Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted November 30, 2012 Hash Fellow Share Posted November 30, 2012 Apparently in Europe first, then later in other countries, you can upload a model and pick up the 3D print at the Staples Store. http://www.mcortechnologies.com/mcor-techn...inting-service/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 That's dazzlingly cool but if you read to the end, they're using "ordinary printer paper" as the build material? Wtf? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted November 30, 2012 Admin Share Posted November 30, 2012 Makes me want to get a job at Staples to get in at the ground level... One of the videos has a guy describing one finished model as consisting of "700 layers of A4 paper". Interestin'. Here's a video that shows the process of breaking away the unwanted portion of the paper after the model is created: ZJk8O6y6fpM At the cost of paper these days I'm not too sure that 'paper-based' is the optimal approach but... what do I know about this stuff. I must admit though that there is something pretty cool about such technology turning toward paper again. It'll give a whole new view on printing an animated sequence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted November 30, 2012 Author Hash Fellow Share Posted November 30, 2012 Odd, I had the misimpression it was some sort of mulch they were spraying out. Well, a ream of paper is about $2. Even with the waste that might be cheaper than the plastic. But that video reminds me of the old cartoon where they whittle down giant log to make one toothpick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyGormezano Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Ooooo...neat...This interests me more than plastic based materials. The Matrix is a simple 3D printing system – using commonly available reams of A4 paper as the build material, water based adhesive and a tungsten carbide blade. With no dust, no fumes, no lasers, the Matrix offers an office friendly solution producing models that are tough, durable and eco-friendly. I was surprised to learn from one of their videos that originally Mcor was targeting medical, scientific, etc applications and then they were surprised to see what things/applications that artists and others would do with it. Things that they hadn't ever imagined. I guess it is more eco friendly than plastic, but something does seem weird about using reams of paper (hopefully recycled) Also amazed that the Staples product is rendered in color! I wanna try it! Staples’ Easy 3D will offer consumers, product designers, architects, healthcare professionals, educators, students and others low-cost, brilliantly coloured, photo-realistic 3D printed products from Staples stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted November 30, 2012 Author Hash Fellow Share Posted November 30, 2012 How will that work when i print myself a coffee mug made of glued-together paper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyGormezano Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 How will that work when i print myself a coffee mug made of glued-together paper? I'll be waiting for the video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Cool news... this 3D printing stuff is taking off, evolving quickly. I don't see how they can claim 'brilliantly colored' when it's just A4 printer paper... printed on the side of the paper? Does a STL file hold color information? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted November 30, 2012 *A:M User* Share Posted November 30, 2012 How will that work when i print myself a coffee mug made of glued-together paper? You'll need to coat it in epoxy before you can use it. There was a guy in the marine aquarium community, Martin Moe, who built an aquarium filter out of epoxy-coated cardboard sort of as a proof-of-concept. The cardboard is cheap, but the epoxy resin/paint you would need to make it waterproof would probably keep it from being economical unless you had extremely custom needs or did not have other materials available to you. I suspect that acrylic or glass would be much cheaper to work with, even given the specialized tools you need for working with them. So your cardboard coffee mug is not as impossible as you would think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyGormezano Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 (edited) Cool news... this 3D printing stuff is taking off, evolving quickly. I don't see how they can claim 'brilliantly colored' when it's just A4 printer paper... printed on the side of the paper? Does a STL file hold color information? They don't have any of the details (eg file formats)- but there was mention of an IRIS printer type technology. Maybe they are developing a 2 step process? 1st carve model from paper block, 2nd 3D spray/nozzle airbrush like thing in an enclosed booth type thing using texture/color data from model (obj?) (wrong - see video linked to below) EDIT: OOOOoooo... Edited December 1, 2012 by NancyGormezano Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agep Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Cool news... this 3D printing stuff is taking off, evolving quickly. I don't see how they can claim 'brilliantly colored' when it's just A4 printer paper... printed on the side of the paper? Does a STL file hold color information? They don't have any of the details (eg file formats)- but there was mention of an IRIS printer type technology. Maybe they are developing a 2 step process? 1st carve model from paper block, 2nd 3D spray/nozzle airbrush like thing in an enclosed booth type thing using texture/color data from model (obj?) (wrong - see video linked to below) EDIT:[/b] OOOOoooo... I am interested for sure. The prints actually looks very nice in this video. Also, since they are built within a stack of paper it eliminates the need for support structure, which is a challenge with the makerbot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted December 1, 2012 Author Hash Fellow Share Posted December 1, 2012 Also, since they are built within a stack of paper it eliminates the need for support structure, which is a challenge with the makerbot Do you have to model the supports yourself or is there some software that tries to do it automatically? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agep Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Do you have to model the supports yourself or is there some software that tries to do it automatically? It has to be manually modelled, atleast on my Makerbot. Not sure how it works with the newest Makerbot which also features new software. In this thread you can see how I solved the support and overhang on a bracket I made: http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showt...amp;hl=makerbot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingVidiot Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 I met the guys who make the paper-based 3d printer at Siggraph this year. They're from Scotland I think. I was skeptical, but the models were large and impressive, also quite sturdy. Just choose the color paper to change your model color. They even had a cool terrain example where it printed while it cut, leaving a nice Google Earth 3d-view type of terrain model. The materials are way cheaper than the fancy stuff used by 3D Systems printers. The only thing cheaper (machine and consumables) is the MakerBot 3D printer. They have a great online community. I was fortunate to get one of my models printed on the MakerBot and it looks fantastic. It took about 3 hours to print. I'm saving up for one when I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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