3D printing

Disney Research 3D-Prints Figurines With the Most Lifelike Hair Ever

3D printing can make an action figure copy of your body and face, but the hair usually ends up looking like a Lego minifig wig. The mad scientists at Disney Research just solved that, with an algorithm so powerful it can trace your hair’s shape and color with ultra-realism. The research team at Disney Research…

Disney Can Turn Any 3D-Printed Object Into a Perfectly Spinning Top

Believe it or not, Disney has a team of researchers at its disposal that do more than just make that robot Lincoln seem more lifelike. The team’s latest research involves a custom algorithm it created that can turn any 3D model, even one that’s oddly-shaped and asymmetrical, into a perfectly-balanced spinning top by simply creating…

These Wireless Earbuds Are 3D-Printed To Fit Your Ears (and Style)

For as long as I can remember, I’ve dreamed about a pair of earbuds that could pump music into my brain without the fuss of wires or plugs. And in recent years, various companieshave tried (and failed) to make good ones. A funded Kickstarter projectpromises to finally succeed. They’re called OwnPhones. Billed as “the world’s…

Solidoodle Press: An Affordable 3D Printer That Looks Like a Home Appliance

The thing about 3D printers is a lot of them look like big weird machines that don’t exactly fit in with your office feng shui or what-have-you. But Solidoodle Press is a new cute little 3D printer that looks a little less out of place, and a little more like a regular old home appliance.…

The First 3D-Printed Saxophone Sounds Surprisingly Decent

We all know that 3D printers are great for churning out plastic trinkets and tiny sculptures of questionable artistic worth, but what makes the technology truly exciting is when users push the its current limitations to create something remarkable, like a playable plastic saxophone that doesn’t sound half bad. The New York Philharmonic probably isn’t…

The 5 Best Things You Can Buy From Amazon’s 3D Printing Store

Amazon’s new 3D printing store has its share of straight-up bizarre flotsam, like an $66 decorative egg cup that absolutely no one in the world needs. I can’t mislead you: A lot of the stuff on offer is overpriced and weird. But some of the store’s offerings are solid. Here are our top picks. Wallet…

​Recreation of Richard III’s Skeleton Shows Why He Was Called an Imp

Tourists visiting the Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester can gaze into the empty grave where the king’s skeleton was discovered in 2012. His actual bones are being reinterred in Leicester Cathedral. But a 3D-printed replica is there, revealing details such as the late monarch’s twisted spine and mortal wounds. King Richard III was killed…

Amazon Now Has a Create-Your-Own 3D-Printing Store

Amazon has just opened a new 3D Printing Store, which allows customers to customize and then purchase “more than 200 unique print-on-demand products.” http://www.amazon.com/b?tag=gizmodo08c-20 Customer can take their pick from a wide variety of products to tweak: from cufflinks to credit card holders, iPhone cases to… err, custom bobbleheads. The amount of customization available on…

How 3D Printing Is Making Better Movie Monsters

Cinematic special effects have come a long way since Jason and the Argonauts. What once required dedicated and labor-intensive filming sessions can now easily be generated in near-lifelike quality by modern CGI. But Luma Pictures, an animation studio responsible for some of the biggest blockbuster movie effects of the last decade, has come full circle…

Hasbro Won’t Mind If You Design (And Sell) Your Own 3D-Printed Toys

The advent of online file sharing made it easy for anyone to copy and distribute media for free, and many feel—and fear—that 3D printing will eventually do the same for physical products. So it’s surprisingly refreshing to hear that a corporation like Hasbro has decided to embrace 3D printing, and will work with Shapeways to…

This Guy Is Making A 3D-Printed, Steampunk-Inspired Xenomorph Suit

James Burton’s UK-based company, XRobots, specializes in building science fiction props and costumes. His latest project, which he is documenting through a series of YouTube videos, is designing and printing an Alien Xenomorph costume. And, best of all, his 3D models are available for downloading! As the online publication 3D Printing Industry reports: This isn’t…

3D-Printed Ice Cream Guarantees the Perfectly Balanced Cone

The MIT students who hacked together a Cuisinart soft-serve machine, a Solidoodle, and a freezer to create this wonderful 3D ice cream printer have no plans to commercialize it; they just built it as a proof-of-concept. And that’s too bad, because if perfected this machine has the potential to engineer a perfect ice cream cone…

Starting today, Home Depot will start selling MakerBot Replicators at 12 locations in LA, SF, NY, and Chicago as part of a national pilot program. Yep, soon you’ll be able to swing by Home Depot to pick up a machine that prints all the things you swing by Home Depot for.

Build Your Own Jet Engine With This Mesmerizing 3D-Printed Model

Here’s the good news: General Electric has created a wonderful 3D model of a jet engine that anyone—even those lacking an aerospace engineering degree—can build themselves, complete with moving parts and a cutaway design so you can see everything in motion. But here’s the bad news: GE isn’t actually selling the models. It’s only making…

Watch as Laser Scanners and CNC Millers Restore a Castle’s Gargoyles

Even a building made of stone is still subject to the ravages of time, and the intricately carved gargoyles on Kronborg Castle in Denmark were in desperate need of repair before they crumbled into dust. We all know how easy it is to replicate something using a 3D printer, but if you need something made…

A Supernova You Can Hold In The Palm Of Your Hand

Last century, a massive binary system went supernova, ejecting at least 10 times the mass of our Sun into space. NASA scientists have now created the first hi-res model of the expanding cloud produced by this iconic outburst. During the eruption, which occurred between 1838 and 1845 (at least from our perspective in the Hubble…

The Best (And Worst) Famous Works of Art You Can 3D-Print At Home

Last month, Scott Kildall and Bryan Cera published a 3D digital model of artist Marcel Duchamp’s chess kit. The original, hand-carved by Duchamp, is gone—but now anyone with a 3D printer can recreate the artist’s kings and rooks at home. As it turns out, this is far from the only piece of great art you…

This App Will Make You Perfect Fitting Earbuds From Photos of Your Ear

We wear headphones and/or earbuds for hours every day, so comfort is imperative. Want some designed just for you? A new company called Normal wants to sell you perfectly customized earbuds by using a nifty app to get you fitted—instead of having to pay a visit to an expensive audiologist. You get your precise fit…

An Oversized 3D-Printed Tourbillon Reveals the Marvels of Watchmaking

Even though they’re lacking the ability to notify you when a text message arrives, traditional mechanical watches still cost thousands of dollars more than the smartwatches released this year. And if you’ve always wondered why they’re so expensive, this 3D-printed over-sized model of one of the components that makes them tick will help explain why.…

Now You Can Print 3D Models of Your Internal Organs

The National Institutes of Health has joined the Maker movement with the launch of its 3D Print Exchange, a website that allows users to download, edit and share models of anatomy, bacteria and lab equipment. The goal is to provide a creative commons where people from all walks of life can advance medical research. For…