Early 3D Adopters: Who's Doing 3D Printing?

In the summer of 2013, the company purchased a CubeX Duo, a two-color machine that offers a resolution of 125 microns and a build area of 10x10˝. The Duo uses extrusion technology, which Gardner felt was safe and offered the least learning curve.

Responsibility for running the machine is spread around the staff. Hudson's HP operator, lead IT staffer and "mail guru" keep the device printing so the company can keep learning. The team primarily prints open source designs, but they have also experimented with 3D modeling software like CubeX, Sketchup and Blender. Projects have included a pirate ship and dinosaur and rhinoceros heads, as well as a glow-in-the-dark globe with raised continents. Some projects take 20 to 40 hours to print.