Delvinia Lunch & Learn 11.01 – Rapid Prototyping, MakerBot & 3D Printing Demand

On Thursday I hosted a Lunch & Learn presentation on 3D Printing and Rapid Prototyping.

Rapid Prototyping (a.k.a. 3D Printing) has been used commercially since the early ’80s as a way of speeding up and simplifying the development process of products such as cars, computers and other consumer goods. Industrial grade 3D printers cost tens of thousands of dollars, but now anyone can buy a relatively inexpensive one and print objects at home.

I brought in my Cupcake 3D printer — purchased as a kit from Makerbot for about $1,000 — to the office and demonstrated printing out a simple 3D object.  Currently personal 3D printing is at about the same stage in its development as home computers were in the mid ’70s:  If you wanted a computer you had to purchase a kit, build it and program it yourself.  While a personal printer like the Cupcake is relatively crude in the quality of the objects it can print out and limited in the materials it can print with, the open-source nature of the technology is helping it to evolve rapidly.  Early adopters have formed communities to share their knowledge, their designs for open-source objects, their improvements to their printers and their enthusiasm.  Personal 3D Printing is becoming popular and newsworthy, with stories appearing on mainstream media such as CNN and the BBC.

3D Printing is quickly growing into a paradigm shift in how we manufacture, distribute and maintain legal rights to physical items…including our bodies.

The medical and dental industry is one of the biggest users of 3D printing, creating items such as wax-ups to create moulds for hearing aids and prosthetic limbs.  But the bleeding edge of medical research is printing live cells onto support structures to create organs, such as a liver or heart.  In the not-too-distant future we may no longer have waiting lists for people who need organ replacements, at least for people who can afford to have a new one printed.

Put your thinking caps on, because the ethical and legal issues that this potentially disruptive technology will raise is something that humankind will soon be challenged to find answers for.

5 Most Viewed Articles on the Delvinia Link Pool: Jan 24 – Jan 30

• NextEngine’s 3D Scanner
  Jay’s Garage
• 7 Ways Social Media Rewards The Brain
  Tipping Point Labs
• New geolocation app connects citizen first responders to heart attack victims
  O’Reilly Radar
• Gartner Forecasts Mobile App Store Revenues Will Hit $15 Billion in 2011
  TechCrunch
• Facebook CTO Bret Taylor: “Mobile Devices Are Inherently Social”
  TechCrunch

Click here to see what links we’re sharing this week.

Getting to Know My iPhone

Getting an iPhone is no big deal for most people, but for me, it’s become a life changing event. Until last week, I had gotten by with a basic phone with 2 features: calling and texting. It was all I needed and it suited the simplicity it gave my life. However, needs change and so have mine. It’s no longer about the phone itself but about the productivity and utility tools available on a smart phone.

My “must-have” feature list included voice mail, email setup and a synched contact list. I visited the App Store looking for CIBC Mobile Banking, Twitter, Facebook, Krafts iFood Assistant, My Account and Rocket Radar. I also came away with BC Reader (a business card reader), Deer Hunter Challenge (a game), Hipstamatic, Cineplex Movie Guide and Epicurious to name just a few.

Another must-have app for any new user is iPhone Secrets – a collection of tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your iPhone or iPod Touch. I purchased the full version for 99 cents and have already gotten more than my money’s worth. Did you know that to quickly insert a period you tap the Space key twice? How about saving battery life by closing unused applications in the multitasking bar? These are just a few of the many shortcuts, tips and tricks you’ll learn.

You need to take a trial and discard approach to apps. I downloaded the free version of Fluent News Reader only to discover I couldn’t add more news sources and was limited to one unsubscribe. This defeated the purpose of streamlined content delivery as it was up to me to shift through unwanted content. Needless to say, it’s gone from my app line-up.

On the advice of my 13 year old son I installed XRay Booth Lite. It applies an x-ray-like filter to my pictures and my kids are having a blast checking out what everything looks like through this lens.

Although I’ve mastered many of the standard features – communicating via voice, email, instant messaging, posting on Facebook and Twitter, banking and navigating to hockey arenas in rural Ontario, there is still much to learn. I’ve created a ‘To Learn’ list in Springpad, a productivity app with features that I’ve only started to scratch the surface on.

As I scroll through my collection of new apps, I can’t help but be curious as to what the apps I’ve install say about me and my personality. Maybe there’s already an app for that.