There are many applications of 3D printing that few know about. How do you discover them?

One ingenious way of distributing inspirational 3D print application ideas has been undertaken by additive data-software experts at Authentise with their unusual 3D printing card deck. With an update due, they turned to Fabbaloo to help crowdsource suggestions for the next release, due at the end of October. For your chance to participate and win, scroll to the end of this article.

Like any 3D printing company, Authentise uses traditional approaches to promote their service. But there’s one thing they do that no one else does: they produce a deck of cards that contains examples of exceptional 3D print usage.

If you haven’t seen one of these decks, it’s a normal deck of cards, but instead of a standard pattern on the face, each card describes a unique 3D printing application. There are, as you might expect, 52 cards in the Authentise deck, with 52 different 3D printing applications, many of which I am certain you’ve never heard of.

A limited number of card decks are produced for Authentise to hand out to clients and prospects at trade shows, and to Fortune 500 CEOs attending Singularity University, where Authentise’s CEO is Chair of Digital Manufacturing.

Here’s an example from their current deck, the Eight of Diamonds:

ART FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED [Plastic polymers]

Visually impaired people can experience art through the 3D printing of relief painting swith a technique called Didù, entering a different sensorium.

Here’s another, the Jack of Hearts:

SPINE SURGERY PLATE BENDER [High-grade metals]

Through AM, DePuy Spine is able to produce and test multiple design iterations in a matter of days instead of several months. Impossible to create through traditional means, the final metal tool can be 3D printed on demand.

Things change over time and periodically Authentise updates their card deck with new 3D printing application examples. They’d prefer to use ideas directly from the public who often know of highly unusual 3D print applications that few other are aware of.

Authentise and Fabbaloo call on you to share any suggestions for the new card deck. To that end we’ve prepared a simple form you can use to send us your suggestions.

This sharing of ideas is not without reward: if your suggestion is selected, you will receive one of these very unique card decks.

If you happen to know of something new in 3D printing applications that hasn’t yet gotten a lot of publicity, feel free to tell us the details on this form. You can enter as many good suggestions as you have.

You’ll need to fill out a few fields, but that’s a small price to pay for a chance to get one of these rare 3D printing card decks.

If you don’t have a specific idea, we would like you to contribute by voting on any suggestions from others you feel are worthy of inclusion. Just click on the image below to get started.

Enter and Vote Here!

We will be accepting entries until October 20th.

Thank you for your suggestions!