New 3D Objects Make Learning Fun
Additive manufacturing and 3D printing have now been around for more than thirty years. Touted as heralding the advent of the third industrial revolution, desktop manufacturing promises to fundamentally alter the way that average citizens envision and create the objects that make up our world. Of course you already know all this. But aside from […]
The First 3D Printed Object In Space
One of the essential considerations when designing a product for rapid prototyping, be it in metal or plastics, is the need for supports to hold up the structure while it’s being built up layer-by-layer. The inexorable pull of gravity will deform surface features and alter geometries during the build unless careful allowance is made to […]
What’s In A Color?
Remember when personal computers first started coming into the modern workplace? Almost all of them, regardless of manufacturer, used the same ubiquitous colored plastic case. Called “putty”, it was a generic light brown mixed with off-white, and you would find this same color used for printers and copiers, telephones and filing cabinets and fax machines. […]
Corporate Social Responsibility In A Progressive Shop
As China’s economy has grown enormously over the last few decades, hundreds of thousands of small shops and factories have sprouted up all over the country to take advantage of the influx of foreign capital and those buyers and product developers looking for low labor prices. We all know this, and one sad fact of […]
Star Rapid Takes Delivery Of A New Plastic Injection Molding Machine
Star Rapid has just added to its molding capacity with a new Haitian 90-ton injection molding machine. This machine has a re-designed ceramic heating core that allows for the efficient melting of many kinds of thermoplastics for molding. In addition, the bi-metal screw resists corrosion and can withstand fire-retardant additives. Other recent improvements include updated […]
History Flashback – SLA For Medical Modeling In The Mid 90s
From 1994, my first rapid prototyping company STYLES RPD was the first bureau in the UK to do any medical modeling using stereolithography (SLA). Apart from a few innovating surgeons, it was widely rejected by the National Health Service at the time. Although it saved huge amounts of time, and saved many lives, it didn’t […]
