Free Republic

Come July, popular education, writing and media job hub, MediaBistro, may look completely different. The parent company of the website, Mediabistro Inc., announced recently that it was selling off its editorial and e-commerce assets to Prometheus Global Media for $8 million. mediabistro What’s left of MediaBistro will become Mecklermedia Corporation and focus on the company’s growing trade-show business. Via a statement, the company’s CEO Alan Meckler said the change is necessary because he thinks a narrowed focus is best for all involved.  “The new Mecklermedia will be able to significantly reduce debt, add working capital and concentrate on being...

Human Capital I was honoured to be invited to speak recently at Dubai International Academy’s graduation ceremony for the class of 2014. This diverse class spanned 32 nationalities.What was remarkable for me was how the UAE provided an invaluable setting for this net increase in human capital development. Dubai and the UAE had offered these young people a solid base for the next step of their academic and personal journey. As a Singaporean, whose country relies on developing human capital as its key resource, this resonated strongly with me. They were a talented and dedicated group of young men and...

China seems to be one of the nations who are establishing themselves at the forefront of 3D printing innovation. Last month, it was reported that China has begun 3D printing full sized homes, and now there is news of something that may be even more incredible. After 3 1/2 years of research and development, Sanya Industrial Innovation Design Center, in Sanya, China, has developed a 3D printer that, according to the company, is the largest of its kind. It also touts the ability to print in multiple and extremely affordable materials, print at high speeds, and in full color. The...

Have you always wanted to try your hand at 3D-printing a building? Are you jealous of the Chinese architect who 3D-printed 10 houses in 24 hours? Well, you might be interested in buying the world's first commercial house 3D-printer for £9,800 (€12,000, $16,000). Slovenian firm BetAbram have designed a 3D printer capable of printing a house, and they plan to release it in August under the name BetAbram P3. This 3D printer can print buildings measuring 12 sq m, and so far, the company has only produced miniature houses and sculptures with the printer. BetAbram is also planning to release...

While houses of varying quality have been 3D-printed before, one contractor in Minnesota wants to build one such home by using a specially designed 3D printer that uses cement as a filament, without compromising on build quality or design, 3DPrint reports. Furthermore, the contractor’s aim isn’t to finish the house as fast as possible, but rather to 3D print it efficiently and securely. “A cheap house built in 24 hours is not my goal,” Andrey Rudenko said. “My current focus is building well-insulated small or medium-sized homes of a contemporary design, definitely onsite. As an experienced builder, I know that...

MakerBot arguably put 3D printing on the map, but it could be New Matter that ultimately puts it average people’s hands. Backed by Idealab, the startup launched a Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign on Wednesday and hopes to deliver an end-to-end 3D printing solution for less than $200 by early 2015. Aside from DIY 3D printer kits, it’s an unheard of price point for 3D printing technology and it comes with quite a pedigree. New Matter is working with and backed by Frog Design, the legendary design firm that has worked with everyone from Apple and Microsoft to GE and Sony, and...

It may seem like the stuff of science fiction, but scientists have now printed, not picked, fresh fruit. Researchers working at a company in Cambridge, England, have used a new process to enable the 3D printing of a variety of fresh products. They recently unveiled the process and results at the TechFoodHack conference held in Cambridge, an experimental dining event that also included the unveiling of a new flavour of gelato. 3D printing was first demonstrated back in 1984, but use of the technique was not widespread until 2010 when the cost of the Additive Manufacturing machines dropped significantly in...

It’s always fun predicting the future. People do it all the time because it is entertaining to imagine a world that we or our children will one day have the chance to experience. We’ve seen fictitious movies do this from time to time since the beginning of film. There was the hoverboard in ‘Back to the Future’, the jet packs in ‘The Rocketeer’, teleportation in Star Trek, and the list goes on. Some of these inventions have already become a reality, while we are still awaiting the arrival of others. Another Star Trek prediction, was that of the Replicator, which...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)RALEIGH, N.C. - The emerging process of 3D printing, which uses computer-created digital models to create real-world objects, has produced everything from toys to jewelry to food. Soon, however, 3D printers may be spitting out something far more complex, and controversial: human organs. Researchers are working diligently to create human organs and body parts through the use of a 3D printer. The 3D printer works in much the same way an inkjet printer does - with a needle that squirts material in a predetermined pattern. Instead of ink, the printer uses cells or human tissue. The cells would be purified...

Professional 3D printer for metals and for sand casting medium sized parts. Designed primarily as a metal 3D printer, ExOne’s M-Flex system is the company’s most comprehensive solution for finished product additive manufacturing. The M-Flex can print in stainless steel, bronze and tungsten and can also produce parts in silica and ceramic sand as well as glass. Unlike many other metal 3D Printers, the M-Flex can rapidly print durable end-use parts. It can print component layers in as little as 30 seconds, which represents a ten-fold increase in speed over previous ExOne systems, making the M-Flex one of the fastest...

Innovation in 3D printing is an ongoing process. There are always new ideas popping up, and new revelations taking place. However, one aspect of FDM 3D printers that hasnÂ’t really changed all that much in the past couple of years, is that of the extruder mechanics. A German engineer, by the name of Cem Schnitzler, hopes to change this though. His innovative design of a 3D printerÂ’s extruder could eventually allow for more variety in 3D printed objects. The idea is based off the concept of a microscope, and the way in which the microscopeÂ’s objective lenses may be rotated...

Scientists at MIT are using a new technique that could print responsive objects—from water pipes to sneakers—that adapt to their surroundings on their own.These days, 3D printing seems to be at the core of most new new research ventures, whether it's developing ways to print entire meals or recreating facial features to repair a patient's face. But Skylar Tibbits wants to up the ante: He's hoping 4D printing will be the thing of the not-so-far future. The name for his concept, Tibbits admits, was a bit lighthearted at first. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tibbits and researchers from the...

Screen Shot, not a Video This ingenious revolver was made to fire blanks in Japan.  The inventor, Yoshitomo Imura, was recently arrested.  He claimed that he did not believe that he was doing anything illegal.  The video at this site shows the construction of the revolver and shows it firing blanks.   This validates my earlier suspicions that it was firing blanks, and not real ammunition.  From the earlier article: They appear to be firing crude blanks, or perhaps homemade ammunition of some kind.  The recoil in the video is suspiciously straight back, with virtually no rotation, indicating that it...

Just last week, we reported that ‘New Matter‘ would be launching a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for their new MOD-t 3D printer. We later reported on further mechanical details just two days ago. The MOD-t 3D printer will feature an extruder that moves only in the Z direction, while the build plate will move in the X and Y directions. This is different than most 3D printers on the market today, and because of the different mechanical aspects, New Matter is able to keep the price of this new device down. Just last week, a 3D printer called the...

Grace Choi was at Harvard Business School when she decided to disrupt the beauty industry. "They charge a huge premium on something that tech provides for free color."color printers are available to everyone, and the ink they have is the same as the ink that makeup companies use in their products. the ink is FDA-approved. This is the Mink printer. It uses regular printer ink. First, find a color you want to print. Use the color picker to copy the hex code of the color you've chosen. paste the hex code into a new document. Print the color just...

"I only had a couple of seconds to take a picture of it with my cell phone."A new bill being circulated for co-sponsors in Delaware would make any person in possession of a firearm that is undetectable by a metal detector a felon. The bill, which has not been posted online, was leaked by State Rep. Jeffery Spiegelman (R) via a phone picture. Posted from thetruthaboutguns.com, Spiegelman writes, “First, let me apologize for the poor quality. This bill (137) was circulated today for cosponsors and I only had a couple of seconds to take a picture of it with my...

A 3D printing hobbyist, Yoshitomo Imura, was arrested in Japan for suspicion of possessing crude guns that had been printed from plans available on the Internet.  He had posted videos on the Internet showing him demonstrating the items.  They appear to be firing crude blanks, or perhaps homemade ammunition of some kind.  The recoil in the video is suspiciously straight back, with virtually no rotation, indicating that it may be simulated. .   From thebangladeshtoday.com: Mr Imura reportedly said he had not realised printing the guns was illegal. No ammunition was found for the crude, plastic guns.    At...

Stratasys has partnered with British company Brightwake to make the production of a blood collector machine 96% cheaper.If you’re an avid reader of ours, you’ll know there are few things we love as much as 3D printing. From 3D-printed cars to 3D-printed shoes and art, we believe this technology will change the world. Now one of the world leaders in the realm of 3D printing, American-Israeli company Stratasys, has partnered with British company Brightwake (Advancis Medical) to make the production of a life-saving and religiously ethical blood collector significantly cheaper. Hemosep is a one-of-a-kind machine that recovers blood lost or...

TOKYO: A Japanese man suspected of possessing guns made with a 3-D printer has been arrested, reports said Thursday, in what was said to be the country's first such detention. Officers who raided the home of Yoshitomo Imura, a 27-year-old college employee, confiscated five weapons, two of which had the potential to fire lethal bullets, broadcaster NHK said. They also recovered a 3-D printer from the home in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, but did not find any ammunition for the guns, Jiji Press reported. It is the first time Japan's firearm control law has been applied to the possession of guns...

Additive manufacturing startup MarkForged aims to make it happen and is already marketing systems. Additive manufacturing (AM) is one of the hottest areas in parts fabrication. Interest is high, research dollars are being spent and company stocks are attracting investor attention. Why? First, because AM has moved beyond its initial role as a prototyping tool to a process that can build finished parts. AM technologies — stereolithography, fused deposition modeling (FDM), laser sintering (LS), material extrusion, direct metal deposition and more (see "The rise of rapid manufacturing," under “Editor's Picks,” at top right) — were able from their beginnings to...