Rapid Ready Roundup: Concept Laser, Martha Stewart, Urns, and Cartography

In the course of my diligent efforts to keep you good people up to date on the state of additive manufacturing (AM), I come across many interesting news items. I’ll gather them up every so often and present them in a Rapid Ready Roundup (like this one). You can find the last Roundup here.

Today we’ll start off with some information from Germany that isn’t even about EuroMold 2014! You can find that sort of information elsewhere on the site, however. In light of demand for their systems in the US, Concept Laser has decided to open a subsidiary in Dallas. The new office will be headed by John Murray, who will also act as CEO in the US.

“As our global customer base continues to grow, our strategy of expanding the geographic development of our company is of great benefit to our customers based in the USA and Canada,” said Frank Herzog, president and CEO, Concept Laser GmbH. “As demand for LaserCUSING systems expand across the globe, we are excited to see the expansion of our team. Our long-term strategy and vision for the company are coming to fruition. Establishing an office in the USA is just the first step as part of our long-term vision for Concept Laser.”

Moving on, you may or may not have noticed Martha Stewart’s interest in 3D printing. She has signed a deal with MakerBot for the “Martha Stewart Trellis Collection,” which is pretty much just a color coordinated set of napkin rings and coasters. That portion of MakerBot’s site is awash in pastel colors and bears Martha’s actual seal of approval.

MakerBot’s Martha Stewart Trellis Collection offers 3D printed table decor complete with Martha’s seal of approval. Courtesy of MakerBot.

More interesting by far is the article she wrote for CNN, titled “I love 3-D Printers.” The article displays a remarkable amount of knowledge about the current state of the technology, even going so far as to name drop HP. If you need to introduce someone to AM in the gentlest way possible, the Stewart article isn’t a bad vehicle. Then come back to Rapid Ready for the nuts and bolts.

Next up is something that might have gone in the oddities Roundup if it had existed at the time. A company named Cremation Solutions is offering a new way to store the ashes of a departed loved one. Using 3D design techniques and AM, the company is offering hollow busts to act as receptacles for cremation ashes. If a bust requires long hair in order to look complete, the company will even send along a wig to add that last perfect touch. (Can you tell I find this a bit creepy?)

This lifelike bust is actually a 3D printed funerary urn. Courtesy of Cremation Solutions.

“Using pictures and special facial recognition software we can transform your favorite two-dimensional image into a three-dimensional sculpture that captures the finest details. They only need one or two photos to create the likeness, and it can even erase blemishes so they will look their best for all eternity,” the company states. “You will never again have to worry that you might forget what your loved one looked like when you invest in one of these custom made very lifelike cremation urns.”

Continuing on, or even fleeing from the last bit, we come to a cool idea and toy for cartographers. A new program that has been developed on GitHub takes HGT data (that is, data from a shuttle radar topography mission data file) and converts it into STL files. What that essentially means is you can print out your local topography with the help of Google Maps, rather than requiring an entire team go at it with a scanner.

Below you’ll find a video about the Terrain2STL program.

Sources: CNN, MakerBot, GitHub, Cremation Solutions, Concept Laser