Extract & Print 3D Models from Unreal Engine Games: STLen OBJects

Posted on 15/10/2014 by Lambert Varias

Here’s a seemingly no-brainer for 3D printing enthusiasts. If you’re looking for 3D files to print, your Steam library may already hold the files you seek. YouTuber Angus Deveson of Maker’s Muse recently shared a way to convert the files in Unreal Engine games into printable formats. So you can go from this…

to this:

Angus’ method involves using several Windows programs to convert an Unreal Engine model into different file formats, until you arrive at a .obj or .stl file. However, as you’ll see in his walkthrough, more often than not you’ll also have to do a bit of editing in order to repair or stitch a model together . There’s a bit of NSFW language in the video below, but considering Angus ripped a freakin’ mace out of his video game, I’m surprised there wasn’t more cussing set to symphonic music.

Head to Angus’ video on YouTube for the links to the programs that he used. A couple of Hack A Day commenters also pointed out that you might be able to do the same with games that use DirectX using a program called Ninja Ripper, and with World of Warcraft using WoW Model Viewer.

[via Hack A Day]

Printeer 3D Printer for Kids: Print A Sketch

Posted on 14/06/2014 by Lambert Varias

We’ve seen a couple of iPad apps that simplify 3D modeling for kids. Mission Street Manufacturing wants to go beyond that and teach children how 3D printers work as well. Its Printeer is designed to be used by kids and K-12 schools.

Printeer is fully enclosed to protect kids from its heated or moving parts. But thanks to its clear case and color-coded parts, kids will still be able to see how the machine works. Mission Street Manufacturing also decided to go with PLA filament because it’s non-toxic and produces less fine particles compared to ABS filament. Finally, like Blokify and Autodesk123D Creature, Printeer’s 3D modeling software is an easy-to-use iPad app.

K is for Kickstarter. Pledge at least $549 (USD) to receive a Printeer 3D printer as a reward.

Gravity Augmented Reality System Lets You Sketch in 3D: Airbrush

Posted on 30/03/2014 by Lambert Varias

3D modeling software is often used to visualize and develop concepts – anything from a piece of furniture to a video game. Those programs make it easy to transition from idea to prototype and to refine or duplicate sketches, but they require a lot of practice and training to master. A new company called Gravity thinks it can make sketching in 3D almost as easy as doodling with pen and paper.

Gravity uses an infrared pen, a control pad with sensors and a pair of augmented reality glasses. You use the pen to sketch in midair, just above the control pad. You won’t need to be M.C. Escher to start creating 3D models though, because Gravity only allows for sketching in one plane at a time. A switch on the pad lets you switch planes, rotating your virtual object to the side where you want to draw. Your sketch will then be visible to anyone wearing the glasses – it could just be you, or a roomful of people.

The founders of Gravity believe that “CAD [computer-aided design] generates perfect shapes that don’t leave room for the imperfection of your early modeling to allow imagination to keep influencing the idea. CAD requires thinking in terms of functions and variables. This is where imagination is defeated. There is much lost in the process of moving from 2D to 3D.” I’m not sure I buy that. Sure, making complex technology user-friendly can help drive innovation and speed up the development of concepts. On the other hand, professionals need the precision and the shortcuts that CAD and other 3D modeling software provide. For example, will Gravity users be able to cut, copy and paste an exact part of a sketch, and will the commands for those features still be intuitive without being tedious?

Sketching in 3D looks cool, but I’m going to let the pros decide if this is just a high-tech whiteboard or a legitimate alternative to 3D modeling software.

[Gravity via Gizmodo]

Google Project Tango Smartphone Lets You Make 3D Maps: DIY Street View

Posted on 22/02/2014 by Lambert Varias

Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group (ATAP) recently unveiled Project Tango, a smartphone that lets users make 3D models of their surroundings. ATAP is also working on development APIs that will let developers use those 3D models in apps.

The current Project Tango prototype is a 5″ phone with a 4 megapixel camera, a depth sensor, a motion tracking camera and two “computer vision processors.”

The sensors supposedly take about 250,000 measurements per second, which the phone processes into a 3D model in real time.

You’re not going to let the Google Street View crew into your house, but a harmless little smartphone? Come to my pocket and my life! The NSA wants a pendant-sized version of this thing yesterday.

[Google ATAP via Ubergizmo]

Honda Concept Cars 3D Models: You Would Download a Toy Car

Posted on 02/02/2014 by Lambert Varias

The new PS3 racing game Gran Turismo 6 lets players drive concept cars made expressly by automotive companies and other brands for the game. Honda is one of those companies, but it’s also using a newer form of technology to reach out to its fans. The Japanese automaker recently made 3D models of its concept cars available for download.

As of this writing the Honda 3D Design Archives features five downloadable 3D models, headlined by the 2013 Acura NSX Concept. You can also download the Fuya-Jo, the FSR Concept, the Kiwami and the toaster-like Puyo from the website. Not familiar with any of those cars? Check out this video:

Man, I need to step my daydream game up. Drive your browser to Honda 3D Design Archives and download the models.

[via TomoChan Store]

Making Prototypes with a 3D Printer & LEGO: faBrickation

Posted on 31/01/2014 by Lambert Varias

3D printing can help you create prototypes or mockups quickly. Or should I say relatively quickly – it can take a 3D printer hours to print even moderately-sized objects. To speed things up, students from the Human-Computer Interaction Group at the Hasso Plattner Institute tested adding LEGO to their workflow.

Researchers Stefanie Mueller, Tobias Mohr, Kerstin Guenther, Johannes Frohnhofen and Patrick Baudisch call their project faBrickation. The idea is to print just the crucial parts of a prototype, then build the rest out of LEGO. To do that, they wrote a program called faBrickator, where they can open 3D models…

…and “Legofy” it at the press of a button.

Then they just mark the parts of the model that will be printed…

…and build the rest with LEGO using instructions generated by faBrickator.

They can also use faBrickator to go back to a 3D model, modify it and then print only the parts that were changed, once again saving time.

The group claims that on average, faBrickation lets them make prototypes nearly two and a half times faster than using 3D printing alone. I wonder if they can make a reverse faBrickation scanner, so laypeople can start making a “3d model” out of LEGO instead of a modeling software, scan that LEGO model then run the resulting model through faBrickation.

[via Hasso Plattner Institute via PSFK]

Blokify 3D Modeling App for iOS: Minecraft Without Steve

Posted on 05/01/2014 by Lambert Varias

There’s already a Minecraft port for iOS devices, but a new iOS app called Blokify takes the addictive building mechanic of Mojang’s hit game and makes it much easier to get into. Blokify uses simple touch controls and easy access to different cubes, without the hassles of keeping an avatar alive.

Blokify was designed to be 3D modeling software for kids. First of all, its blocks are organized by themes. The app comes with a castle-themed set of blocks, with two other types – spaceships and pirates – available as optional purchases. It’s also intentionally bare of tools. Building consists of selecting and placing blocks – no more, no less. Users can then share their apps to other Blokify users. Even better, users can order a 3D printed replica right from the app itself.

According to Engadget, Blokify uses Cubify for print orders. But if you have access to a 3D printer, you can also export the 3D model from the app so you can print it yourself.

Blokify is free and is available from the App Store.

[via Engadget]

Kinematics App Lets You 3D Print Complex Flexible Objects: Tesselator

Posted on 18/12/2013 by Lambert Varias

3D printed objects are usually rigid, or at least made of parts that were printed separately. This makes it time-consuming if not outright impossible to print large objects or ones that need to be flexible or adjustable. But what if you could break down an object into smaller, foldable parts? That’s the idea behind Kinematics.

Made by Nervous System in collaboration with Motorola’s Advanced Technology and Projects group, Kinematics is a proof-of-concept 3D modeling software that lets you design a complex 3D model made of interlocking triangles. In the same way that you can make 3D graphics using two-dimensional triangles, Kinematics can theoretically make any 3D object out of interlocking triangles.

The 3D models it makes can be printed without modifying existing 3D printers. They don’t need to be assembled because their hinges are printed in place. Kinematics can also make a scrunched version of the 3D model, allowing you to print objects that are larger than your printer’s capacity. You just unfold the printed object into its final shape.

For now, the Kinematics app can only be used to make a 3D model of a bracelet. Nervous System also set up a Kinematics shop where you can design and then order a bracelet, a necklace or earrings. But as pointed out by several commenters at The Verge, imagine if the app could be improved such that it prints very tiny triangles, the way 3D graphics eventually improved from being spiky and blocky into the smooth and realistic ones we see in games and movies. It’d be like turning a 3D printer into a loom.

[Nervous System via The Verge]

Shape-It-Up Lets You Tweak 3D Shapes Using Simple Hand Gestures: Pottery Simulator

Posted on 07/07/2013 by Lambert Varias

The researchers behind Shape-It-Up call it a “Hand Gesture Based Creative Expression of 3D Shapes Using Intelligent Generalized Cylinders”, but it’s totally a pottery simulator. Decades from now, if – when? – Paramount Pictures decides to remake Ghost, the characters will be using Shape-It-Up while a dubstep remix of Unchained Melody plays in the background. Oh, my WUB WUB WUB WUUUUUB…

shape it up 3d shape system by vinayak et al

Shape-It-Up is a project by Purdue University Engineering students Vinayak, Sundar Murugappan, HaiRong Liu and Karthik Ramanilets. It lets users manipulate a virtual cylinder by using simple hand gestures, which are tracked using a Kinect. Skip to around 1:28 in the video below to see it in action.

I guess you could say that was… righteous. YEEEEA- I’m old. The researchers think of Shape-It-Up as a way for designers to start their sketches in an easier and more intuitive manner, not as a way to create a polished model. But if you pair it with a 3D printer, I think it can also be used as a way to teach kids about the basics of CAD and 3D printing. Now get off my lawn and head to Purdue University’s website for the project’s abstract.

[via Gajitz]

NTT DoCoMo hands-free videophone prototype replaces that off-center webcam stare with your digital doppelganger (video)

Posted on 02/10/2012 by Mat Smith

In a sort of reverse-Project Glass, one of DoCoMo's latest prototypes flips its cameras back at the wearer. This hands-free videophone headset ties together seven separate cameras, each recording 720p video from wide-angle lenses. Aside from the single camera pointing behind the user (and beaming the background image), the rest of them point at the users' face, recording different quadrants. These are then composited together, creating a three-dimensional avatar of the user that's then broadcasted to the other caller. The model then nods, blinks, and moves -- all based on the camera footage -- all in real-time.

In its current guise, the bottom half of the face is still composed from high resolution stills captured beforehand, but the program is able to animate the mouth based on the words and tones that the built-in mic picks up. NTT DoCoMo had some lighter, slight less clunky, future prototypes on show, and suggested that the headset could have medical applications, embedding further sensors that could gauge blood pressure, pulse and temperature and possibly broadcast this data during a call to your future physician. Work is currently underway to utilize smaller, higher quality sensors. We take a closer look at CEATEC after the break.

Gallery: NTT DoCoMo hands-free videophone prototype at CEATEC 2012