Print Your Own Prescription 3D Glasses?

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Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So you’ve heard about getting glasses in under an hour, but what if you could make them at home?  The technology is getting to the point that not only can you print the frames, but 3D print a lens as well.  You broke a lens, print a replacement.  In a 3rd world country without an optics lab, no worries, you just need a 3D printer.  This gives new meaning to “3D glasses”!  Speaking of 3D glasses, maybe NFL player Ziggy Ansah of the Detroit Lions can 3D print himself a better pair!

A place for your 3D print fails?

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See on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/fredini/9526985350/in/pool-3d-print-failures

There’s a great group on Flickr called, “The Art of 3D Print Failure“, that showcases the results of a 3D print gone wrong.  The goal of the group is to encourage discussion and “analysis of the failure and ways of preventing such failures in the future”.  The site can be quite entertaining in the way a blooper reel is and maybe you can help someone too.  Of course you can try to avoid errors all together by following good 3D printing practices like those found here.

On Valentine’s Day See How Victoria’s Secret Uses 3D Printing

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As part of their annual fashion show, Victoria’s Secret used a set of 3D printed angel wings.  The effort is assisted by Swarovski Crystal and Shapeways.  You can see a summary of the process here that even went as far as scanning the model, Lindsay Ellingson, to assure the perfect fit.  It has even gotten press in fashion publications like Style.  You probably won’t see this in you local store, falling more in the “Million Dollar Bra” category, but it’s another cool high profile application of 3D technology.

Buy or Print? A decision that may become common in homes?

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Image courtesy of Boians Cho Joo Young / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Boians Cho Joo Young / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

According to Michigan Technological University by Joshua Pearce, a household 3D printer could be an economic win for most families.  They’ve released a study (that was summarized in a recent article in Laboratory Equipment) that showed up to a $2,000 annual savings 3D printing 20 common household items rather than purchasing them.  The group chose items such as cellphone accessories, a garlic press, a showerhead and a spoon holder and costs included things like shipping from online vendors.

Want $7,000? Share Your Ideas How to 3D Print with Cotton!

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Last year we wrote about Innocentive, where you can get rewarded for coming up with solutions for business, social, policy, scientific, and technical challenges (see that entry here).  In the past they’ve had a few 3D printing related challenges and now they have another one where you can earn $7,000 in exchange for ideas on how to 3D print with cotton.  The problem is open until February 23, 2014, so get those ideas in now!