NVBOTS Wants To Make 3D Printers As Easy As Toasters

Right now 3D printing curriculums, if they exist, are fairly sparse. Putting a two thousand dollar machine in front of a grade schooler usually ends up in a lot of 3D printed Yoda heads and not much education while the learning curve for most 3D design tools is steep. That’s what the founders of NVBOTS, AJ Perez, Forrest Pieper, Christopher Haid, and Mateo Peña Doll, are looking to solve.

Their product, the NVPRO, is a 3D printer with a few interesting features. The two most interesting are the automatic removal system which pops parts off of the build plate when they are done and a built-in print server that allows you to print from any device. This means you can run large batches of prints from different users with each part popping off as its printed. This means a class of students can send jobs to a printer and then pick them up just as they would a laser printer.

The printer also supports a central “admin” who can check jobs before they are printed as and offers a set of pre-made objects for makers to use in order to build their own things. When you put it all together, you get a sort of one-stop-shop for 3D printing.

The company has raised $2 million in funding and has 74 users right now testing the service and printers.

“We have developed the only 3D printer that can run 24-7 without human interaction and that can be simply controlled from any device. Every other product on the market requires a skilled human operator to baby sit the machine and requires the use of a dedicated computer,” said Perez. In short, rather than requiring a special caste of engineers to manage 3D printers, the NVPRO can be as simple to use as a copier.

The team started the project when they ran into the frustration of 3D printing in a college environment (they went to MIT). Rather than design apps for existing printers, they built their own printer.

You can’t go out and buy one of these things, however. The company is essentially selling a subscription to use the printer and also sells the filament. An educational package costs $2,999 a year and allows for unlimited users and access to the part library. If this sounds pricy, consider that a standalone printer costs about the same and offers little in the way of support. Sure, a school could buy a $599 printer and set it up somewhere, but NVBOTS hopes to offer a bit more.

“NVBOTS is focused on helping students bring their ideas to life. Most 3D printing processes are far too cumbersome for students and teachers, prohibiting widespread adoption of a technology that offers a hands-on, interdisciplinary approach to education,” said Perez.

It’s a fascinating idea and one that could take some getting used to – just like 3D printing itself.https://vimeo.com/108068877

Comments

SoftBank Lands $236M From Alibaba And Foxconn To Bring Its Pepper Robot To The World

Remember Pepper, the intelligent robot that SoftBank unveiled last year ? Pepper goes on sale in Japan this coming weekend, but in advance of that launch SoftBank has revealed that Alibaba and manufacturer Foxconn have invested $118 million each in its robotics division. That deal will give Alibaba and Foxconn 20 percent shares in SoftBank Robotics Holdings (known as SBRH), with SoftBank retaining a dominant 60 percent stake. “SoftBank, Alibaba and Foxconn will build a structure to bring Pepper and other robotics businesses to global markets, and cooperate with the aim of spreading and developing the robotics industry on a worldwide scale,” SoftBank said in its announcement. SoftBank isn’t short on money, of course — it is building up quite a portfolio of e-commerce investments across Asia — but its two partners bring know-how, strategy and global networks to the table. So, it looks like Pepper has eventual world domination plans. Or, at least, ...

LeafLink Raises $750K To Become Salesforce For The Cannabis Industry

LeafLink , an NY-based wholesale management platform for the cannabis industry, has closed a $750k seed round led by group of NY angel investors. The software platform is designed to support participants in a B2B supply chain, providing basic tools designed to save money for retailers and allow producers to get better pricing for their product. These tools will include a centralized location to view correspondence between buyers and suppliers, inventory and order tracking tools, and a portal to discover new products and services so users can source leads and close deals from within the platform. Founders Ryan Smith and Zach Silverman explained that they “believe cannabis regulation and distribution is moving toward mimicking the alcohol industry with regional distributors and nonsensical supply chain participants”. By focusing on creating a supply chain similar to the alcohol industry, the company hopes to eventually be the universally accepted way for buyer...

Apple to release new small phone before iPhone 7

Apple to release new small phone before iPhone 7 Apple is to create a smaller, cheap version of the iPhone, persistent to the 4 inch size of the iPhone 5. Apple is testing 5 different iPhone 7 models. It will sell next to Apple’s existing phones however mark the first time that Apple has ready a latest phone smaller than the one it locate on sale before. There will be the choice of 2 or three colours likely the gold, space grey and silver options that mainly Apple products now coming up. Other than inside there will be very much better components. The flagship improve will be the addition of the A9 chip that powers the iPhone 6S. There may also be a number of changes to the outside. The most able to be seen is apt to be the addition of the somewhat curved edges that are found on the iPhone 6 and 6S. careinfo.in Apple dropped the iPhone 5C previous this year. A number of hoped that it would be replaced by a 6C, though reports at the time made clear that we...

Airbnb will open its Cuba listings to users outside the United States

Airbnb will now let travelers from outside the U.S. to book properties in Cuba after receiving authorization from the U.S. government, reports the Associated Press . Previously, only Americans were allowed to reserve the site’s Cuban listings . They will open to international users on April 2. Airbnb launched its Cuban operations in April 2014 , four months after the Obama administration revealed that it will begin to restore diplomatic relations with the Communist country . The historic policy change means that travel and trade sanctions will be lifted , which is expected to boost tourism to Cuba dramatically because Americans no longer need licenses to visit. In fact, President Obama is currently on an official visit to Cuba , the first president since Calvin Coolidge to do so. According to the AP, Cuba is currently Airbnb’s fastest-growing market, with about 4,000 homes added since it opened listings. Other travel businesses...

Party Like It’s 2003 As PlayStation 2 Emulation Is Coming To PlayStation 4

If you’re into big pixels, Sony has a treat for you. The company has secretly been working on a fully functioning PlayStation 2 emulator for the PlayStation 4. It is taking advantage of this emulator for classic PS2 Star Wars games. But the company also confirmed to Wired that it is working on bringing more PS2 games to the PS4. You can buy a Star Wars Battlefront bundle that comes with a PlayStation 4, EA’s latest Star Wars game and a bunch of old games — Super Star Wars, Star Wars: Racer Revenge, Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, and Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. Eurogamer tried these games and got a nice surprise. These games weren’t updated for the PlayStation 4. Instead, they run inside a PlayStation 2 emulator. You’ll find much of the PlayStation 2’s classic iconography starting with the start and select buttons, virtual memory cards and the good old PlayStation 2 logo when you boot these games. It also means that there will be a lot of upscaling and things...

Exciting Technology

Search This Blog