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 ")

Varda Space Industries Orbital Factories
'... work summers in their orbital factory complex.' - Jerry Pournelle, 1976.

Boring Company Bricks Predicted In 1929
'... used to make building blocks for these invaders.' - Frank Phillips, 1929.

Is It Possible To GROW Planes And Vehicles?
'These are your rudimentary seed packages...' - Greg Bear, 2015.

Scaly-Foot Snail Works With Iron
'Micro-Scale suit tiles fabricated by genetically engineered metal affinity bacteria...'

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

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

Biohybrid Robots Made Of Living And Synthetic Materials
'If the biological robots were not living creatures, they were certainly very good imitations.'

Drug Induces Hibernation-Like State In Humans
'... drugged and chilled and stowed in sleep tanks.'

Poul Anderson's 'Brain Wave'
"Everybody and his dog, it seemed, wanted to live out in the country; transportation and communication were no longer isolating factors."

AI Note-Taking From Google Meet
'... the new typewriter that could be talked to, and which transposed the spoken sound into typed words.'

Qore IcePlates Are Personal Cooling Suits
'... underneath they consisted of networks of cooling tubes against the skin.'

P1 Just The Latest Robot To Take A Beating From Humans
'...we mere people come second.'

Waymo Cars Shout At Each Other, Autonomously
'My cars talk to one another. I have no doubt about it...'

Your Solar Electric Paint Is Ready, Larry Niven
'...you spray it on.'

How Long Till We Have These Tattoos?
Truth or fiction?

Seeing Faces On Grains Of Sand (AI Pareidolia)
'... the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell.'

Lunar Biorepository Proposed For Cryo-Preservation Of Earth Species
'...there was no one alive who had ever seen them. But they existed in the Life Bank.'

Tele-Driving Offers Jobs For Tele-Drivers, Not AIs
''...some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre...'

Autonomous Robotic Dentist - Would You Say 'Ahhh'?
You might be surprised at how much more efficient this could be.

GM Scraps Cruise Origin Robotaxi With No Steering Wheel
'Ames tinkered around with something on the instrument board when he got in; and in a few moments we were off.'

Taza Aya Air-Curtain Tech Protects Turkey Workers
'I'm going to have to buy a filter-mask.'

Torobo Humanoid Robot Hammers A Nail
7-axis dual arms, 3-axis waist (pitch, pitch, yaw), 3-axis neck (yaw, pitch, roll), and 4-axis undercarriage!

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.