Yoana's round up of the month...
1. This month MakerBot announced that their CEO of two years, Jonathan Jaglom, had resigned.
Last April Makerbot announced that they would no longer be making their own hardware, instead outsourcing it to China. At the time Jonathan Jaglom said:
“It’s a specific, painful decision in the sense that we’re going to have to let some people go, but it’s captured over a much broader strategic decision, which is a very important one and a very positive one for MakerBot in the long term,” Jonathan Jaglom, MakerBot’s CEO, tells The Verge.
The decision was made with the intention of placing the brand in the consumer market. But now with the latest CEO gone, does this mean that Stratasys (who own Makerbot) are withdrawing from the desktop market? Are there going to be new Makerbot printers or will the brand die out eventually?
2. General Electric have started additive manufacturing education program and promise to invest 10 million over five years in 3D printing education.
They are accepting applications from schools and universities around the globe, so this might be the perfect time for institutions to get extra funding.
3. Next Dynamics failed to demonstrate their multi-material 3D printer.
They are probably one of the most successful 3D printing Kickstarter projects with 516, 595 euros raised in their first round. Will they go down in history as the biggest scam in the industry?
Kathleen’s round up of the month…
1. As a bit of a Vikings fanatic, I was really excited to find out the show has been using 3D printing in season 4.
They have 3D printed several objects including a sword and Rollo’s secret armband. We are really interested in how 3D printing is used in TV and film here as our 3DPrintWorks founder is also one half of the special effects team at London’s Royal Opera House!
What I find most interesting is how the show’s popularity is helping the industry find its way into popular culture. As part of a competition the History Channel posts a photo of one object before every episode and asks viewers how they think it will be used in the show. Will this lead to fans trying out 3D printing for the first time and will we see more popular TV shows following Vikings lead?
2. Did you all see this story about this woman who survived for 6 days without her lungs?
Doctors knew they were taking a risk but the alternative was that Melissa Benoit would die anyway. They attached a small artificial lung to Melissa and this seemed to be enough to keep her alive. Within a very short period of time, Melissa’s blood pressure had normalised – will this be the future of 3D printing in the medical world? These scientists seem to think so.
3. This amazing invention came to my attention this month.
Who hasn’t been running or walking and found yourself tripped up by your own shoewear!? I think it is especially great for children who frequently fall down while playing because of untied shoelaces. Even better, you can download it on a number of platforms including Thingiverse. I know what my next 3D print is going to be…
We hope you enjoyed our 3d printing round up. See you in February!