The latest developments in the 3D printing industry are certainly new machines, but the more intriguing development is the movement to cloud-based sharing of data among a number of smart devices, including the 3D printer. Several companies are announcing such an approach, including 3D Systems, which announced 3DSPRINTTM, a desktop and cloud-based platform that changes the way you share, view and print 3D data. It lets you access and print 3D data anytime, from any source, anywhere. You can store, access and share data with anyone you choose, from wherever you want–in a secured public cloud, on the desktop, or in your own private cloud.
“We are very excited to deliver the full power and benefits of our integrated digital thread to our extensive user community worldwide,” said Avi Reichental, President and CEO, 3DS. “With 3DSPRINT we are giving engineers and designers the ultimate streamlined shared cloud and desktop platform experience that makes the design-to-manufacturing workflow faster, simpler and ubiquitously connected.”
With 3DSPRINT, you can access the full range of on-demand cloud printing capabilities with a single click via 3DS’ Quickparts service or you can print to an in-house printer. Additionally, with printability analysis and instant cost calculation, you can control that your parts will come out right, on time and on budget. The platform lets you work with 3D data from virtually any source in your browser or through the desktop app.
3DSPRINT is a free platform that offers features for enhanced productivity and workflow control. The 3DSPRINT desktop app is immediately available for ProJet 1200 and ProJet 5500X, and will be available for 3DS’ entire range of ProJet and ProX printers in the future. The 3DSPRINT cloud app will be available for preview and user feedback after EuroMold 2014. 3D Systems is offering a preview sign up to get early access to pre-release versions of 3DSPRINT at http://software.3dsystems.com/3dsprint-preview.
3D Systems also announced CaptureTM Mini, scan-based design and inspection system that is a smaller, more accurate version of its previously released Geomagic® Capture system.
The Capture Mini system is an accurate and easy-to-use turnkey solution for scanning, designing and inspecting small objects. It is for industries such as manufacturing, product design, mechanical, jewelry and dental appliances. Within the system, you have a choice of Geomagic software products.
Like the original Geomagic Capture system, Capture Mini uses state-of-the-art blue LED structured-light scanning technology to bring real objects into a variety of CAD packages.
On the inspection side, Capture Mini provides quality assurance engineers the ability to scan a part on their desktop and check its quality against CAD designs. At only two pounds, the scanner can be used virtually anywhere for easy scanning on the go.
Accuracy is 0.034 mm (0.0013 in.). This compact scanner captures nearly 1 million points per scan in 0.3 seconds. Its field of view (88 x 87 mm) suits objects that fit in the palm of your hand: jewelry, dental prosthetics, electronic components, toys, automotive and aerospace components and other small, precise parts.
The Capture Mini can be combined with the Capture Pro Pack, which includes a powered rotary table for automated 360-degree scanning and a hard case for easy transport. In addition, Capture Mini is compatible with the Geomagic Capture multi-scanner setup, for fast, coordinated scanning with multiple units.
Capture Mini is available immediately and is compatible with existing Capture plugin software. Every configuration of the original Geomagic Capture is also available with the Capture Mini for no additional cost.
Leslie Langnau
llangnau@wtwhmedia.com
