Friday, November 16, 2007

3D Printer takes a Popular Science Award

It's great seeing this budding industry take off. This is another example pointing to the bright future of 3D printers. The Desktop Factory 125ci 3D printer has been chosen by Popular Science Magazine for 2007's Best of What’s New Award. It's featured as one of the top "home" tech products. We're no longer just at the office. We're in the house now.

Here's the press release from Desktop Factory:

PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Desktop Factory, Inc., a technology start-up with the mission to bring affordable desktop 3D printing to the masses, today announced that its Desktop Factory 125ci 3D printer has been selected to receive a 2007 Best of What’s New award from Popular Science magazine in the Home Tech category.

Until now, 3D printers have been large, expensive machines confined to the shops and design departments of major corporations and elite design firms. The Desktop Factory 3D printer, however, is about the same size as early laser printers measuring approximately 25 x 20 x 20 inches and weighing less than 90 lbs. The printer can be plugged into standard wall outlets, is fully network compatible, requires no special ventilation, and uses an inexpensive halogen light source and drum printing technology to build its robust parts layer by layer using low-cost composite plastic powder.

“We’re honored to have the editors of Popular Science recognize the Desktop Factory as one of the top breakthrough innovations of the year,” said Cathy Lewis, CEO of Desktop Factory. “It is clear that Desktop Factory will forever change the way we think of ‘printing’ — from an explosion in creativity to enabling simple home repairs with the click of a mouse. This award is a testament to the tremendous talent and dedication of our engineering team, delivering the power of printing in 3D to the masses.”

“For 20 years, Popular Science’s Best of What’s New awards honor the innovations that a make positive impact on life today and change our views of the future,” says Mark Jannot, Editor-in-Chief of Popular Science. “PopSci’s editors evaluate thousands of products each year to develop this thoughtful list; there’s no higher accolade Popular Science can give.”

The Desktop Factory 125ci is disruptively priced at $4,995, and the company is currently accepting 10% deposits ($495) for the first 1,000 reservation orders placed via the their web site: http://www.desktopfactory.com. The Desktop Factory 125ci is currently in beta with initial shipments planned for 2008.

About Best of What's New Each year, the editors of Popular Science review thousands of products in search of the top 100 tech innovations of the year; breakthrough products and technologies that represent a significant leap in their categories. The winners — the Best of What’s New — are awarded inclusion in the much-anticipated December issue of Popular Science, the most widely read issue of the year since the debut of Best of What’s New in 1987. Best of What’s New awards are presented to 100 new products and technologies in 10 categories: Automotive, Aviation & Space, Computing, Engineering, Gadgets, Green Tech, Home Entertainment, Home Tech, Personal Health and Recreation.

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