3D Printing Reaching New Heights

3D printing is the new kid on the block at the consumer level and it is not going away. One of the new innovations in 3D printing is that the printers are getting smaller. The Micro by M3D is 4.5 inch cube that can uses PLA to print things that are nearly as big as itself. It will be available for sale this summer for $350. If you have one of these printers, you have the ability to take a concept to something that can be put on sale in less than a day. You can also experiment with materials. The type of printer is also evolving. Instead of squeezing out plastic, resin printers use light to turn a photosensitive liquid into a solid, one layer at a time, and with layers at least five times smaller than with FDM, at 0.02 mm. That’s fine enough to make tiny figurines. While we are talking about making tiny figurines, there is a company that sells a whole body scanner so that you can have your very own mini me. I am sure that eventually it will get to the level of mobile applications. Just take a picture and then print your action figure out.

Working From Home More Effectively

If you are running a business or in software development, you might be faced with working from home from time to time. Let me tell you that it is not the easiest thing in the world and distractions are plenty. In order to work effectively from home, try to find somewhere that's separate from the rest of the house. You want to look for something partitioned off, like a bedroom. On the other hand, the living room couch might not be a good idea. You want to separate your living space from your working space as much as possible. Distractions can get in the way of working and being productive so you need to make sure that separate your working hours from nonworking hours as well as space. It will help with efficiency if there is more structure with the hours. It will also help with accountability. It is also important to break up the day with some exercise to get back some of the motivation from the morning. The quick jog around the neighborhood will give you the much needed energy.