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Andrew talked with Bart Veldhuizen, Shapeway’s Community Manager about how Shapeways was started, the production and the available materials for designers. What does Shapeways think about desktop 3D printers? Shapeways keeps a good relationship with desktop 3D printer manufacturers, said Veldhuizen, Shapeways’ production scale is different, and they serve different markets so Shapeways doesn’t see them as competitors. On the contrary, desktop 3D printers are more closer to consumers, and they could help people to understand the principle of 3D printing.
For people who design something at home, Shapeways helps them to expand the complexity of their design, providing more choices for shapes and materials. “Lots of customer models are virtually assembled like Tetris pieces into a printer’s known X, Y, Z “chamber limits”.” explains Andrew.
“The amount of materials to print is endless and expanding. Nylons are everywhere, silver models are contracted out but the initial steps are printed at Shapeways, and waste materials are being stored to be recycled in the future when technology allows.” added Andrew, and designers could also just order small production runs after home prototyping….
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: CircuitPython 2025 Wraps, Focus on Using Python, Open Source and More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
