maker

I hope to review the coming batch of preassembled 3D printers, but first I need to build one.

That's the idea, anyway. Thanks to MakerGear, an expansive online 3D-printing resource, I have a DIY kit for a Mosaic 3D printer. I also have the help of Matt Fitzgerald, an editor on CNET's digital-imaging reviews team. Not only can Matt take a decent picture, I also intend to lean on his mechanical expertise that comes from his hobby restoring motorcycles.

It can't hurt, but you don't need that experience to build a 3D printer. Still, I've never done it. I hope once we get through the building process, I'll have a better idea of what to look for when it comes time to review a premade printer like those announced at CES this year. The goal with this series of posts is to share what we find out.… Read more

How far can you get with a 3D printer and a dream?

CNET photographer Sarah Tew and I took a tour of Quirky's new Manhattan offices this morning. As depicted in her frankly great shots in the slideshow below, we got a firsthand look at the inner workings of a serious, professional product development company.

Normally I don't go in for facility tours. The articles that tend to result from such things too often take the appearance of marketing material. It was the promise of the chance to see how a real design company uses a 3D printer that drew me to accept Quirky's invite.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--If you haven't yet heard about Makerbot, you haven't been paying close enough attention to this year's CES.

The Makerbot Replicator is an open-source, 3D printer that can create just about any plastic object you can imagine. The $1,999 two-color consumer device launched here this week and just this morning, it won a CNET Best of CES award in the Emerging Tech category.

I tracked down Makerbot founder Bre Pettis after the awards show to find out what's next for Makerbot. Here's what he told me about the potential he sees for turning kids on to 3D printing, and a new kind of homemade jelly, just for starters:… Read more

Once upon a time, creating a bootable floppy was high on the list of "things to do when installing Windows." Bootable floppies made system recovery much easier. WinUSB Maker creates a bootable startup disk on any removable USB drive or similar location. It does much more, too, such as creating bootable ISO image, GRLDR, and DOS disks as well as full drive backups. And it's extremely easy to use. You'll need your Windows installation disk or an existing setup disk, ISO image, or folder to use the program, and be sure to use a USB drive … Read more

LAS VEGAS--The profile of 3D printing will rise after this year's CES, and 3D Systems' Cube is partly responsible.

MakerBot's build-it-yourself Thing-O-Matic has claimed most of the consumer attention for 3D printing this past year, and MakerBot's own CES announcement, whatever and whenever that will be, will only spur more coverage. In the meantime, the Cube underscores the idea that 3D printing can be consumer-friendly, and that a growing number of vendors see it as a viable business.

The design of the Cube printer is a contrast to the garage workshop aesthetic of the MakerBot product. Instead of the Thing-O-Matic's exposed circuity and wooden housing, the Cube with its friendly-looking plastic chassis looks more like a sewing machine.

Other than in appearance, the two printers are not that different. Each relies on an attached spool of plastic: ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), the same material from which Legos are made, in the Cube, or ABS and PLA (polylactic acid, like that used for keg cups) in the case of the Thing-O-Matic. The plastic for each is available in assorted colors, and as the video above shows, it offers all kind of output possibilities.… Read more

Free 3D Photo Maker is an easy-to-use tool for creating 3D still images by combining two images or processing a single image. It offers several 3D image algorithms and several interface language choices, but most of what it does is automatic. To view the 3D effects it creates, you'll need a pair of anaglyph glasses. Don't worry, you probably already have as pair somewhere; we're talking about those paper-framed glasses with different colored lenses that you used to get at 3D movies.

Free 3D Photo Maker has a simple user interface based around side-by-side image displays with … Read more

Semiconductor equipment maker Lam Research has agreed to acquire rival Novellus Systems in an all-stock deal worth $3.3 billion, the companies announced today.

The combined venture is expected to benefit from the individual companies' complementary product capabilities, with Novellus' thin-film application technology aligning with Lam's business of etching the film to create features that define a chip's final use and function.

Under the agreement's terms Novellus stockholders will get 1.125 shares of Lam common stock for each Novellus share, a premium of about 28 percent higher than Novellus' $34.70 closing price Wednesday. When the … Read more

Soda 3D Reader is Lulu Software's answer to Adobe Reader. While it may not be the most powerful Adobe alternative out there, it does have some nice features and unique 3D functionality that make it worth a look.

The program's interface is clean and inviting, with ribbon-style navigation that should be familiar to Microsoft Office 2010 users. The tabs at the top act as your main menu, with submenus that open up beneath them as you click. And along the left, there's a page preview pane, if you choose to enable it. The program's controls are … Read more

Looking at a sugar-glazed confection might lead one to ask how it could be bad for you when it looks so good. Putting temptations aside, another question one might ask is just how such treats are formed.

The answer, at least in the case of the Bella Cucina Fluted Cake Maker, simply has to do with batter poured into a mold and then cooked. This specialty electric appliance creates five cakes, each with a distinctive design.

Combining a mold and a cooking appliance allows for instant gratification. Clamshell-type countertop appliances tend to heat up quickly and this 1,400-watt gadget … Read more