Image by nan palmero via Flickr

With the growing popularity of 3D printing, we have been made to believe that whatever we can draw, we can make. This might be easier said than done but with some practice, anyone can fabricate almost anything with a 3D printer.

From Twitter…

 DIY: 3D printing a custom iPhone case http://t.co/OIkozi0v via @CNET

— brianlawler (Brian Lawler) (@brianlawler) Mon Aug 6 2012

In the latest episode of Always On, CNET’s Rich Brown, ventured into 3D printing to print his own Phone case. Here is a brief overview of the process of 3D printing.

1. Acquire a 3D model file via download, by designing a model yourself, or by scanning a physical object.
2. Send that file to the 3D printer, generally via your Windows, Mac, or Linux-based computer.
3. The printer then draws from a spool of 1.75-millimeter or 3mm plastic filament, printing your design by building up layers of heated, extruded plastic.
4. Bask in the glow of having brought into existence an actual 3D object.

Unless your line is into serious prototyping, anyone who wants to print 3D things will have to shell out at least $1,500 for a good machine. You will also have to deal with maintenance, mechanics, and programming language.

One popular option is to just outsource your 3D printing job to companies like Shapeways. You just have to upload your design to them and they will take care of printing it.

From YouTube…

Reports said that 3D Systems Corporation announced adjusted non-GAAP earnings of 27 cents per share and GAAP earnings of 16 cents per share for the second quarter of 2012

From Twitter…

3D Systems Reports 2nd Quarter Results: Up 44% http://t.co/XrMJ6QHw #DDD #3dprinting

— MasterG_MFG (MasterGraphics MFG) (@MasterG_MFG) Mon Jul 30 2012

Revenue increased 52% to $83.6 million over the second quarter of 2011 on 20% organic growth. The company reported growth from all its revenue categories, led by a 112% increase in its printer units sold. Backlog increased 28% sequentially to $12.3 million at the end of the quarter on continued strong demand for its printers, materials and on-demand parts services.

There was a gross profit growth, for the second quarter, of 71% on higher revenue and a 570 basis points gross profits margin expansion that is 51.4% over the 2011 quarter. These numbers were greatly influenced by significant on-demand parts services and printers gross profit margin improvement.

The company generated $21.4 million of cash from operations in the first six months of 2012, and ended the second quarter of 2012 with $158.5 million of available cash, after incurring a $11.8 million increase in its operating expenses primarily from acquisition and higher sales and marketing costs. The increase included $1.9 million of higher R&D expenditures in support of its expanded consumer and healthcare solutions portfolio.

From YouTube…

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See Any Dimension for architectural modelling and 3D printing.

The statue of the once-sainted football coach, Joe Paterno, which stood proud outside the football stadium of Penn State University was removed which in effect eliminated an integral aspect of the iconic figure accused of burying child sex abuse allegations against a retired assistant.

From Twitter…

 Joe Paterno statue removed from Penn State | Fox News http://t.co/bmjM553i via @foxnews Good.

— GingerRutledge (Ginger Rutledge) (@GingerRutledge) Mon Jul 23 2012

The university said Sunday that it will take down the larger-than-life monument in the face of an investigative report by former FBI Director Louis Freeh that found the late coach, along with three top Penn State administrators, concealed the abuse claims against Jerry Sandusky more than a decade ago in order to shield the university and its football program from negative publicity.

Police together with construction vehicles arrived in the early hours of Sunday morning. They then barricaded the street and sidewalks near the statue, erected a chain-link fence and concealed the statue with a blue tarp.

A live video feed posted on the website of the Centre Daily Times of State College showed workers in white hard hats behind a blue plastic partition and the sound of jackhammers while a forklift stood nearby with a large strap attached to the statue. About 100 to 150 students had gathered to watch.

According to Rod Erickson, the president of Penn State, it was best that the statue be removed and kept in storage because it “has become a source of division and an obstacle to healing.”

From YouTube…

A nationwide manhunt for a man suspected to have killed his ex-girlfriend and her pregnant sister in a shoot-out in Michigan is believed to be a former military police specialist who served nearly a year in Iraq.

Police have warned the public that Thomas Fritz, who has been on the run since the killings Friday night, is armed and dangerous.

From Twitter…

 Ohio suspect in Michigan slayings was in military via Sidney Daily News: Todays Headlines – TOLEDO … http://t.co/Ka6AgSnm

— sidneydailynews (Sidney Daily News) (@sidneydailynews) Wed Jul 18 2012

Fritz, 38, is charged with killing his 33-year-old ex-girlfriend in a house they shared in Blissfield, a village on the edge of southern Michigan’s scenic Irish Hills region. He is also accused of killing the woman’s younger sister, who was eight months’ pregnant, and shooting and wounding their 52-year-old mother.

Investigators said, Fritz started living with Amy Merrill last winter. They have three kids with them, her two sons from another relationship and a toddler they had together. She however ended the relationship about three weeks ago.

Michigan State Police Lt. Sean Furlong said, Fritz was known by another name in Michigan, something which sex offenders usually do. He was convicted of sexual battery and was sentenced to serve a year in an Ohio prison in 2006.

He served in the Ohio National Guard beginning in 1997 and later the Army Reserve. He then spent nearly a year in Iraq with the guard’s military police unit from the spring of 2003 through early 2004.

From YouTube…