
Autodesk announces new 3D printer and open platform - jschwartz11
http://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/spark
======
dm2
They should really have a working prototype or at least more than a vague
rendered image before announcing something like this.

Can someone explain how the ship in the 3D printer concept rendering is
suppose to be have been built and how it's staying in place?

[http://inthefold.autodesk.com/.a/6a017c3334c51a970b01a3fd089...](http://inthefold.autodesk.com/.a/6a017c3334c51a970b01a3fd089f22970b-pi)

In my opinion they should focus on making larger and stronger 3D objects and
ways to make it easy and affordable rather than delicate looking model ships.
If I could quickly print something like a 2 inch custom pipe joint (that was
fairly strong) in a short amount of time then this thing would be very
valuable.

~~~
supermatt
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolithography](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolithography)

It's literally fused to the surface as it's drawn up from the vat (imagine the
apparatus shown in the Wikipedia diagram but upside-down with the laser below
the resin vat)

~~~
dm2
The laser is below the resin container? How does that work?

Is there a similar built device that you know of?

~~~
supermatt
The formlabs form 1 is a good example:
[http://formlabs.com/products/form-1/](http://formlabs.com/products/form-1/)

~~~
dm2
Awesome, thanks, that makes sense now.

[http://youtu.be/enJq2PquuPE?t=1m2s](http://youtu.be/enJq2PquuPE?t=1m2s)

------
kenrikm
It looks like the most they have to show at this point is a 3D rendering of a
3D printer. Anyone know if there is a actually working product behind this or
are they just trying to gauge interest or drum up support before actually
having anything to show?

~~~
lovemenot
This seems like a good idea and good business for AutoDesk too. But the
announcement might be too early. It seems there is no hardware yet. And more
importantly, given AutoDesk's declared strategy, there is no link to a
(Github) repo for Spark - their FOSS "OS for 3D printing". According to the
BBC article, this 3D printer is intended to promote Spark, just as Nexus One
was meant to promote Android, but not become a huge thing in its own right.

------
brightghost
There's nothing new in Autodesk buying up everything they can get their hands
on in the parametric modelling space, but I was surprised to see recently that
they have made a rash of acquisitions and new product developments targeting
the hobbyist/hacker community under their '123D' banner.

~~~
hershel
They're also very unfocused. They bought circuits.io , but doesn't seem to
have given it the required treatment for it to grow to be a common tool.

------
marincounty
Autodesk and free--open platform is an oxymoron. Sorry, but I don't trust ths
company anymore. If anyone from Autodesk reads this; there are free
alternatives to your pricy software--it's not the ninties anymore. I don't
Need your software! The last dollar I gave you was for Lightroom 1.0. It's the
last dollar you will ever get from me. I lost track of how many times you
"updated" Lightroom, and asked for more money. For my purposes, IPhoto has you
beat--and Apple gave it away.

~~~
neurotech1
At tech meetups and conferences they sometimes give away "studio" packs that
have a large assortment of Autodesk software for free (non-transferable). They
sent it to me on a USB drive.

~~~
bsilvereagle
Is the software limited to X months like the educational versions or is it a
permenant license?

~~~
ethanbond
Autodesk's educational licenses (free) last wickedly long. For products that
cost several thousand dollars, I don't know what there is to complain about.

------
soggypenny
Looks like DLP (Direct Light Projection) 3D printing and has an eerily similar
form factor to the EnvisionTec Perfactory Micro:
[http://envisiontec.com/case_studies/bosmans-3d-printing-
jewe...](http://envisiontec.com/case_studies/bosmans-3d-printing-jewelry-with-
a-perfactory-micro/)

Interested to see how they plan to differentiate this printer from the similar
DLP offerings out there already (DLP printers are big in the jewelry industry)

------
fudged71
I'm genuinely surprised they let this out of the bag without any specs or
pricing or details of any kind. In fact, being in the 3D printing space I was
confused whether "Spark" was the name of the printer, the reference hardware,
or the software.

