Here is yet another selection of cool things from the 3D printing industry.

This is a visualisation of how mankind might colonise space in the future by sending robots ahead to gather material and use it to create habitats and other useful items so they don't have to be transported there. This could revolutionise the way we explore other planets in our solar system and possibly other worlds in the distant future.

This is a prop from the movie Ironman 2. It was printed and is an example of the Hollywood industry beginning to embrace the technology for creating its props.

This is a printer head that is made entirely from metal making it extremely durable and versatile as well. It can handle printing with materials such as ceramics, salt and even food like material. It is made to be able to work with many types of machines and can even have a fan attached to it. This is an example of the new wave of technology allowing the creation of custom 3D printers.

The design for this chair came from a mathematical algorithm and was the printed using aluminium. This is an example of what machines with artificial intelligence will be able to create autonomously in the future with only minimal input from humans.

This is a machine that is in development and is close to becoming a viable consumer product. It is a 3D printer that is able to create objects out of steel, stainless steel, aluminium, bronze or copper without the need for support structures. It uses a combination of extrusion and welding to create its structures and relies on several programs working in unison to be able to manage the many functions required.

Hello, here's some more images of cool stuff.

This is a model that can be downloaded from Thingiverse. It is a tank that is based on an existing type of fan belt. All of the components except the motors and nuts and bolts are printed. Looks like a fun little machine. Seems to be missing a control unit though, but one may be able to take one from another remote control vehicle.

This image is of a recreation of shark skin printed by in 3D. Bio mimicry will be an important source of technological breakthroughs for the future. This reproduced skin managed to cause a significant reduction in drag and energy required for propulsion. This could be applied to any number of water craft or even vehicles that travel through air.

This printer is the latest release fro Airwolf. It can maintain higher temperatures at the printer head enabling it to use higher grade materials like nylon. This machine is at the high end for consumer printers and is almost commercial grade. The fact that it can use quality materials and it's large print area makes this a very desirable model. When I purchase a printer it will be at least of this spec.

This image is of a concept prototype. It wasn't made to be entirely functional but I think it's a pretty cool idea and wouldn't take much tweaking to make it a proper product. I can think of two things that would make this a good item to use, first would be the more comfortable position you could hold the phone at and using the right materials you could cut down radiation from the phone making it safer to use.

I like this model of a motor because in the future 3D printers will be able to produce items like this that are comprised of multiple materials and parts. This will make a large difference to how consumerism works probably reducing the retail market, but opening new avenues like material supply and object design.

Here's another selection of things from Pinterest and around the web.

This photo is of a component from a rocket that has been printed. NASA is looking into creating more of it's parts this way. They hope using this method will reduce production costs as well as time.

This is an image of a futuristic concept that uses protocells to create a skin that reacts to pressure and is able to adjust itself accordingly by swelling up or contracting. The shoes almost become a living organism and need to be immersed in nutrient to recharge and even repair itself. These kind of materials might be popular in the future for all kinds of materials that involve physical contact with organic surfaces.

This is a pasta printer that can create 20 pieces of pasta in two minutes which while might not be commercially viable yet, the speed has improved ten fold from the last prototype. The inventor of this machine hopes to have one of these units in every restaurant within a decade, printing out custom pastas to customers requests.

This image is of a propeller engine that was printed out in pieces and the snapped together. Creating the tabs and fasteners to achieve this is one of the techniques I wish to learn.

This is a working bearing system that was printed out as one piece. This would be the ideal way to print out complicated items in the future and combined with dual material printers the possibility of real time device manufacture is achievable.

Here is another selection of things from pintrest and around the web, some new devices and a new method of 3D printing.

This image is of some objects that have been printed using a alloy. The process that created this is called Direct Metal Laser Sintering and involves a high powered laser being shot into powdered metal that melts the shape into the material. Some sectors of the manufacturing world like the aeronautic manufacturers are embracing this process because it creates highly accurate and durable objects in an efficient way.

This machine is a commercially available finishing machine for 3D printed objects. Like the process I have talked about in a previous post, this machine uses acetone vapour to melt down the ridged surface of printed models. This model costs around $700 dollars or so.

This machine employs a new way of printing in 3D that allows editing, pausing and physical manipulation. It even allows the use of more than one material to be used in the print. What makes this possible is the resin gets injected into hair gel which acts like a structure enabling the object to be printed without brackets. The material remains soft and malleable within the gel until it gets exposed to UV light where it hardens and sets. The object is removed from the gel and then can be reused.

Creating moulds for objects from prototyped 3D objects is a real world application that creates many new possibilities in providing casts for mass production in a shorter turn around time.

This is an interesting development as far as the meeting of technologies. This is a new kind of phone that can have different microchips attached to it to alter the performance, memory and functions in an entirely customisable way. The chips are printed and in the future there will be many companies that will produce them to attach to you phone. This will be of interest to hobbyists who want to create their own technology.