By Jason Griffey | Editor's Note: This is the fifth of a series of posts excerpted from Jason Griffey's Library Technology Report "3D Printers for Libraries." Let’s start with a high-level overview of the process FDM printers follow, which is similar regardless of printer. You start with a digital model of your object, in STL format, either created with one of the software packages described below or downloaded from a website. You open the file in a plating and slicing program, like Makerware, Repetier host, ReplicatorG, or Pronterface. The program will show how the object sits on the build platform, and you can manipulate it to some degree (scale it up or down, rotate it for a better fit). You will then choose a number of settings for slicing, things like layer height, infill, and extrusion temperature. Once you have your settings, you will either print directly from the computer over USB or export the STL file as a gcode file and move it to the printer on an SD card. The STL will be sliced into hundreds of layers, and the 3D printer will get instructions on how to build it one layer and a time.
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By Jason Griffey | Editor's Note: This is the fourth of a series of posts excerpted from Jason Griffey's Library Technology Report "3D Printers for Libraries." As noted in earlier posts in the series, FDM (fused depostion modeling) printing is by far the most common inexpensive method of 3D printing. In this post, we’ll look at alternatives.
By Jason Griffey | Editor's Note: This is the third of a series of posts excerpted from Jason Griffey's Library Technology Report "3D Printers for Libraries."
By Jason Griffey | Editor's Note: This is the second of a series of posts excerpted from Jason Griffey's Library Technology Report "3D Printers for Libraries."
By Jason Griffey | Editor's Note: This is the first of a series of posts excerpted from Jason Griffey's Library Technology Report "3D Printers for Libraries." The simplest way to understand a 3D printer works is to imagine it as a machine that makes bigger things out of smaller blocks. In some cases the “blocks” are a powder, in some they are melted plastic, or they may be a ultraviolet light sensitive resin, but always the process is large things being made from smaller substrates. A 3D printer is a simple sort of robot that understands how to manipulate the raw material it’s working with in three dimensions rather than just two, as an inkjet or laser printer does. This type of manufacturing is also called additive manufacturing, as opposed to more traditional subtractive manufacturing, where material is removed from a larger sample to create custom shapes in a process like milling, lathing, or CNC (computing numerical control) machines.
By Patrick Hogan | Editors Note: This post is an excerpt from Improving the Visibility and Use of Digital Repositories Through SEO, by Kenning Arlitsch and Patrick S. OBrien. The authors, along with Montana State colleagues Jason Clark and Scott Young, will be teaching the online course/workshop Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Libraries, which starts July 17.
By Marshall Breeding | Innovative Interfaces has acquired Blacksburg, VA-based VTLS as part of its strategic expansion strategy. This move follows the acquisition of Polaris announced in April 2014. The acquisitions were conducted in parallel, with different schedules for closing. The acquisition of VTLS significantly expands Innovative’s international reach and brings a number of new technology products under its corporate umbrella. VTLS had been the longest standing company remaining under the ownership and management of its founder in the library technology industry. VTLS and its precursors have been active since 1974, initially through Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University--better known as Virginia Tech--and since 1985 as an independent company.
By Marshall Breeding | In a move that further consolidates the library automation industry, Innovative Interfaces, Inc. has purchased Polaris Library Systems. Innovative, one of the largest companies in the industry, with a presence in many international regions, and with customers from all types of libraries significantly strengthens its presence in the US public library arena by acquiring the company that has performed well in this sector, winning the majority of municipal library procurements in recent years. The acquisition marks further expansion of Inn
By Patrick Hogan | John Dove’s article in the eContent Quarterly December 2013 issue “Online Reference Systems: Putting the User at the Center of Design” includes the list of resources below, for which he shares credit with Terry Winograd, Erin McKean, Jodi Wing, and Josh Orum. Though compiled with reference systems in mind, the list includes resources helpful for any Web interface.(Subscribe to eContent Quarterly in the ALA Store. )
By Patrick Hogan | From the RMG press release RMG Town Hall 2: Discovery, e-Books, Demand-Driven Acquisitions at RMG’s Annual Presidents' Seminar: The View from the Top