All articles tagged with #3d printing
A maker is converting Space Cadet Pinball into a real pinball table using mostly 3D‑printed parts for the body and playfield components, with the flippers still needing work. Because the 1995 game lacks high‑resolution artwork, he’s seeking collaborators to create suitable art and print-ready assets via his YouTube page, even joking about paying contributors with playtime.
Tucci Hot Rods in Marcy, NY uses Artec Leo 3D scanners and 3D-printed parts to rapidly design and fabricate custom hot-rod components—like motor mounts and headlight covers—achieving precise fits and slashing the back-and-forth work from days to minutes on both vintage and modern builds.
In a Global Accessibility Awareness Day push, Xbox unveiled improved Adaptive Thumbstick Toppers with a stronger attachment and introduced a new Goal Post design, plus free downloadable 3D-printable files to customize toppers for compatible controllers. The company refreshed the Accessible Gaming page for easier navigation and added accessibility tags in Xbox storefronts to help players discover inclusive titles. Highlights across games include Forza Horizon 6’s accessibility features, Kiln’s remappable controls, Sea of Thieves’ ongoing accessibility work, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s new adaptive and motion-control options, all accompanied by a Royal National Institute of Blind People study on gaming’s social and stress-relief benefits. Xbox frames this as an ongoing effort to make gaming more visible and discoverable for diverse players.
Polysynth reveals a multimaterial resin 3D printer with a carousel of up to eight small vats. The machine uses centrifugal spinning to fling uncured resin between dips, avoiding extra wash stages, and a precision servo locks the spinning portion to return the part to its original orientation within microns. It even showcases a resin capable of forming fully printed, multilayer PCBs and hints at dental applications. The system isn’t for sale yet and will require careful calibration and resin compatibility handling, but it could enable faster, more versatile home resin printing.
US researchers encapsulated the bioluminescent alga Pyrocystis lunula in a hydrogel and used 3D printing to create glowing shapes. Exposing the algae to a mildly acidic solution triggers light production for up to about 25 minutes, producing a cyan glow suitable for applications like glow devices or biosensors, though real-world use and the algae’s survivability under acidity remain challenges.
A Tomodachi Life enthusiast created a highly detailed 3D-printed Switch dock cover modeled after the Fresh Kingdom supermarket, with blueprints released on MakerWorld for others to print, plus a build video showing how the pieces fit together.
After a master mailbox key was stolen in Marysville, putting about 70,000 residents at risk, thieves are believed to have duplicated keys via 3D printing; neighbors have installed alarms, sensors, cameras and license-plate readers to deter theft, with police forming a proactive surveillance unit to review footage as arrests remain challenging.
Nike teams with Zellerfeld to launch the Air Max 1000.2, a fully 3D‑printed evolution of the Air Max 1000 featuring a refined outsole and faster production; the global release arrives via a Zellerfeld raffle May 4–7, followed by a North America SNKRS drop on May 7 as part of Nike’s Air Works initiative.
Noctua has published public CAD models for all its fans, free to download for reference, visualization, and integration—and you’re invited to 3D print your own Noctua fans. However, the CADs are provided without warranties, may not be error-free or suitable for manufacturing, and cannot be used for commercial purposes; use is at your own risk with downloads on Noctua’s site and Printables.
A maker builds a largely 3D-printed internal combustion engine, using ASA/ABS plastics with a steel sleeve and CNC’d aluminum head, plus off-the-shelf carburetor parts; the project demonstrates how much of an engine can be printed while acknowledging the non-printed components and materials required to get a working machine.
Hackaday highlights CageMaker, a parametric OpenSCAD script from WebMaka that designs mounts for rack-mable gear, enabling easy 3D-printed adapters to tidy up desks or labs; a browser-based version is available, continuing the site’s coverage of practical, hands-on hardware hacks.
Researchers used an interpretable machine-learning model to design a new Fe-based alloy tailored for laser powder bed fusion 3D printing, achieving about 1,713 MPa strength and over 15% ductility after a six-hour heat treatment, plus superior corrosion resistance (0.105 mm/year). The PF-ML design approach could accelerate additive manufacturing, though it must be retrained for different material classes.
Scientists found that simple, viscous liquids can fracture like solids when pulled beyond a 'critical stress,' with the threshold depending on stress per area rather than viscosity. The rapid fractures travel at 500–1,500 m/s—consistent with cavitation—and were observed in tar-like hydrocarbons and styrene oligomer, hinting that many liquids might exhibit this behavior and opening potential for applications in inkjet printing, soft robotics, and 3D printing.
Bryson DeChambeau was puzzled by a post-round question about his USGA-approved 3D-printed 5 iron after posting a 4-over 76 in the Masters’ first round. He explained the club’s curved face is designed to straighten some mis-hits and detailed the lengthy approval process (print time plus finishing) required by the USGA. He used the club on the seventh hole and said it was “great,” but his round slipped with a bunker mishap and a triple bogey on the 11th, leaving him nine strokes behind leaders after day one.
Bryson DeChambeau says he’ll play the Masters with a 5-iron he designed and 3D-printed himself, continuing his DIY, high-tech approach to clubs. The iron is part of a broader self-built set that includes other 3D-printed irons (Avoda-based) and wedges, with DeChambeau claiming the new irons are ready and an improvement over his current setup, though there’s no confirmed USGA approval and no named manufacturer yet.