From a young age, Greg has been fascinated with how things worked. He tinkered; he played; and, he rolled up his sleeves and followed his passion, which ultimately led him to Inventionland.

“You’re free to be you here,” said Greg about the creative atmosphere that lives within the walls of Inventionland!

It’s at our invention factory that Greg is able to put his inventing spirit to use by way of rapid prototyping and 3D printing!

From his passion to fascination, Greg gives us his view point on how today’s modern technology is awe-inspiring. But, that’s not all; he fills us in on what he likes to do in his spare time, too.

Let’s get right into the action. Here’s Greg’s episode of Inside Inventionland. Enjoy!

If you’d like to see more of where that came from, be sure to check our blog and subscribe to our YouTube channel today to see more Inside Inventionland episodes!

Copyright Inventionland, 2016

The post Inside Inventionland Puts Focus on Rapid Prototyping and 3D Printing appeared first on Inventionland.

Recently, TIME Magazine released their list of “The 25 Best Inventions of 2014.” While you won’t find any specific products that we designed at Inventionland on TIME’s list, you certainly will recognize some of the technology and innovation behind the products that emerged on top of 2014′s “best invention” ranking.

We’ve selected five of TIME’s 25 that stood out to us for a variety of reasons:

1. The Real-Life Hoverboard

Thanks to Hendo, Marty McFly isn’t the only cool cat you may be able to see soaring through the air on a Hoverboard. For a mere $10,000 (insert gasp here!), a person can levitate for around 15 minutes on a Hendo Hoverboard. It may not be practical just yet, but the Hoverboard technology has the ability to make a greater impact in the world, too. It possibly could to help stabilize buildings during earthquakes or protect other valuables. We’re particularly fond of the Hendo Hoverboard, because it bears a striking resemblance to our auto-industry changing Hover Creeper!

2. 3D-Printed Everything

It is becoming more and more obvious that 3D-printing capabilities are pretty much limitless. From candy to car parts, 3D printers can really do it all. This invention made our list because we can’t get enough of 3D printing at Inventionland, either. Our rapid-prototyping technicians actually are in the process of 3D printing their very own, fully-functioning 3D printer!

3. The Selfie Stick

Although the selfie may never be responsible for curing disease or creating world peace, we’ve got to admit that pretty much everyone with a social media account or a smartphone (which is pretty much EVERYONE!) has taken, at least, one selfie. If you have tried, you know that it is not that easy to take a great shot of yourself. With the invention of the Selfie Stick, capturing those oh-so-necessary poses is much easier!

4. Wrappers You Can Eat

Talk about a packaging solution! Wikipearls are edible wrappers for things like yogurt, cheese and ice cream that you can buy at Whole Foods stores. They’re currently sold in biodegradable bags, but the company’s ultimate goal is to sell them a la carte, like you can buy apples or oranges!

5. Screens that Showcase Digital Art

Like so many other industries today, art has gone digital; and, with the invention of Electric Objects, digital art now can be displayed on the wall. The flat screen as pictured above from The Collective Loop, is wired to display digital art. An accompanying app allows users to change their artwork with just a simple swipe!

These are just five of TIME’s innovative list. See TIME’s entire “The 25 Best Inventions of 2014″ list here.

Copyright Inventionland, 2014

Sources:

https://time.com/3594971/the-25-best-inventions-of-2014/?xid=newsletter-brief

Media:

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https://content.science20.com/files/images/back_to_the_future_ii_hoverboard.png

https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/best-inventions34.jpg?w=407

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/–vzvnU06bGE/U9uzJyHw43I/AAAAAAAAT7Q/Js–NWsj0aM/s1600/E01.jpg

The post What Topped TIME’s “25 Best Inventions of 2014″ List? appeared first on Inventionland.

At their core, prototypes are an important piece to the invention process because they allow a person to see their invention idea in physical form.

Furthermore, 3D-printed prototypes give way for a more realistic design and idea of what the final product will look like. Mcor Technologies is well-versed in the 3D printing and prototyping business and they weighed in on the value of 3D printing in the prototype world.

Julie Reece, a writer for Mcor Technologies, talked about this subject and said, “The value of a 3D printed model or prototype is directly proportionate to how accurate and realistic it is – whether it be a tool or shoe prototype in preparation for manufacturing; a model of a client’s villa prior to construction; a replica of a patient’s skull in preparation for an operation; a map model to assist first responders in a natural disaster; or a 3D printed figurine of your child to capture a precious moment in time.”

As you can see, Mcor places a large emphasis on creating prototypes that look so authentic that they could be mistaken for the real thing.

In fact, Mcor Technologies recently posted an article about a prototype that was so realistic, it was stopped by airport security. The best part of this story is that the prototype was made entirely of paper!

The story goes a little something like this: One of Mcor’s sales managers was traveling with a 3D-printed paper prototype of a hammer. This prototype was made with Mcor’s IRIS printer (more on that later). While at airport security, the 3D-printed hammer prototype was in the sales manager’s luggage. Well, it wasn’t long before airport security spotted the hammer, removed it and then continued to tell the sales manager that these types of tools were not allowed on board of an aircraft. After telling security that it was, in fact, a paper prototype, they were in disbelief  that what they once thought was a real hammer was actually 3D-printed out of paper! The only thing that gave it away was the obvious difference in weight, being that the paper hammer was considerably lighter than a real hammer.

Now, this prototype wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for Mcor’s famous IRIS paper-based 3D printer. Mcor Tech’s printer utilizes a process called selective deposition lamination that bonds together layers of standard office paper into durable, eco-friendly models.

The “ink” for this printer is actually paper, which can be printed in every color under the sun using Mcor’s International Colour Consortium that has over one million color shades!

At Inventionland, we can definitely relate to Mcor when we say that rapid prototyping continues to pack a lot of power in the invention process.

Copyright Inventionland 2014

Sources:

https://www.inside3dp.com/mcor-prototypes-real-theyre-stopped-airport-security/

Images:

https://www.3dheights.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/iris_printer.png

https://3dprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/mcor-1.png

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