5 ms·

Autodesk announces new 3D printer and open platform

47 points by jschwartz11 12y ago

brightghost 12y 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 12y 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 12y 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 12y 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.
dm2 12y 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/6a017c3334c51a970b01a3fd089f22970b-pi 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.
- supermatt 12y ago
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolithography 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)
  - dm2 12y ago
    The laser is below the resin container? How does that work? Is there a similar built device that you know of?
    - supermatt 12y ago
      The formlabs form 1 is a good example: http://formlabs.com/products/form-1/ http://formlabs.com/products/form-1/
      - dm2 12y ago
        Awesome, thanks, that makes sense now. http://youtu.be/enJq2PquuPE?t=1m2s http://youtu.be/enJq2PquuPE?t=1m2s
    - chrissyb 12y ago
      Apologies! My bad! This is actually a Photolithographic printer There was also this one called "Peachy" on hackaday last year http://hackaday.com/2013/09/22/a-100-stereolithography-3d-printer/#more-103558 http://hackaday.com/2013/09/22/a-100-stereolithography-3d-pr... edit: also here's the link to the HN discussion of this printer https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6424132 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6424132
  - fudged71 12y ago
    Actually, this printer is likely DLP-based. Instead of a laser it uses a projector http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Light_Processing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Light_Processing
- 12y ago
soggypenny 12y 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-jewelry-with-a-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 12y 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 12y 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 12y 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 12y ago
    Is the software limited to X months like the educational versions or is it a permenant license?
    - ethanbond 12y ago
      Autodesk's educational licenses (free) last wickedly long. For products that cost several thousand dollars, I don't know what there is to complain about.
- varkson 12y ago
  Lightroom is Adobe, not Autodesk. That said though, there's a reason these products exist and there are people who need them.
fudged71 12y 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.

47 points by jschwartz11 12y 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 12y 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 12y 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 12y 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.

dm2 12y 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/6a017c3334c51a970b01a3fd089f22970b-pi 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.

supermatt 12y ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolithography 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)
- dm2 12y ago
  The laser is below the resin container? How does that work? Is there a similar built device that you know of?
  - supermatt 12y ago
    The formlabs form 1 is a good example: http://formlabs.com/products/form-1/ http://formlabs.com/products/form-1/
    - dm2 12y ago
      Awesome, thanks, that makes sense now. http://youtu.be/enJq2PquuPE?t=1m2s http://youtu.be/enJq2PquuPE?t=1m2s
  - chrissyb 12y ago
    Apologies! My bad! This is actually a Photolithographic printer There was also this one called "Peachy" on hackaday last year http://hackaday.com/2013/09/22/a-100-stereolithography-3d-printer/#more-103558 http://hackaday.com/2013/09/22/a-100-stereolithography-3d-pr... edit: also here's the link to the HN discussion of this printer https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6424132 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6424132
- fudged71 12y ago
  Actually, this printer is likely DLP-based. Instead of a laser it uses a projector http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Light_Processing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Light_Processing
12y ago

soggypenny 12y 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-jewelry-with-a-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 12y 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 12y 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 12y 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 12y ago
  Is the software limited to X months like the educational versions or is it a permenant license?
  - ethanbond 12y ago
    Autodesk's educational licenses (free) last wickedly long. For products that cost several thousand dollars, I don't know what there is to complain about.
varkson 12y ago
Lightroom is Adobe, not Autodesk. That said though, there's a reason these products exist and there are people who need them.

fudged71 12y 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.