3D Printers and Printing

Dr. Thornburg is the founder and Director of Global Operations for the Thornburg Center and an award-winning Futurist, author, and consultant. He recently authored “The Invent to Learn Guide to 3D Printing in the Classroom: Recipes for Success” with Norma Thornburg and Sara Armstrong. Learning In Style Studies have shown that students have different learning styles. Some may learn visually, some aurally, and some kinetically. Dr. Thornburg realizes that students all learn differently, also recognizing that “students learn best when they are constructors of their own knowledge.” For this reason, Dr. Thornburg has focused on creating materials that assist educators in encouraging their students to construct knowledge and “become comfortable [Read more…]

Charles is a metal designer and 3D printing enthusiast living in Las Vegas, NV. Although he is a SolidWorks wizard and has produced some amazing prints, he says, “I am honored to be known only as a friend helping Tom and Keith”, two YouTube personalities in the metalworking field. We were very excited to talk with Charles, and patience was a virtue in the process. He stays so busy printing on his 3D printer (for both himself and others) that it is hard to find the time to connect. Charles chuckles and admits, “I was hoping to contact you sooner, but I spent the day designing & printing items for [Read more…]

David White is a talented freelance illustration and concept design artist in Western Massachusetts. He specializes in robot art and has self-published books and other items for fans of robotics. White began creating 3D-printed designer toys in July of 2013. Some of his big-name clients include Lego and Scholastic. Most adults who spend much of their day around toys usually answer to the name of “mom” or “dad,” and spend their time picking up what a Craigslister would politely term “well-loved” toys. David White is an exception. Toying Around White’s days are almost entirely spent around toys. White’s workbench is filled with parts for his designer toys. However, these toys [Read more…]

Some say that 3D printing is in the “infancy” stage, working its way toward the mainstream. Indeed, the novelty of 3D printers increases the excitement about projects that are being completed with this technology. But while some people spend their days dreaming of 3D print possibilities, there are Afinia users who are making their dreams a reality. We’re proud to announce our first eBook, Afinia 3D Printer-Enabled Innovators: Stories of Success. Download the eBook and read about Afinia customers who have used their 3D printers to accomplish great things for business, for education, and for hobbies. Enjoy! [Read more…]

“Our story begins when a few educators in Baltimore learned that the city was closing the nearby Rec Center. The closings were due to the financial constraints of the Baltimore school district budget. Two blocks from one of the most recent Rec Center closures, however, a technology teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools had a vision of revitalization. His vision found a way to re-imagine the role this underutilized space could fill by converting it from a Rec Center into a Tech Center, where youth could learn a wide variety of high-growth, tech-sector skills such as digital fabrication, web or app development, and electronics. To turn this dream into reality, [Read more…]

Bonnie Roskes is the creator of 3DVinci, a company that offers training in SketchUp and other application tutorials to beginners and professionals and everyone in between. Roskes is a professional structural engineer who loves teaching others how to use great modeling applications. Her “Google SketchUp Cookbook” was a Graphic Design Amazon Bestseller in 2009. In The Beginning 3DVinci was an innovation born out of necessity. “I wrote the first tutorial for SketchUp in 2001, when SketchUp wasn’t at all mainstream. There were no other tutorials on the market, and people needed guidance on how to use the software. In 2006, when Google bought SketchUp, there was a free version that [Read more…]

Daniel Casner is the president of Robot Garden, a community workshop that provides members with the resources to create technologic and artistic projects, individually or as part of a team. As an indication of Casner’s community activity, he recently received the President’s Volunteer Service Award. “An idea is a curious thing. It will not work unless you do.” – Jaeger’s Facts Daniel has the above quote on his personal website. After interviewing him, it is clear that through hard work, he has been able to bring great ideas to life. One such idea is Robot Garden, a community workshop in Livermore, CA. Robot Garden strives to inspire and educate the [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…]

Afinia 3D, a leading supplier of Desktop 3D Printers, now offers a new line of Premium PLA filament at store.afinia.com. Current colors include Green, Blue, and Gray, with Black, White, and Natural becoming available in the fall. PLA, also known as Polylactic Acid, is a cornstarch derivative and is the world’s second most commonly-used 3D printing thermoplastic. “Afiniacs are an enthusiastic and creative bunch, and they have asked us to add PLA filament to our line-up. In our experience, 3rd party manufactured PLA filaments do not print consistently and have issues with brittleness, nozzle clogging, and bridging or spider webbing that can leave users disappointed with the results. Our Premium [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…]

Afinia H-Series-printed models are featured in the just-released project book Modeling in SketchUp for 3D Printing, by Bonnie Roskes. Bonnie Roskes of 3DVinci has been writing SketchUp project books and producing YouTube tutorials for over 12 years. She has recently turned her attention to using SketchUp to create models for 3D printing. Bonnie says, “The 3D printing seed was planted when several teachers approached me about writing a project book on this topic. Schools are funding STEM, and 3D printers are finding their way to more and more classrooms.” “Teachers with 3D printers often wonder how to get started and what to make. My book opens by discussing printer types, [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…]

Steve Ryan: We Want His Job Steve Ryan owns RyanTech Engineering, an Orange County-based firm that specializes in Product Design and Development. When we say, Orange County, we actually mean “off the shore of Orange County” – his office and Afinia Desktop 3D Printer are on his yacht off of Dana Point. When we asked Steve what he did for a living, he said, “What we do is take our clients’ ideas and create a manufacturable product and make sure the design intent doesn’t get lost along the way. Sometimes we engineers focus a bit too much on the engineering and loose some sight as to the intended use of [Read more…]

Mark Andersen – Restoring Pipe Organs with the help of his Afinia 3D Printer Mark Andersen is Vice President of Artisan Instruments, Inc. , a 65 year-old pipe organ restoration firm, based near Seattle, WA. He is also a concert pipe organist. In The Beginning Mark developed an interest in mechanics and music when he was quite young. “I had a bunch of model train sets and was constantly taking them apart and putting them together. About that time I was introduced to the pipe organ – it was a match made in heaven.” “When in high school, I apprenticed with a North Carolina pipe organ builder and spent many [Read more…]

Over the past few years we have heard, “3D printing is cool, but I don’t really know how that translates to real world stuff”. Here’s how some of our Afiniacs are pushing the boundaries of their industries and hobbies: Vadym Chalenko Graphic designer, illustrator, protyper, and product designer extraordinaire. Owner and creator of the Beastgrip. Just finished shipping the last of his 600 Kickstarter orders, made from 10,000+ 3D printed components. Robert Hughes Designer, prototyper, and fishing lure industry innovator. Owner of Lucky Bug Lures, a family-run business located in Vancouver, British Columbia. Bob has revolutionized the fishing lure industry by releasing several new lures each season, as opposed to [Read more…]

It was great meeting you at the 3D Printer World Expo. I can’t believe how fortunate I am to have won your printer!The printing is going amazing! I’ve only done two prints so far, but they have both gone perfectly. After hearing how difficult 3d printing is and watching my friends spend hours tinkering with their settings, I can’t believe how opposite my experience was. I setup the printer, downloaded some .stl files, hit print, and voila – I have a print! You’ve done a great job of building a product that works perfectly, right out of the box. Can’t wait to see what else I can do with it! [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…]

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…]

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…]