Autodesk announces new 3D printer and open platform

http://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/spark

by jschwartz11 • 12 years ago

47 24 12 years ago

There's nothing new in Autodesk buying up everything they can get their hands on in the parametric modelling space, but I was surprised to see recently that they have made a rash of acquisitions and new product developments targeting the hobbyist/hacker community under their '123D' banner.

hershel• 12 years ago

They're also very unfocused. They bought circuits.io , but doesn't seem to have given it the required treatment for it to grow to be a common tool.

kenrikm• 12 years ago

It looks like the most they have to show at this point is a 3D rendering of a 3D printer. Anyone know if there is a actually working product behind this or are they just trying to gauge interest or drum up support before actually having anything to show?

lovemenot• 12 years ago

This seems like a good idea and good business for AutoDesk too. But the announcement might be too early. It seems there is no hardware yet. And more importantly, given AutoDesk's declared strategy, there is no link to a (Github) repo for Spark - their FOSS "OS for 3D printing". According to the BBC article, this 3D printer is intended to promote Spark, just as Nexus One was meant to promote Android, but not become a huge thing in its own right.

dm23• 12 years ago

They should really have a working prototype or at least more than a vague rendered image before announcing something like this.

Can someone explain how the ship in the 3D printer concept rendering is suppose to be have been built and how it's staying in place?

http://inthefold.autodesk.com/.a/6a017c3334c51a970b01a3fd089...

In my opinion they should focus on making larger and stronger 3D objects and ways to make it easy and affordable rather than delicate looking model ships. If I could quickly print something like a 2 inch custom pipe joint (that was fairly strong) in a short amount of time then this thing would be very valuable.

supermatt2• 12 years ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolithography

It's literally fused to the surface as it's drawn up from the vat (imagine the apparatus shown in the Wikipedia diagram but upside-down with the laser below the resin vat)

dm23• 12 years ago

The laser is below the resin container? How does that work?

Is there a similar built device that you know of?

fudged713• 12 years ago

Actually, this printer is likely DLP-based. Instead of a laser it uses a projector http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Light_Processing

GrantS• 12 years ago

I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out what it was they had printed until you said it was a ship (upside-down of course). The best I could come up with was the flying spaghetti monster.

I guess they're showing delicate things like this because the popular/cheap extruded plastic filament printers of today can't do things like that easily.

In fact, this BBC article goes into more detail about their thinking and plans: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27412849

chrissyb2• 12 years ago

Very true, whilst Autodesk is no longer constrained to its CAD background from an architectural or engineering perspective this is great. This type of resolution, allows us to print simulated tensile structures - or complex structural skeletons of buildings - which for me, working in architecture is really exciting.

selmnoo• 12 years ago

In my opinion they should focus on making larger

YES! Please someone make it larger. I would've bought the thing by now (any printer, under $3k) that lets me print something up to 12x12 inches.

I don't see why someone doesn't just do it already. You've got all the mechanism down, now why not just make it bigger? I am pretty sure I'm not the only, I keep hearing this over and over again. I don't get what's keeping these companies from making them bigger

daniel_reetz• 12 years ago

Here's why: almost all materials used in 3D printing exhibit some structural problems in the curing phase.

For example, ABS and PLA have well known shrinkage when they cool. ABS can be a few % per layer. Each layer, then, is pulling against the previous. Imagine printing something like a flat disc. It will "want" to peel up at the edges. The larger the object, the more significant this shrinkage is. At 12" you are truly going to have problems.

For SLA printers like the Form1 and other printers that use optically cured material, the problem is the same. These parts exhibit "creep" and "warp" and in fact, many of them will warp badly in sunlight long after they've been printed. Also, depending on the mechanism of feature formation, the device doesn't scale. Look at the B9Creator with its projector - the larger you go, the less resolution you have.

While I have seen and produced prints much larger than you are talking about (on both professional and hobbyist printers), they have problems and limitations that could not be solved by simply extending the mechanism.

fudged713• 12 years ago

This already exists. Specifically the TypeA Machines Series 1 http://www.typeamachines.com/products/next-generation-series...

soggypenny• 12 years ago

Looks like DLP (Direct Light Projection) 3D printing and has an eerily similar form factor to the EnvisionTec Perfactory Micro: http://envisiontec.com/case_studies/bosmans-3d-printing-jewe...

Interested to see how they plan to differentiate this printer from the similar DLP offerings out there already (DLP printers are big in the jewelry industry)

marincounty• 12 years ago

Autodesk and free--open platform is an oxymoron. Sorry, but I don't trust ths company anymore. If anyone from Autodesk reads this; there are free alternatives to your pricy software--it's not the ninties anymore. I don't Need your software! The last dollar I gave you was for Lightroom 1.0. It's the last dollar you will ever get from me. I lost track of how many times you "updated" Lightroom, and asked for more money. For my purposes, IPhoto has you beat--and Apple gave it away.

bborud• 12 years ago

I think you are confusing Autodesk with Adobe.

Autodesk did something very unexpected a while back: they made a bunch of pretty good tools available for very little money. Like Fusion 360.

neurotech1• 12 years ago

At tech meetups and conferences they sometimes give away "studio" packs that have a large assortment of Autodesk software for free (non-transferable). They sent it to me on a USB drive.

bsilvereagle• 12 years ago

Is the software limited to X months like the educational versions or is it a permenant license?

varkson• 12 years ago

Lightroom is Adobe, not Autodesk.

That said though, there's a reason these products exist and there are people who need them.

fudged713• 12 years ago

I'm genuinely surprised they let this out of the bag without any specs or pricing or details of any kind. In fact, being in the 3D printing space I was confused whether "Spark" was the name of the printer, the reference hardware, or the software.

Autodesk announces new 3D printer and open platform

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