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Monday

Jul192010

Fractal Tree Table

Monday, July 19, 2010 |

If the size of your 3D printer's build chamber is too small, the answer is obvious: break your object into a series of smaller parts, print and assemble them. That or buying a bigger printer.

But let's turn this around: what if you don't know how big your object is, and you just print the parts? That's what Gernot Oberfell and Jan Wertel did when they took their successful Fractal.MGX design and spun it into the new Module.MGX design. It's a modular table system, based on standard interlocking units that can be assembled in an infinite number of ways.

The base component design:

draws inspiration from research into geometries with self-similarity e.g. fractals, patterns that occur in nature and proportional systems like the golden section. With its steep angled walls and hollow structure, the Module.MGX minimizes waste, saves energy during the production process and makes production more cost effecctive. Due to its size and shape, the table can be used alone or with an infinte number placed seamlessly next to each other.

The modular approach is very interesting, and certainly could be attempted on home 3D printers. Who knows what kind of large-scale modular designs may appear?

Via MGXbyMaterialise, WertelOberFell and Core77

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Saturday

Jul172010

Images From DHUB

Saturday, July 17, 2010 |

There's a fascinating exhibition taking place at the Disseny Hub in Barcelona, also known as "DHUB". From the exhibition's description:

FABRICATION LABORATORY consists of not one but a series of activities (exhibitions, real-time fabrication laboratories, workshops, lectures, etc.) that offer a comprehensive overview of 3D digital manufacturing technologies.

Flickr user LaN_Luis has published a series of images of some very fascinating objects. Here's our favourites from this exhibition that runs until September (click for larger images):

A strange landscape.

Segment of a networked material.

Rather pourous vases.

An unusual chair. How long could you sit comfortably in this?

An unborn child.

The message we're seeing with these amazing exhibits is simple: anything, be it from a scanned digital source, a mathematical algorithm or pure imagination can be made real.

Long live creativity!

Via Flickr

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Sunday

Apr252010

SMArchitecture

Sunday, April 25, 2010 |

We ran across a very interesting operation: SMArchitecture, a "Kuwait and London based architectural & design R&D practice". Their blog, written by Dr. Thomas Modeen describes their design experiments, which are often highly unusual and seem to have evolved from fabrication techniques. Some examples:

The 'Comet' vase, which consists of a bundle of hollow, extruded tear-drop shaped, funnels vertically staggered so that only three of the pointed base-tips touch the ground (forming thus a tripod stand).

The Alice Cup: The core cup was designed in Rhino (software), made roughly the size of a 1.5 decilitre teacup, which was saved as a STL file, and consequently manipulated to befit a number of defined functions, such as an espresso cup (shrunk), café latte cup (stretched vertically) and a cream pitcher (stretched horizontally). It was also made into a saucer (horizontally flattened and stretched), as well as a pitcher (scaled up, stretched vertically and slightly flattened).

The Fragrant Time Clock, which: uses smell as the medium through which time can be told. The core premise is straightforward - take an incense-stick that burns at a regular speed, test and measure out the correlation between the length and speed at which it burns (i.e. how long a stretch of the stick is needed for, say, a ten minute burn?) and segment a select number of such incense fragrances into consecutive sequences and lengths according to preference.

These ideas are truly fascinating explorations of life-fabrication mashups that you can't miss.

Via SMArchitecture

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Saturday

Feb202010

Chairs You Can Sit On

Saturday, February 20, 2010 |

Some may say that 3D printed items are not robust, but not this time. Design firm Freedom of Creation's Janne Kyttanen has made an amazing set of swivel chairs exclusively for a yacht and residence.

FOC used Selective Laser Sintering to produce the unique chairs, which are based on a previous tray design. The chair shells were produced in one piece to aid strength and appearance - and the size of this item is larger than pretty much all of the additive 3D printers' build chambers.

As this work was a private commission, it's not likely these chairs will be available for public purchase, and we don't know the commission value, either. Nevertheless, these fabulous chairs were only made possible by the existence of 3D print technology.

We're thinking this is another example of the "manufacturing for one" paradigm that is slowly growing. However, the costs are still too high for the majority to participate.

Via Freedom of Creation

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Thursday

Feb112010

The .MGX Collection

Thursday, February 11, 2010 |

Earlier this week we encountered iMaterialise's .MGX collection at the Parallellepipeda Exhibition, and we wanted to learn more. iMaterialise, as we've written before, is one of the notable and larger 3D print services today. Like most 3D print services, they allow you to upload your own 3D design (and even help you do it successfully) and select print materials and colors, eventually ending up with a set price for your printed object. However, unlike other services, they have developed a unique offering.

Their .MGX collection is an astonishing group of amazing items:

Working with revolutionary 3D printing technologies and some of the top designers from around the world, .MGX has created a collection of exceptional lighting objects, furniture, interior goods and jewelry accessories.

Through the specific technologies of stereolithography and selective laser sintering, liquid or powder polymer is transformed into a solid state via laser beam, allowing for .MGX objects to be brought to life primarily as single pieces, without joints or seams, and with the most astounding degree of detail. In most cases, .MGX creations would be impossible to produce using other manufacturing methods.

These items are sufficiently design-worthy they regularly appear in major design and art magazines.

We're fascinated with the art-meets-3D approach by iMaterialise, who have significantly distanced themselves from typical 3D print services by offering this grand collection of astonishing and beautiful items. Even better, these items are actually for sale through a comprehensive network of worldwide dealers.

Via iMaterialise

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Monday

Feb082010

The Parallellipipeda Exhibition

Monday, February 8, 2010 |

The Singularity Hub reports on an exhibition taking place at the M Museum in Leuven, Belgium, where the Parallellipipeda Project attempts to leverage the Parallelepiped geometric shape.

Amazing sculptures, plates, light fixtures and even furniture are being shown until 25 April. They've even included a 3D scanning booth, courtesy of EyeTronics, in which you can get your own face scanned - but only on the 7th and 11th of February.

Many of the exhibits are sourced from iMaterialise's .MGX collection, but these are only displayed until 11 February. More on the .MGX collection in a future post.

Via Singularity Hub, Leuven.be, iMaterialise and YouTube

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Thursday

Jan292009

Punched Lamps

Thursday, January 29, 2009 |

Sometimes when we visit the furniture store it gets frustrating, items are too expensive or they don't have precisely what you want. We've seen a bit of this before, but now emerges a new approach to furniture making: punch out the design yourself, literally!

Fluid Forms now offers personally designed 3D prints of lampshades. The magic is how you perform the design. Incredibly, you don some boxing gloves equipped with embedded sensors. Then via a not-quite-consumer-level hookup, your punches are applied to a virtual cylinder (the would-be lampshade) in real time! After an appropriate set of presumably artistic punches, you've got your design. Press the print button and pay USD$1,500 and you got yourself a lampshade.

Cool, but try explaining that one to your Mom.

Via The Future of Things