3DPrint.com and Game of Thrones

3DPrint.com recently released an article about a person named Nimi Becza who is such a fan of Game of Thrones that he created his own replica of a weapon wielded by the character Oberyn Martell.  After modelling the weapon in SOLIDWORKS, he had it 3D printed (and then posed for the obligatory photos).  Check out 3DPrint.com’s article (and photos), Game of Thrones Fan 3D Prints His Very Own Replica of Oberyn Martell’s Blade.

Great story about 3D Printed prosthetics to provide independence

There’s a great story this month about how a former teaching is creating 3D printed prosthetics for people without limbs in order to provide them with greater independence.  The angle here is this appropriate quote:

“I only needed a desktop, computer aided design (CAD) software called Solidworks and a 3D printer,” explained Sujana

In addition to this awesome use SOLIDWORKS and 3D printing, a great new enhancement in SOLIDWORKS 2015 is the unique ability to 3D print directly to 3D printers using either 3MF or AMF formats on Windows 8.1 systems.  Though the process is more complex than printing to a traditional paper (2D) printer, it is similar in that you no longer have to create intermediate files and switch applications.

Motley Fool interviews Al Bunshaft of Dassault Systemes, covered 3D Printing

Al Bunshaft, Dassault Systemes Senior Vice President for the North America region, was recently interviewed by Motley Fool, covering a range of topics.  SolidWorks  and its 2 million end users are mentioned, but the interview focuses on Dassault’s role in the rise of 3D Printing in recent years.  Bunshaft states, “our software is the engine of the 3D printing industry”.  He also talks about several real world examples of successful uses of Dassault Systemes software within industry.  The complete article can found on the Motley Fool at What’s Next for Dassault Systèmes, And How It Profits Off 3D Printing, including the video of the interview.

Don’t fight the future of 3D Printing

Chris McAndrew makes a great case for industry to embrace the explosion of 3D Printers and the new business opportunities that are coming, including criticism of those forces that would seek inhibit the use of 3D printing to protect old business models.  Check out his article:  Why I’m Not Fighting Back Against Developments In 3D Printing.