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Entries in furniture (7)

Saturday
20Feb2010

Chairs You Can Sit On

DateSaturday, 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
11Feb2010

The .MGX Collection

DateThursday, 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
08Feb2010

The Parallellipipeda Exhibition

DateMonday, 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
29Jan2009

Punched Lamps

DateThursday, 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

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Thursday
20Nov2008

Sketch Furniture Into Reality

DateThursday, November 20, 2008 |


Swedish design firm FRONT is pioneering a rather unusual method of developing 3D furniture models. They use 3D motion capture techniques to trace the movement of a sketch artist's pen in three dimensions. The sketch artist, in this case, is drawing life-size furniture in empty space.

Once you have a 3D model, what might you do? Print it, of course! And this is what they have done. From freehand 3D sketch to actual furniture.

The video, available here, is almost disturbing as their actions seem unreal. Then the furniture appears, gradually emerging from a 3D printer in a spooky manner.

While this technique seems totally amazing, we see a few issues at this very early stage.

  • It's hard to understand how the artist can properly keep track of the movements already performed. Without being able to see the trace, they must do it by memory. We suspect they could be observing their own motions on a 2D monitor that's out of view. Ideally they would use 3D viewing headset to  show precisely what they are designing in 3D.
  • Editing of a sketched object could also prove difficult. How do you go back and erase something you messed up?
  • The models produced are astonishing, yet they are somewhat awkward-looking. We believe this is because the artists are operating completely with free hands, and have no digital assistance. Consider how difficult it is to draw a straight line with a pen. Now try that in 3D without being able to see the line. Hmm.

Problems: certainly. Potential: tremendous.

Who's going to create the first 3D Photoshop-like air-sketching tools?

Via Radar O'Reilly and FRONT Design

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Sunday
20Apr2008

Dining Room Table Printed

DateSunday, April 20, 2008 |

It's really just a model, but the concept was developed by Swiss Designer Phillippe Cramer. Interestingly, Philippe's model is entitled, "Stalactite Table", which mirrors the 3D printing process that produced it: layer by layer. 

Maybe when the build chambers of commonly available 3D printers are a bit bigger than they are now (12 inches just isn't going to cut it) we can contemplate punching one of these out for the dining room...

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Sunday
04Nov2007

3D Sneeze in your Living Room

DateSunday, November 4, 2007 |


Marcel Wanders, a dutch designer, has created a very unusual vase. It's based on a 3D scan of an "airborne snotty". The picture tells the story.

Via Marcel Wanders Studio

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