3D Printers and Printing

Glen Risberger, Afiniac and Mentor to Gladstone Robotics Glen Risberger really likes robots, so much so, that he has been a mentor of the Gladstone Robotics team (First Robotics Club #3131) for many years. Looking to help take his team to the next level, Glen began looking for a 3D printer to create custom robot parts. “There were lots of kits available. We decided that we would rather build robots than a 3D printer so we started investigating ones that were already built. We got really serious in October and November of 2012 and received a copy of Make Magazine’s Ultimate Guide To 3D Printing. It was obvious to us [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…]

Vadym Chalenko: Designer, Inventor, and Manufacturer Vadym Chalenko began his career as a graphic designer and has created illustrations for a number of retail t-shirt customers. He also has an interest in photography/ videography, and therein lies the start of his journey from Inventor, to 3D printing to Manufacturing. Capturing Inspiration “Last September I was looking for another phone and was really surprised by the photographic and video-graphic quality of the new models. I selected a Galaxy S3 and started using it more as a camera than as a phone.” The Beastgrip is a universal lens adapter and rig system for Iphone, Android or Windows phones. “Overall, camera phones have [Read more…]

3D Printing, Math, Biology and Worm Locomotion Eva Strawbridge, Assistant Professor – Department of Mathematics and Statistics, James Madison University (JMU) and Jeff Kopsick, Junior in Mathematics and Biology are on an unlikely 3D printing journey. We’ll get to the worm locomotion part, shortly… Their story began when Jeff took an independent study course in 3D printing. He’d never seen a 3D printer in action and knew that his Dad’s company used one to design bottle cap prototypes. That was it. Once familiar with the capabilities of a 3D printer, Jeff was inspired, and wondered if a 3D printer could be used to create micro-environments through which round worms (Caenorhabditis [Read more…]

This Time Lapse Thursday print came in as a request from our friends over at PrintedSolid. They knew of an Afiniac who was printing some amazing models, and wanted us to get in on it. Well to that we say… Challenge Accepted! We downloaded the Angry Tentacle Guy, originally created by chaitanyak and reproduced by Afiniac, JuliaDee. Knowing that this model had successfully been printed on an Afinia H-Series, we weren’t the least bit concerned. We ran the model at a standard setting, lo and behold it turned out great! There are still a few adjustments that could be made to produce a finer resolution, but we wanted to try [Read more…]

Welcome to Time Lapse Thursday! For today’s print, we chose a design that was created and is used by one of our fellow 3D Printing enthusiasts. This print is called “Cute Octopus Says Hello.” We wanted to print this octopus for any of you that are still on the fence about purchasing a 3D Printer. If you are looking to purchase these are some things to consider: initial investment, filament type & cost, warranty options and, most importantly, customer service and support. Another consideration is the print resolution. We printed this octopus using the ‘fine’ setting, which created a very smooth look and feel. Awww… Go ahead, you can say [Read more…]

Robert Hughes of Lucky Bug Lures: “Fish Be Warned!” The Lucky Bug Lure Company is a family-run business located in Vancouver, British Columbia that has been growing steadily since 2000. Much of the recent increase in business is because of Robert’s design talent and, partly, due to recent investment in an Afinia Desktop 3D Printer. “Before we purchased our Afinia, it would take 6 – 8 weeks and many hundreds of dollars to get a single prototype completed. Now, I can bring in a drawing , my designer prints it and we’ll be fishing with the prototype yet that morning. We make adjustments during lunch, print a new prototype, fish [Read more…]

Students get an edge with 3D printer packages designed for Next Generation Science Standards Afinia teams with Pitsco to offer affordable 3D printing education Rapid prototyping is all the rage as 3D printers pop up in companies and schools everywhere, but teaching about it has been a go-it-alone journey. Until now. 3D printing, which creates three-dimensional objects by laying down successive layers of material, is becoming widespread in engineering and manufacturing for rapid prototyping and production. Considering this, giving students an opportunity to understand the technology is important for the future of industry. So Afinia, a supplier of desktop 3D printers, teamed with Pitsco Education, a provider of STEM learning [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…]

Dr. Chris Williams, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering in the Department of Engineering Education. Dr. Williams also directs the DREAMSLab at Virginia Tech (Design, Research and Education for additive manufacturing Systems), which contains eight different 3D printers representing five different 3D printing technologies. A strong proponent of additive manufacturing and 3D printing, Dr. Williams was interested in developing a way for K-12 STEM teachers to bring the technology to their schools. As part of its outreach program, the DREAMSLab holds 3D printing workshops for K-12 STEM teachers at the National Science Foundation (NSF) center for e-design’s Research Experience for Teachers (RET). During the week-long [Read more…]

Erin Wincek: A Librarian’s 3D Printing Journey Erin Wincek has one foot planted in the library’s tradition of community service, and the other in high-tech. What makes her especially interesting is how she blends the two and her resulting impact on her region. My journey began when I was listening to NPR. I was in the car with my kids and a story came on about 3D printing. I had never heard of such a thing. Time literally stopped and I was transfixed by the possibilities. From then on, I read anything I could find about the subject and talked to anyone who would listen. I still had not seen [Read more…]

For Immediate Release AFINIA Desktop 3D Printers and Supplies Now Available Chanhassen, MN – August 2, 2013 –AFINIA’s award-winning H479 desktop 3D printer and supplies are now being sold online by Best Buy, CDW, STAPLES Canada, Tiger Direct and B&H Photo Video. 3D printers apply very thin layers of ABS or PLA plastic in precise patterns, which are stacked and fused together to form 3D objects. The AFINIA 3D printer has rapidly become one of the most well-known products in the desktop 3d printing space because of its ease-of-use, low price point, and remarkable output resolution. “We are pleased that these nationally-recognized companies have selected AFINIA 3D printers to be [Read more…]

Happy Time Lapse Thursday! This week we’re highlighting the H-Series’s new capability for pausing the print and swapping out the filament. We chose to print a Knot Vortex designed by SteedMaker, and printed it on glass. This object was printed with a normal quality setting and the printer still turns out this amazingly detailed object. The whole print took about 9 hours to complete printing, and this is including the time for the 2 filament swaps. It turned out to be a nice piece that everyone here at the office comments on when they walk past. Our file was printed at: Z Layer Resolution : 0.20mm Fill: Loose Material: ABS [Read more…]

Thank you for your support of our teacher, students and school. The Target Range school community is fortunate to have innovative educators that bring practical experiences to our students. The 3D printer that you have supplied has increased our ability even more. Thank you very much. Partnerships are positive for education and I look forward to continuing our partnership with you. [Read more…]

Dr. Phil Metzger, Ph.D. is the Lead Research Physicist and founder of NASA’s Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) Lab, which is part of the Surface Systems Swamp Works (gotta love it). Here’s Phil’s explanation of what the GMRO does: “The GMRO Lab develops technologies primarily related to regolith – that is, excavation, conveyance, in and out of chemical processors, manufacturing and construction with regolith, site preparation, landing pad construction, prediction of rocket exhaust blast effects, etc.” It is the GMRO’s work that will make lunar 3D printing possible. Here’s Phil’s mind-expanding take on the motivation, challenges and possibilities. “The cost of a lunar mission is directly proportional to the [Read more…]

I am a Mechanical Engineer with 23 years of product development experience. I have worked at several fortune 100 companies and have used several different kinds/brands of expensive 3d printers. The AFINIA H479 3D printer works very well and the output is comparible to machines I have used. I was very surprised and amazed at how the printer and software handled a small helical gear (1.25″ dia. X 0.375″ tall X 48 teeth.) Printed gear was functional. Start up kit was complete and set-up straight forward. Software occasionally hangs up when sending a print job from the PC to the printer, but a reset of the printer resolves the issue. [Read more…]

Very satisfied with Afinia 3D printer. Software works well. Machine does a good job making models. Accuracy is excellent based on this printing technology. Setup took a bit of time getting the platform level and printing height set. Have made many models for engineering school and old car restoration. Best to withdraw filament after a printing job. Have had filament stick and had to drill out nozzle. Reviewed by: Jerry Craig from St. Louis Missouri. on 2/10/2013 [Read more…]

…I bought one thru the Makershed. Finally a 3d printer that just prints when you hit print. [Read more…]

Great printer! We’ve been using the printer in our office nearly non-stop for prototype construction. [Read more…]

by Aaron H. Pratt, VP Marketing – Microboards Technology/Afinia Almost exactly one year ago, we made the decision to enter the fray of 3D printing. What we saw then, and what we see now, was a disruptive technology, positioned to change business, that was beginning to make its way into the desktop market. Technologically speaking, we knew we were a late entrant. 3D printing, sometimes called Additive manufacturing, had been around for 30 years in one form or another. But marketwise, we saw a window of opportunity. Suddenly, garage tinkerers and back-room hobbyists were beginning to produce a product that met the economic requirements and piqued the interest of a [Read more…]

I’m fairly new to 3D Printing and got involved via our work with the folks at Afinia. We brought a printer over to the office, set it up and started using it within 45 minutes. Initially, we made models from Thingiverse that we used in videos and photoshoots. I have to admit, I moved the printer into the warehouse so that I wouldn’t gawk at it while it was working. As I started to think about other applications, one came to mind (Duh-OH!): I have a bunch of melted, broken and missing parts for things around our home that have never been replaced. I recall searching an hour on a [Read more…]