World’s first 3D printed laptop

In other blog posts I had already spoken about the amazing products created by 3D printers such as houses, toys and many other things. However, today I am going to tall you about the world’s first 3D-printed laptop, Pi-Top.

Pi-Top is a special laptop, which has not only been created by a 3D printer. What makes Pi-Top even more special is that it also integrates Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design with the 3D printing, a combination that endows you with the prerequisite know-how to create your own hardware product, according to its creators. The main aim of the project is to make “hardware as accessible as software,” so the developers behind this 3D-printed laptop want to make their product as beginner-friendly as possible. With that in mind, the creators (a group of student engineers from various UK universities) have ensured that anybody can make the kit in an evening. Creativity is also key to the product as Pi-Top aims to provide a platform on which you can hone your computing skills and learn to code your own hardware. What’s more, as learning through gaming has become a big thing these days, Pi-Top wants its consumers to take part in that trend and become a key player in this market.

While the Pi-Top boasts versatility through its customisable design, whereby you can 3D-print your own 5″ x 5″ case, the product’s not just about the appearance. The makers want you to “learn how to make and control home automation devices, robots, and consumer electronics,” and they’ve also toured the UK, imparting their technological skills to UK pupils. As a result, the product is not only aesthetically pleasing but it also is used as part of a learning experience.

For the skeptics that thought 3D printers were useless, the Pi-Top is the perfect example of a product that makes the usefulness of the printers increase to a great extent. This is because, everything you need to build your 3D-printable laptop, except for the printer itself, comes in a pack currently on sale for £180. The Pi-Top pack includes a customisable template for the 3D printer, so you can print your laptop in any colour or even have your name embossed on the shell. It also contains a screen and a “Raspberry Pi” – a desktop tower the size of a credit card – that needs to be slotted into the shell to form the final laptop.

The Pi-Top has all the functions of a normal laptop, but its inventors hope it will be used to teach children to become more computer literate by learning how to dismantle and reassemble it. The laptop, which officially launches in May, is available to buy on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo which enables thousands of people to pledge seed capital to a new idea rather than relying on a loan. What do you think about this product? I couldn’t be more excited as I would love to see what the future of 3D printed products hold!

To learn more about the product click on this link to watch the creators talk about their new product: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/technology-video/11219930/Introducing-Pi-Top-the-worlds-first-3D-printed-laptop.html

Left Shark Vol. II

Katy Perry has launched an official ‘left shark’ costume inspired by (as you might know) one of the backing dancers from her Super Bowl halftime show, who became an overnight internet sensation when he appeared to forget his dance moves live on air. The 30-year-old singer,  tweeted the news to her delighted followers on Monday evening, advising them to head to her online store and pick up one of the $129.99 onesies.Alongside a picture of the new product, she said: ‘YOU CAN NOW BE A PROPER #LEFTSHARK WITH THIS OFFICIAL, GLORIOUS #LEFTSHARK ONESIE’ As part of her new line of left shark clothing, the pop superstar has also released a T-shirt emblazoned with an image of the left shark, with the words ‘Current Mood’ emblazoned across the front and ‘Katy Perry’ and ‘#leftshark’ on the back.

Prior to the launch of Katy’s official left shark merchandise line, a number of unofficial products have been made available by eager entrepreneurs hoping to cash in on the left shark’s seemingly unwavering popularity. Last month, Katy’s attorneys served an artist who was selling small figurines of the globally-famous dancing shark, who was played by professional dancer Bryan Gaw, online with a cease and desist letter, insisting that he remove the products from the website on which they were being sold.  Prior to their warning, Fernando Sosa, had been selling up $24.99 three-inch sharks, which were made using a 3D printer, per day via online marketplace Shapeways.com. However, less than 36 hours after his statues became available, Shapeways officials notified Mr Sosa of a cease-and-desist letter from Perry’s Los Angeles-based attorneys who demanded the shark’s removal from the site. ‘They said they were pulling the design because they didn’t want to deal with lawyers,’ Mr Sosa said, adding that the company promptly cancelled his orders and refunded his customers. The letter from attorney Steve Plinio said Katy is the ‘owner of the intellectual property depicted or embodied in connection with the shark images and costumes’ portrayed during the halftime show.The letter said the failure to comply with the demands outlined ‘will be viewed by the courts as willful infringement’. Sosa said he didn’t think a halftime show prop would be copyrighted. He added that his product didn’t mention Katy Perry or claim that it was associated with her. As I had previously covered this news you can review the article here.
In essence I believe Katy Perry is using the perfect strategy and opportunity cost to sell her product as it is still very popular. This may show that Katy Perry is now using the Left Shark as an amazing business opportunity however, would you be prepared to buy the onesie for $130?

See the full story: http://www.today.com/style/left-shark-onesie-katy-perry-selling-merchandise-featuring-super-

The Case of the Left Shark

Katy Perry’s Halftime Show for the 49th Super Bowl about a week ago was one of the most watched events in Internet’s history. Katy Perry is known for being an incredible performer and the show wowed the whole audience. However, there was one detain in her appearance that captured more detail than her: the left shark. As most of you probably know, her show included two dancing sharks and the one on the left missed a few steps and this error made her performance become even more popular and go viral. From then on, this left shark has become famous and many businesses have tried to use this figure to bring some profits.

One website, Shapeways.com has indeed exploited the left shark. This is because, the website had been selling Mr Sosa design of the model using a 3D printer. The design was selling for $24.99 and indeed it had been a popular item. However, Katy Perry’s laywers found out and the website has been ordered to remove the design. In a letter, the lawyers said Perry had not consented to the use of the shark, which was being sold through Shapeways.com.

Over recent years, 3D printing is becoming an increasing headache for companies trying to protect their intellectual property. This has been because, falling costs of 3D printers, coupled with a growing community of model designers, means many small products can be made to a relatively high quality and sold easily so it is very difficult for lawyers to find it and so, the company and designers make a huge profit.

Intellectual property lawyer Dai Davis told the BBC he expects disputes like this to become more common, and that industry must adapt to facilitate demand. “In the same way copyright is difficult to protect in music because of the way the internet has allowed piracy sites, in the same way you already have lots of sites popping up which will increasingly allow unlawful copies of design rights [for objects].” He suggested that companies would perhaps be wiser to offer their own official 3D-printed designs, rather than putting effort into removing designs by others.

On the left, Fernando Sosa’s model of Left Shark, which attracted the attention of Katy Perry’s lawyers

From sketches to real life projects, the story of 3D printing

For those of you who don’t know, 3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three-dimensional solid objects from a digital file. The creation of a 3D printed object is achieved using additive processes. This process consists of laying down many layers of material until an entire object is created.

At first, when 3D printing was developed in 2010 many people were sceptical of this method, as they believed it was a waste of time and that 3D printing would never take off. Despite this, a Chinese company has proved everyone wrong, as they have created houses made with nothing more than 3D printers. Engineers used a 152.4 metre long printer and recycled construction waste for ‘ink’ to create the houses.

The houses, one of which is five stores high, were created in an industrial park in China’s Jiangsu province using new 3D printing technology. The incredible engineering, by Shanghai WinSun Decoration Design Engineering Co., was pioneered ten months ago when the company printed ten buildings (costing just £3,100) entirely out of concrete using a giant printer. Now they have taken the technology further to build the first 3D printed villas and the tallest ever 3D printed building. It is expected that people will move to live in these buildings by 2018.

More sustainable option

The ‘ink’ used is a mixture of recycled construction waste, glass, steel and cement which is sprayed on layer by layer until a thick wall is created. Ma Yi He, CEO of WinSun, explained that the construction industry produces a large amount of carbon emissions, but with 3D printing, waste material can be recycled. This process also means that construction workers are at less risk of coming into contact with hazardous materials.The new technology could also lead to the building sites of the future could be far less noisy, more clean and easier on the eye.

Although this has been the most impressive use of 3D printers, this method has also been used for building a variety of items such as race cars, guitars, clocks and even smartphone cases (as shown in the pictures below) and analysts suggest that 3D printers will become increasingly more important in manufacturing and that the industry will grow more than 150% in the next 5 years.

What do you think about 3D printers and their future? Would you live in a 3D printed house?