Make your drawings come to life

3 Doodler is a new kind of pen that will draw in 3D. It will allow users to create sculptures or designs in 3D, either by drawing free hand, or by tracing sketches on paper then 'welding' the pieces together.

Currently only available by backing the project on Kickstarter for $75 or more, the pen uses 3mm ABS or PLA plastic as its "ink", which is heated and cools quickly to build solid structures and shapes.

Although there is not a date for general release, nor a suggested price, from the Kickstarter page we can see that the lowest price they ask is $75 and the upper is $99, with plans to dispatch the finished product in February of next year.

To showcase the capabilities of the pen, the makers, Pete & Max from Wobble Works, worked with some wire artists on Etsy to create some special pieces and templates for backers.

The 3Doodler has seen a lot of press since it was made public and the project has received almost $2.1M in funding, 70 times more than the $30,000 goal.

Find out more on their Kickstarter page or watch the video below.

Dutch architects to build first 3D printed building.

You can't read the news today without seeing something about 3D printers and their possible uses.

Now Janjaap Ruijssenaars of Dutch firm Universe Architecture, is working with the Italian inventor of the D-shape 3D printer, Enrico Dini, to build the world's first 3D printed building.

The project is to create a two storey building, due for completion in 2014, using pieces made by the 3D printer.
It will be made by printing  6 x 9 metre chunks of frame, which will be made of sand and inorganic binder. The frame will be fitted together and then filled with fiber-reinforced concrete, to create a study and solid structure.

Ruijssenaars describes the project as, “One surface folded in an endless möbius band. Floors transform into ceilings, inside into outside. Production with innovative 3D printing techniques. Architecture of continuity with an endless array of applicability.”

Mom, I Want To Become A Chocolate Printer

3D printing is a fascinating technology - you press CTRL+P on your keyboard and you obtain, layer by layer, a three-dimensional object. Of course the process is more complicated and this probably is the fascination of who does not have to work with it every day.

Yet, what is universally cool is the idea of using chocolate as a mould.

Being inexpensive and easily malleable, it also yields no waste (the excess can be molten down again or eaten), making chocolate a perfect raw material.

This is happening at the University of Exeter, where researchers of EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) are developing their own chocolate revolution. The idea is that of providing to online customers the possibility of customising their chocolate orders by uploading their own designs. It is a whole new chocolate experience.

Read more on InHabitat.