3D Printers and Printing

Dot Silverman is an Electronics Designer at Instructables. She has a BA in Physics, with an emphasis in Engineering, and she is passionate about merging creativity and the sciences. — Experience 3D Printing: Art and Engineering 3D-printed mounts used in Silverman’s “Mobile Sun-Seeking Robot” project. “I was first introduced to 3D printing during my sophomore year of college, and started using 3D printers extensively when I joined the Instructables team. I’ve designed everything from ornamental products, like 3D-printed earrings, to more functional items, like 3D-printed components to hold down motors. I’ve found that the Afinia works well for all sorts of projects. Playing Favorites “We have a number of different [Read more…]

Daniel Lucaci leads Industrial Inspection Systems (IIS) Ltd., located in Ontario, Canada. IIS provides automated Non-Destructive Testing and Examination (NDT/NDE) solutions to the oil and gas industries. An Industry of Integrity Oil and gas pipeline integrity is extremely important. Pipelines can fail due to defects such as corrosion, cracks, or dents. These can result in property damage, injuries or, in the worst cases, fatalities. Daniel Lucaci’s company provides testing and automation solutions to pipeline manufacturers that certify and ensure the safety of their pipes. IIS solutions allow manufacturers to automatically inspect their pipeline welds for defects. If a defect is encountered, it is marked and an alarm is activated so [Read more…]

Setting The Scene with the Afinia 3D Printer Owen Collins is a Professor and Head of the Department of Theatre at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA, about 3 hours southwest of Washington, DC. Prologue Owen had always enjoyed theater’s “technical side”. “My dad is an architect, and through him, I developed an interest in drafting. During the late 80’s I was employed at his firm and learned how to use computer drafting tools.” “During graduate school, I became interested in how computers were used to control the “technical side” of the production: lighting, sound and video affects. I worked in New York City for a year and then [Read more…]

TANDEMKROSS is a New Hampshire-based company that locally designs and manufactures gun improvement products. Their mission is to solve firearm problems that the manufacturers can’t or won’t: Making good guns great. Competitive Shooters Their market is predominantly gun-owners who use their firearms for competitive shooting. They make magazine expanders, front and rear sights, and kits to simplify the takedown of guns for cleaning, as well as many other accessories for Ruger, KelTec, and other manufacturers. “The firearm industry, as we know it today, has been around since the 50’s. When you look back at the number of manufacturers that have been around for a while, there aren’t that many. Colt, [Read more…]

3D Printed Minnesota Wild Logo The Minnesota Wild are still hanging on in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After upsetting the Colorado Avalanche, they are giving the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks a run for their money. The Wild logo was designed by John Westrum of Afinia, this print showcases our H-Series’ ability to easily stop in mid-job and change filament colors. Red layer first, followed by Yellow, Green and White. [Read more…]

Clark Barnett is an Educator and Education Technology Consultant in Thousand Oaks, CA. He is currently part of the Conejo Valley Unified School District and an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University. In education circles, he’s known for his Ecosystem and build-a-bug Entomology labs. Engaging Through Experience “I was trying to figure out how to really engage my students because Ecosystems and Entomology are subjects that are far more interesting to experience than to read about. Fortunately, I got my hands on an Afinia Desktop 3D Printer last summer and the teaching ideas just began to flow. I decided to tell the kids that the classroom was an Environment in which [Read more…]

Grease, as he’s known to his friends and clients, grew up in St. Paul, MN’s East Side and served in the U.S. Army from 1980 to 1986. He was stationed in Bamburg, Germany and Ft. Carson, CO and, afterwards, served 2 years in the Army Reserves. Greg was with 11 Bravo Company Infantry. “When I arrived at Ft. Carson one of the Executive Officers was looking for a driver, so I volunteered. I drove a jeep for him, he liked my work ethic, and I then got a job driving for the Commanding Officer.” “After my discharge, I wanted to continue my education, so I attended a graphic arts school. [Read more…]

We’re rounding out the year for Time Lapse Thursday, with only one more left. For this week, we decided to toss in a bit of a complex structure by printing a Castle created by ramenspork. This design is just as detailed and impressive small as it is when printed on larger scale. We printed our file at: Z Layer Resolution: 0.20mm Fill: Loose Material: ABS Quality: Normal With Raft Size: 82.51 x 68.38 x 99.12 mm What we really enjoyed about this print is that it’s what everyone needs to complete their very own fantasy world! Go ahead, STORM THE CASTLE! Until next week, Happy Printing! [Read more…]

Welcome Back to Time Lapse Thursday! This week’s Time Lapse Thursday is the second half of our two-part series. We will be finishing up with the second video showing the GoPro Case we 3D printed. The case is attached to the GoPro Drone Mount on the bottom of an AR Parrot Drone. This model is designed by Gimungus. We printed our file at:Z Layer Resolution: 0.15mmFill: SolidMaterial: ABSQuality: NormalWith RaftSize: 75.18 x 97.66 x 23.28 mm Thanks for tuning in to see the conclusion of our two-part time lapse. Visit our Instagram page to take a peek at the final assembled GoPro Drone Mount model.Until next week, Happy Printing! [Read more…]

This week’s Time Lapse Thursday is half of a two-part series. To start, we’re showing you the time lapse for the mount pieces that can be attached to the bottom of an AR Parrot Drone. This model is designed by Gimungus. We printed our file at:Z Layer Resolution: 0.15mmFill: SolidMaterial: ABSQuality: NormalWith RaftSize: 101.70 x 114.64 x 110.72 mm Tune in next week to see the second half of this time lapse and the final assembled GoPro Drone Mount model. Until next week, Happy Printing! [Read more…]

It’s happened to everyone, you’re working on a project and SNAP! – a piece breaks. Then you have to make that inevitable trip to the store and buy just one item to complete your project. But the store sells your ONE item in packs of 4… What do you do? Instead of enduring all that, why not just 3D Print your replacement piece? Which is precisely what we’re showing you today! Today we printed a Church Bracket created by Steve Carlson. Steve reached out to us and sent us this file to print. It turned out great, and saved him (and us) a trip to the store! We printed our [Read more…]

Welcome back to Time Lapse Thursday! This Time Lapse Thursday post highlights the ability of the H-Series to print a model that has moving parts and hinges. We printed a Hinge Box created by profhankd. This nifty little box can lie flat or fold up to hide a little treasure inside, the choice is up to you! We printed our file at: Z Layer Resolution: 0.15mm Fill: Solid Material: ABS Quality: fine No Raft Size: 86.18 x 122.09 x 8.08 mm Did you know that we’re looking for models to display at our CES booth? If you use your Afinia 3D Printer to prototype or manufacture, we want to hear [Read more…]

Welcome to Time Lapse Thursday! For today’s print we’ve chosen a sculpture of Recursive Spheres created by SteedMaker. This print was designed to be a stand-alone sculpture that is an abstract representation of a lighthouse. Although we didn’t add a light for our time lapse, we completely see the appeal of illuminating this sculpture. SteedMaker shows some really great pictures demonstrating how this print can brighten any room. We printed our file at: Z Layer Resolution : 0.20mm Fill: Loose Material: ABS Quality: Normal With Raft Size: 63.70 x 65.56 x 3.00 mm Give this print a try and let us know how it brightened your day! Until next week, [Read more…]

Welcome back to Time Lapse Thursday! This week we have a few people at the Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo, we wanted to print something that will appeal to the inner nerd in all of us, as well as give our team a little something to chat about while at the conference. So for today’s print we chose the mascot for the newest release of Android – Kit Kat created by p0Pe. To all our Android and Google fans out there – How SWEET is this? We printed our file at Z Layer Resolution : 0.15mm Fill: Loose Material: ABS Quality: Fine With Raft Size: 81.00 x 120.25 x [Read more…]

Happy Time Lapse Thursday! Today for our Time Lapse Thursday video, we wanted to showcase a file that one of our Afiniacs sent us. This file was supplied by Wri3d.com. It was created and inspired by the work of Peter Reynolds. We printed this file twice. First, we wanted to see what its full dimensions could be on the Afinia H-Series 3D Printer. We used that information to create the second print. The second time we printed, we decided to have a bit of fun with the “pause and print” feature to get the layers. We like how it turned out the second time, but we still really enjoy the [Read more…]

Welcome to another edition of Time Lapse Thursday! This week we decided to have a little fun with what we printed. We chose to print some things that all ages would smile at, and yet are still functional. We printed some Zookins – Animal Napkin Rings created by gwygonik. Feel free to use these for your every day dinner setting, or a cute little surprise for your kids at dinner. They also double real nice as distractions on your desk during those long conference calls. Any way you choose to use them, they are cute, durable, and certainly a conversation piece! We printed our files at Z Layer Resolution : [Read more…]

Happy Time Lapse Thursday! This week, we’re going a little throwback – to a time when Geeks ruled the social atmosphere (and world). A long time ago, in a galaxy far away… This week, we printed something that all Star Wars fans should be able to recognize, a TIE Interceptor. This fictional spacecraft first made its appearance on the silver screen in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. We thought it was only fitting to post this print during Geek Week on Youtube. Our print was printed in sections and assembled to make it whole. The body was designed by DavidHanwell and the stand by henriksson19. It’s important to [Read more…]