Ultimaker 3d Printing Community Develops New Olsson Block for Users

Anders Olsson and Ultimaker team up

Ultimaker has always had a philosophy of developing 3D printing technology with members of its community. The latest project that is a true demonstration of this philosophy is the Olsson block. It was designed and developed by Anders Olsson. He is a research at Uppsala University in Sweden.

How Olsson Got the Idea

The heating block is one of the most important aspects of a 3D printer. However, it is prone to damage since it has to rise to a very high temperature. Anders Olsson works with neutrons, which means they use boron a lot. However, designing the boron carbide into small pieces is quite difficult. This is because of how hard the material is.

Anders Olsson had an idea to make pellets of boron carbide and incorporate it into a 3D printer. He managed to do so successfully and created a filament of boron and plastic. When he began extruding his material, the nozzles were worn out in a few hours due to how tough boron is. However, replacing a nozzle would mean he had to replace the entire heating block. He exactly came up with a solution. Olsson threaded his nozzle so that it became replaceable.

Ultimaker liked Olsson’s design and they made him an offer he could not resist. The company now includes the Olson block free with every purchase of the Ultimaker2 Extended and Ultimaker2. The design allows users to change the hot end nozzles at will. This means that one can change their nozzles between a print and the next.

Olsson block components

The Olsson block comes with fours nozzles of 0.25, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8mm sizes. These allow users to make detailed print and within a period that they desire. For faster prints, the company recommends the use of the 0.8mm nozzle. For fine, detailed prints, the company recommends the 0.25mm nozzle. However, this also means that a print will take longer to process. Other items included are a socket and a screwdriver.

Ultimaker: innovators in an innovative industry

The company is one of the truly successful open source 3D printing companies. Unlike other companies, they include the advice of everyone, including amateurs in their design. This is unlike other companies that claim to be open source but ignore amateur input. This reception to input has been getting a lot of attention by the industry with reviews of this 3d printer giving strong support to the companies responsiveness in developing a better product.

It is proof that 3D printing requires the support of everyone to succeed. Anders Olsson is not a professional of the 3D printing industry. He is just someone who stumbled on a good idea and decided to implement it. The Ultimaker Company will only grow from strength to strength if they keep up with this good community-based model. It is also a challenge for others who are not as inclusive as they claim.

Conclusion

As of now, the Olsson block has increased the usability of Ultimaker 3D printers. However, in future, someone could discover something else that is revolutionary. The 3D printing industry is still in its infancy. It requires the input of as many people as possible; everyone who has a passion for 3D

Intellectual Property Lawsuits Becoming “The Norm” Among 3D Printing Industry

3D Printed guns have the garnered a lot of press and attention

3D Technology has revolutionized the way we live. It is unlikely that this revolution will cool down anytime soon. Anyone can down intricate designs from the internet and print out their own 3D printer at home. You can even make commercial sales from such designs.

3D technology is a disruptive technology. It creates the same problems as the photocopy machine and personal computers. In the digital error, copy and paste lawsuits are only going to continue increasing.

Increasing Lawsuits

One of the major reasons for so many lawsuits is that the technology is still new. Thus, even the law has yet to catch up with it. The laws used are not specifically designed for 3D printing. This is the reason why there have been so many inconsistencies in judgements. Sometimes individuals may think what they are doing is perfectly legal.

The problem that has been arising is that people want to see tier creativity profit them. However, the law is very lenient to people as long as they do not use something for commercial gain. The problem is that anything that is on the internet or digital copy can be replicated by anyone.

Affordability makes the problem bigger

As the technology for 3D printing gets cheaper, more people will buy one for use at home. Thus, the number of people making free replicas of someone’s creativity will go up. This presents a huge problem. If creators do not feel their work is appreciated, they will use their energy elsewhere. This could mean that there are many 3D printers but very little to do with them.

So who should manage this problem?

Thus, it is up to governments to protect intellectual rights or it will destroy the industry. 3D is still in its infancy despite the explosive developments. It is essential that this industry is carefully nurtured to reach its potential. The industry has the potential to employ millions of people.

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