psychology of selling disruption. Paul worked for Infusionsoft directly as a Success Coach. He helped hundreds of businesses get up and running and then became Product Manager of Campaign Content and built out all the free marketplace campaigns.

3D Print Teaching Startpoint with Drew Lentz of MakerBot

Mon, 30 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Anyone of our listeners, teachers, educators, or head of the PTA even, anyone who is considering getting 3D printing into schools, this is the one for you. We had a great conversation with Drew Lentz the manager of the MakerBot Learning Team. He shared many helpful and free resources for educators for all kinds of the learning spectrum, whether one is a right brained or a left brained type of learner there’s a program for you to learn 3D modeling. Makerbot has some great events this summer for teachers, hosting Make-A-Thons in major cities across the country.

Discarding 3D Print Ideas

Fri, 27 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Discerning which 3D Print ideas to discard can be difficult, whether it be 3D designs or 3D business ideas. How to avoid “shiny object syndrome” and keep your business balanced between all the different ideas and how to know which idea to follow through on and which to discard and move away from.

3D Printed Shoes by Feetz, with Lucy Beard

Thu, 26 Jan 2017 10:00:00 GMT

We had the opportunity to hear Lucy speak in San Diego at the Inside 3D Printing conference last December. We were really impressed with her. We went up to her after her talk and asked her to be a guest on the show, and was more than happy to do it. Lucy was requested by Eduardo Martini via Facebook, he saw the online promo video for their shoes and suggested her as a guest. We’ve been looking for female CEOs in the 3D printing world, and she certainly is one. What we really loved about her, which is why we were so eager to get her on the show and walked right up to her after the talk, was that she’s meticulous and has analyzed and researched every single aspect of their business, how they’re touching it, and how 3D printing works and everything about it.

To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at info@3dstartpoint.com or on our facebook ! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don’t forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled Thursday podcast episodes!

4 CEOs in 4 Years for MakerBot

Wed, 25 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

In current news for the 3D printing industry, MakerBot now has a new CEO. That’s 4 CEOs in 4 years. Tom and Tracy Hazzard discuss their thoughts on what caused this and what it means for the company moving forward. They share their opinion on what went wrong and what needs to change for MakerBot.

Cura Slicing Software Review

Tue, 24 Jan 2017 10:00:00 GMT

Cura is a free slicing software that is created by Ultimaker. Cura has a lot of features, and these are definitely for the advanced user. If you’re serious about doing your own slicing and want to do advanced things that go beyond predefined basic slicing settings, then the Cura slicing software is definitely a good slicer to try out. Tom provides you a thorough guided tour of Cura’s features, and what sets it apart from other slicers.

Mixed Emotions (or Emojis) with Austin Robey of Make Mode

Mon, 23 Jan 2017 10:00:00 GMT

Real world 3D print design sales numbers are hard to come by, and we are glad that Austin Robey of Make Mode has generously offered to share his Shapeways shop stats for his line of 3D printed emoticons or emojis. Through our discussion there are many take-aways to gain about what to design, how to market your products, types of consumers are in the different 3D print “store fronts”, and even what platform is already set up for sales success and how others are lacking.

Trimble SketchUp CAD Software Review

Fri, 20 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Trimble SketchUp is a free CAD design program that should not be passed up for new 3D print creators and those collaborating with a team to create 3D models. Looking at who should consider making the jump from the free version to the Pro version and what sorts of designers might want to take a second look at the many different features it has to offer.

3D Printing Toys with Mark Trageser of InsaniTOY

Thu, 19 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Our guest, Mark Trageser, has been embracing and taking advantage of what 3D printing affords designers in the realm of 3D printing toys. His strong opinions on the 3D print industry and different companies with in it are a breath of fresh air. With his impressive background in design, working with Fisher-Price and Mattel, he has extensive experience in manufacturing toys and shares key consideration points on the complexities of bringing these products to the shelf.

Robo3D Updates

Wed, 18 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

We got quite a few Robo3D updates after touching base with Braydon Moreno at this years CES. Robo 3D unveiled many new features to their 3D printer platform to include quite a handful of helpfuls apps that integrate with their 3D printer system in a way that many other companies just do not have.

Robo3D Updates

Wed, 18 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

CES 2017 Event Review

Tue, 17 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

In comparison to last year’s this CES 2017 event review features far fewer 3D printing companies, but attending the show this year revealed how the desktop 3D print industry has matured. We are covering it all today from 3D scanners, software, new 3D printers, service bureaus, and even some new design possibilities. For those of you that did not have the opportunity to attend the show, we have you covered.

How to Improve 3D Prints – Tips and Suggestions

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Answering a listener question about how to improve 3D prints and outlining a plan of attack to diagnose why the print didn’t come off the build plate beautifully in the first place. With so many variables to consider like print speed, infill, filament, surface smoothness, the CAD design itself, and many other options in the slicing software, it is difficult to narrow down how to improve 3D prints if you don’t know where it went wrong. Tom and Tracy Hazzard offer up a few of their best suggestions that will make big improvements on your 3D printed pieces.

Buzzed Beer 3D Print Filament

Fri, 13 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

3D printers have long advocated how 3D printing is a zero to low waste manufacturing process, and with the development of Buzzed Beer 3D print filament, it has opened the doors to all sorts of recycled filament opportunities. By repurposing the by -products made from the production of beer, this boozy filament makes it fun to “go green” with 3D printing and the perfect example of collaborative capitalism.

3D Print STEAM Challenges with Todd VanHoogstrate of Rippl3D

Thu, 12 Jan 2017 10:00:00 GMT

New 3D print technology plays on familiar classic STEAM projects in the classrooms at Rippl3D. Capturing excitement in STEM and STEAM at an early age is critical to educational development and 3D printing is another tool educators can use to drive student engagement. Rippl3D has a database full of 3D print STEAM projects, as well as a long list of 3D print STEAM challenges that come along with taking on this type of endeavor to reach out to students during the short window of opportunity and interest.

3D Printed Weapons – Russian 3D Printed Bullets

Wed, 11 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

With the emergence of a 3D printed gun, it comes as no suprise that testing has been done on the creation and use of 3D printed bullets. Tom and Tracy Hazzard question what this means and could mean for warfare, safety issues, and users that choose to print these items at home?

3D Print Patents for 2017

Tue, 10 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Taking a look at recent 3D print patents for 2017 that have emerged, what the technology means for the 3DP market, and how they may or may not be successful in achieving their goals.

M3D Printer Review – Battle of the Mini 3D Printers

Mon, 09 Jan 2017 10:00:00 GMT

Funded through a successful Kickstarter campaign, the M3D printer was ready for order fulfilment as of last year’s CES show. While the package and product design was well done, many of the 3D printing capabilites of this particular printer model were lacking. Despite a number of failed test prints, the M3D team did have one thing going for them that so many other 3D printer companies and manufactuers simply do not address; customer service.

Critical Thinking is Taught Through Arts, not Science

Fri, 06 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Putting 3D printers in schools is taking steps forward to bring the arts back to schools in a new found way by combining technology with creativity and generating new ways for students to learn basic curriculum components such as math, history, and geography. Tom and Tracy advocate why the “A” should be added to traditional STEM programs and curriculum to develop critial thinking as it relates to 3D print design.

3D Print Business Evaluation with Dr. Mike Vasquez of 3Degrees

Thu, 05 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Looking at if it’s feasible for a company to get a solid 3D print business evaluation from in-house sources with Dr. Mike Vasquez of 3Degrees. Businesses large and small should all consider getting a 3D print business evaluation to see if additive manufacturing is a viable option for their products and processes, but the trick is knowing how to find a knowledgeable source from the technology and product side. It’s past time to start exploring the capabilities of 3D printing for your business, and a professionally done 3D print business evaluation can jump the learning curve for any size company.

3D Printed Games and Toys

Wed, 04 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Looking at the issue of designing well thought-out 3D printed games and toys and why the market is full of repeats and reinventions. While some use the file depository sites to post the first and second drafts of their 3D printed games and toys to gain valuable design feedback, others misuse them and put up for sale or submission to contests. Identifying the differences between sculpture and design and how it applies to toys and games as functional or artistic pieces as well as the need for a design feedback loop.

3D Print Market Saturation

Tue, 03 Jan 2017 10:00:00 GMT

As we enter 2017 Tom & Tracy take a deeper dive into the questions of if the desktop 3D print market is already, or becoming saturated? What does market saturation really mean anyway? What has it looked like in other industries?

Going Green with 3D Printing

Mon, 02 Jan 2017 11:00:00 GMT

3D printing makes it easy to go green in a number of ways, primarily in product creation. Tom and Tracy Hazzard look at how their past designed products could have been made with far less plastic in a more Earth friendly manner and showing how much plastic is wasted in traditional manufacturing methods. Even the United States Postal Service has a plan for 3D printing reducing their carbon footprint. Combined with more localized manufacturing, it’s easy to go green with 3D printing.