Windows 8.1 To Offer Native Support for 3D Printing

Native 3D printer drivers in Windows 8.1 will make printing objects a lot easier 

3D printing has picked up a lot of steam recently, and now a mainstream computer operating system supports it. At its Build 2013 developer conference, Microsoft revealed that Windows 8.1 will include native support for 3D printing through built-in APIs. This marks one of the more significant mainstream embraces of 3D printing in its recent history.

Microsoft’s vice president of Windows Web Services Antoine Leblond showed off the capabilities of 3D printing on Windows 8.1 while explaining the exclusivity of the OS support for the service.

Currently 3D printing applications have to support your 3D printer for it to be able to send your 3D model to be printed. With the updates to Windows 8.1 all you will have to do is click “print” just like you do for any other digital document.

                              Windows 8.1, will offer support for 3-D printers like this MakerBot Replicator.


3-D printing requires an array of different software packages, from design software to “slicing” software and separate programs that connect your home computer to each individual printer. All of these steps make getting started with 3-D printing cumbersome. And when any link in the chain breaks down, it can be maddening.

Just as you can plug in any standard paper printer to a desktop computer, Windows 8.1 allows users to plug in printers like the MakerBot Replicator, the Cube, the Fabbster and Up printers, as well as open-source models, to work with Windows straight out of the box.

And the company's Kinect motion sensor (originally developed for video games) could bring Microsoft an advantage by filling one of the most challenging issues of 3-D printing: how average people, without design or engineering degrees, can create computer models of complex objects.

In March, the company announced tools to use the Kinect as a kind of 3-D scanner, called Kinect Fusion. The tools can be used to create computer models of 3-D surfaces. as shown in below

“It's going to unlock huge potential for people all over the world,” said Shanen Boettcher, a general manager at Microsoft. Windows 8.1 is expected to be available later this year.


“how it’s [3D printing] going to grow as desktop publishing did 20 years ago to being mainstream today.”, says Mike Kemery, MakerHaus"

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