DUBAI – Consumers have been fascinated by the promise and frustrated by the reality of 3D printing.Yesterday,Autodesk announced two contributions that is expected to help make things better for 3D printing. The company has revealed the release of a new open software platform for 3D printing called ‘Spark,’ which will make it more reliable yet simpler to print 3D models and easier to control how that model is actually printed. Complementing the launch of the new platform, Autodesk will also be releasing its first 3D printer to serve as a reference implementation for ‘Spark’—demonstrating the power and potential of this new platform and set a new benchmark for the 3D printing user experience.
According to Carl Bass, Autodesk President and CEO, these two new contributions will provide the building blocks that product designers, hardware manufacturers, software developers and materials scientists can use in the move to explore the limits of 3D printing technology. ‘Spark’ will be open and freely licensable to hardware manufacturers and others who are interested. In addition, the complete design of the new Autodesk 3D printer will be made publicly available to allow for further development and experimentation. The printer will be able to use a broad range of materials, made by Autodesk and by other manufacturers, with the potential of exploring new materials to be used as well.
Industry analysts are saying that Autodesk’s latest contributions could not have come at a better time as the world is just beginning to realize the potential of additive manufacturing. The availability of ‘Spark’ will now make it possible for many more people to incorporate 3D printing into their design and manufacturing process. Autodesk has shared that it will be working closely with hardware manufacturers in the next few months to integrate the ‘Spark’ platform with current and future 3D printers. Both ‘Spark’ and the new 3D printer will be available later this year. 3D printing will make it possible for users to create all sorts of things–better– and to create all sorts of new things that have not even been imagined yet.