Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
XYZprinting 3D Pen Used, Reviewed By Terrible Artist
I enjoyed this review of XYZprintings' new 3D pen, that draws physical objects in midair, by a self-described terrible artist.
(XYZprinting 3d pen)
I'm a terrible artist. I get the basic idea of stick figure drawing on a good day, maybe. So it was with a little trepidation that I tried out XYZprinting's 3D Pen, a device that lets you draw stick figures, houses, or anything you can think of, all in 3D. I gave it a try here at CES, and learned that as long as I could abide by the laws of physics, I could do it.The 3D Pen looks like, well, a red pen with two buttons: Heat and Off. It weighs about as much as a standard ballpoint, except when it's plugged in it feels heavier. Plugging it in, which you have to do to use it, tugs the pen backward a bit, which can be distracting, but you get used to it.
CES 2016 Bug ArtBasically, the pen is fed filament ($25 per spool), and when you press the Heat button, the Pen will expend said filament in liquid form, cooling 10 to 20 seconds later, where it will become solid. In my case, the color was orange. The pen looks like it's dribbling when you first press the Heat button, but once you move your hand up or down it stabilizes. You have to start by moving up/down for any 3D picture you're drawing, obviously, so that whatever you draw will have a base. You don't need a computer or any software to use the 3D Pen.
The earliest sf reference that I know of for creating a 3D object with a penlike device is from Things Pass By, a 1945 story by Murray Leinster. This device could be controlled to produce useful artifacts from drawings, which might lead to more graceful designs.
It makes drawings in the air following drawings it scans with photo-cells. But plastic comes out of the end of the drawing arm and hardens as it comes. This thing will start at one end of a ship or a house and build it complete to the other end, following drawings only.
(Read more about Leinster's Plastic Constructor)
Via PCMag.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/7/2016)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Manufacturing ")
Monolith One Giant Industrial Metal 3D-printer
'The object seemed melted together like wax — nothing was distinguishable.' - Philip K. Dick, 1956.
DARPA Wants 'Large Bio-Mechanical Space Structures'
'These are your rudimentary seed packages... Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures.' - Greg Bear, 2015
Robot Bricklayer Or Passer-By Bricklayer?
'Oscar picked up a trowel. 'I'm the tool for the mortar,' the little trowel squeaked cheerfully.' - Bruce Sterling, 1998.
Organic Non-Planar 3D Printing
'It makes drawings in the air following drawings...' - Murray Leinster, 1945.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Warfare Goes Underground In Ukraine
'Once in the very first weeks of the war, before everyone had been evacuated from the surface...'
3D Printed Organs From Space
'For a while your colonists will have to come up to the [orbital] Hospital...'
Robot Bees 3D Printed By Festo
'At first I was struck by the large size of these bees..'
DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.'
How To Settle An Argument Between Two Robots
'Henry... assumed the curious absent look of a robot talking on the TBR circuits.'
The Wind Phone Calls Those Who Have Passed On
'Only I heard that!'
Don't Want To Wear A TIght Shiny Bodysuit?
'He looked a good bit like an elderly, fat beetle.'
Light Society: Simulates Earth-Scale Society With A Billion AI Agents
'The king, an old hand in the running of tyrannies, instantly grasped the directions...'
Satyress Centaur Robot Horror Reminds Everyone Of Something
'Fess was very dutiful'
When Colds Threaten You Can't Do This - Or Can You?
'...a hemispherical force field enclosing his head.'
Beautiful Visualization of Dawn Spacecraft
'Then he became aware of a gentle pressure pushing him away from the ship.'
Biological War: A Scenario
'And now they wre busily transforming all their companions, and so on, and so on...'
Pole-Dancing Stripperbot Robot
'Why, a clockwork dancer, or, better still, one that would go by electricity and never run down...'
Collective Superintelligence Is At Hand!
'Maybe the individual intelligence of each Cubic pools into a group intelligence...'
Instant Journalists: Ordinary People With Cell Phones
'We'll show them whose planet this is!'
Health Kiosk Has No Human Doctor
'The electronic body analyzer had been developed...'
