Around the Show Floor at Rapid 2012

While we're intending on writing up several posts on our observations at Rapid 2012, we thought we'd start with a very cool selection of awesome stuff found on the show floor. 

 

Literally laying on the floor of the gigantic 3D Systems booth, this 3D printed guitar actually plays. 

 

Also in the 3D Systems booth was this unusual object, made from an internal structure wrapped with a white mesh. Of course, by the end of the show someone had punched a hole in the mesh by "testing its strength". Don't touch the objects! 

 

This fascinating study by artist Shane Pennington is entitled, "Leaving The Shade." Look closely, and you'll see 3D printed plants on the left, precisely replicating their real-life counterparts on the right. 

 

The team from Nervous System always produces amazing works, and this is no exception. It's entitled, "Laplacian Growth". "Form grown in software written by the artists that simulates dendritic solidification. Printed via SLS."

 

The Lavalume lamp by Brent R. Lang. 

 

Objet 3D printed and plated this brilliant Iron Man mask. 

 

MakerBot's Bre Pettis passed out these awesome "Keep It Awesome" stickers to everyone. 

 

Stratasys' newly launched Mojo 3D printer was actually one of the first production models, but upon arrival the unit didn't have a logo on it. A logo was quickly shipped from the factory along with this ingenious jig that precisely positioned the logo for fixing to the unit. Great use of 3D printing. But was the jig printed on a Mojo? 

 

This human jaw replication includes an embedded representation of a medical issue of some sort. Wait - how can you print multicolor objects like this on a 3D Systems printer? Easy, we were told - just crank up the power for the areas requiring highlighting and the plastic discolors a bit. Toasty! 

 

3D Systems displayed a number of stunning photo-realistic objects from their ZPrinter line. Above is a drill handle. It is NOT a real handle - it is 3D printed!

 

This multimeter appears to be totally real unless you look very closely. 

 

There were many, many more amazing sights at vendor booths during Rapid 2012. Some you'll see in upcoming posts - but for the rest, you should have attended! 

3D Balloon Printing

Normally one makes solid objects with a 3D printer, but how about making balloons? Yes, real, floaty inflatable balloons. That's now possible, according to New Scientist, who reported on developments at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

 

The trick is that they don't 3D print the actual balloons. Instead, they design and 3D print customized molds in which the shaped balloons are formed using traditional methods. 

 

This technique should permit the creation of a wide array of new and hopefully crazy balloons. One can imagine a customized balloon shop able to produce artistic products or specialized balloons on demand. 

 

Via New Scientist

Image Credit: technicolor76

Inspired by Biomimetics

We've previously written on research into the application of 3D printing in building construction. The idea is that rather than having a completely uniform interior geometry for building materials, we create variably shaped interiors. In other words, instead of bricks with solid or uniformly latticed interiors, more material occurs in places where more physical stress takes place. 

 

This approach mimics the biological approach to bones. If you inspect the interior of a bone you won't find a uniform geometry. instead you see a very efficient use of materials to provide just the right strength for the bone's use. 

 

We found an architecture site dedicated to this idea: Biomimetic Architecture, whose definition of Biomimicry is: 

 

The architectural profession is rapidly embracing digital design technologies developed and applied in the framework of biologically inspired processes. Put simply, nature is the largest laboratory that ever existed and ever will. While biomimicry does not exclude emulating form, we are interested in the processes and systems in which all design resides.

 

If you need inspiration for amazing designs, go no further than Biomimetic Architecture.

  

Via Biomimetic Architecture (Hat tip to Deniz)

On The Road With 3D Printing

The Pocket Factory Project seems a little crazy at first, but then it starts to make more sense in this rapidly evolving 21st century. It's two creative guys stuffed into a Prius, driving around the United States seeking inspiration for creative 3D printing. 

 

Bilal Ghalib and Alex Hornstein are those guys and they're traveling the route pictured above. Their ride is "filled with cheap 3D printers" they're using to develop new products and hopefully get a viable business going. 

 

How well is the project proceeding? They're about half-way through their adventure, as documented on their website. The site not only provides a tour diary, but also links directly to their Etsy online store. There you'll find products like the "Automatic Silly String Shooter" or the "iGhettoBlaster", a strange Gramophone-like iAttachment. We can think of some interesting applications of the Silly String Shooter. Hm.

 

Nevertheless, the PocketFactory project is a wonderful mix of advanced tech, travel, adventure and a heavy dose of innovative online marketing. Good luck to PocketFactory! 

 

Via PocketFactory

Send To Print/ Print To Send

We previously mentioned the exhibition at London's Aram Gallery entitled "Send To Print/ Print To Send", in which artists explore the possibilities using 3D printing technology. We just found a bit more information about this event. 

 

ArtsThread discusses the opportunity and as in other industries, the Arts can use 3D printing for custom, one-of-a-kind productions. One of the artists, Riccardo Bovo has codified this approach into a system that produces a custom lampshade based on user input. He says: 

 

The design is constantly redefined in shape by the user with the system and at any moment is ready for production. The time between design phase and production phase therefore drops to zero.

 

There's much more at the link below. Meanwhile, we're wondering whether the artist explorations might eventually collide with patents pending by some of the service bureaus, who may see these experiments as infringement. 

 

Via ArtsThread

3D Printed Exhibition at The Aram Gallery

If you happen to be in London before February 25th, you might want to drop by The Aram Gallery in Covent Garden to see their "Send to Print / Print to Send" exhibition. The exhibition features works by designers exploring the medium of 3D printing, including some folks whom we've written about such as Freedom of Creation and Unfold.be. 

 

The full list of participants also includes: 

 

• Assa Ashuach
• Riccardo Bovo
• Michael Eden
• FAT, Jump Studios
• Markus Kayser
• Dirk vander Kooij
• Chau Har Lee
• PearsonLloyd
• Chloe McCormick & Nicholas O’Donnell-Hoare
• Serie
• Superfusionlab
• Silvia Weidenbach

 

These designers represent a cross section of fields including "architecture, industrial design, fashion, and product design." The exhibition attempts to introduce people to the concept of 3D printing as a design medium by seeing such works as Serie's Mumbai Facade (image above, click for larger image). It should be quite interesting. 

 

Via The Aram Gallery

A Robot at Mallyable

Our sister site and 3D model shop Mallyable just announced a very cool new 3D model: the Sitting Robot. It's an exclusive digital 3D model of a particularly lazy robot that is conveniently sitting to permit easy 3D printing. 

If you haven't yet heard of Mallyable, it's our very own source for 3D models - that's 3D models specifically designed for 3D printing. All designs are carefully engineered to be not only interesting, but also more likely to successfuly print. 

[UPDATE] We successfully printed this little fellow on our BFB 3000, using a relatively coarse 0.5mm resolution and it looks pretty good! Perhaps we'll print it again in 0.125mm resolution to get a smoother finish.

Via Mallyable

Finding 3D Models With Google

We're always interested to find new ways of developing 3D models, be it through software modeling tools, capture through scanning of real objects, physical manifestation of found 3D data, or other techniques. Why? Because you can 3D print them! Now we see artist Daniel Michel of Germany has found yet another way to create digital models: Googling! 

 

Daniel observed that a vase shape is symmetrical and thus its 3D shape can be sorta-derived from a 2D image. Then he went to work digging through Google Images to find vase images. 

 

By taking a one-eighth vertical slice of eight selected vase images, he was able to compose a new composite vase. He clearly had to do some limited 3D shaping to approximate the real vase's curves. In the end he created an entirely new mashup vase. It's called, obviously, the "Google Vase". 

 

This approach seems to provide a way to create a near-infinite number of new 3D composite objects. We're wondering two things:

 

• What other shapes can be composed in this way beyond vases? Faces? Vehicles? Buildings? 
• Will the resulting composites be sufficiently interesting and/or beautiful? 

 

The answers are up to you.  

Via Daniel Michel and TheNextWeb