The world of desktop 3D printing has made factory-style fabrication possibilities available to artists and designers, who turn digital models into three-dimensional solid objects with successive layers of plastic or metal. Virtual computer-created blueprints are sliced into digital cross-sections for the machine, which lays down layers of liquid, powder or sheet material. Here are 14 fun examples of what people are coming up with, from practical objects like lamps and jar lids to toys and sculpture.
1. Nervous System by Data is Nature
Designer Jessica Rosenkrantz of Nervous System created these 3D-printed forms resembling sea anemone, coral and barnacles, in neon shades of pink, blue, yellow and orange. ‘Each execution of the program, a new random double curved NURBS surface is created for the barnacles to grow on. Colours range from yellow to pink based on generation of the barnacle, yellow barnacles randomly subdivide into pinker and pinker ones. The pores will also be open to different degrees between the different executions of the program.’
2. Amazing 3D Skull Sculptures by Josh Harker
Artist Josh Harker is known for intricate lacework skulls as well as realistic portraits and figures, and forensic art, all created using computer software and 3D printing technology. Harker holds the #1 and #4 most-funded sculpture projects in the history of crowd-funding site Kickstarter. “My intent is to explore and give form to the architecture of the imagination. By disengaging the conscious mind I am able to examine esoteric visions before they submit to a recognizable metaphor. I am then able to capture and refine them into the forms I command offering the opportunity to study their identity and structure.”
3. The Modiverse: ModiBot
“Welcome to the future of toys,” say Go, Go Dynamo, the creators of the ModiBot, who provide plans for 3D printed toys like dinosaurs, knights and ninjas. “ModiBots are a creative framework for creating poseable characters, but it’s meant to be built upon like a skeleton,” toy designer Wayne Losey told Wired of the snap-to-build system. “We also want to put the ability to create ‘content’ into a user’s hands. ModiBot is ultimately a tool for that.”
4. Biologically-Inspired Robots
These biologically-inspired robotic structures by Randy Sarafan attempt to blur the lines between artificial and organic creatures, made of rigid and flexible materials that mimic the properties of joints and musculature.
5. 3D Printed Record
Turn your digital music file into physical records using a technique developed by Amanda Ghassei. “I printed these records on a UV-cured resin printer called the Objet Connex500. Like most 3D printers, the Objet creates an object by depositing material layer by layer until the final form is achieved. This printer has incredibly high resolution: 600dpi in the x and y axes and 16 microns in the z axis, some of the highest resolution possible with 3D printing at the moment.”
6. The Horse Marionette by Michaella Janse van Vuuren
All components of this incredible working horse marionette by artist Michaella Janse van Vuuren were 3D-printed. “The image of the horse itself was inspired by a drawing that I made during this time. The Horse Marionette has fully functional joints and movable wings. All the horse’s parts have been placed in the same digital file so no assembly is required afterwards. When strung up the horse comes to life.”
7. Interlocked Cubes
Tiny interlocking shapes make up larger shapes that you can manipulate (very carefully!) with your hands. The Dod’net is a network of 64 dodecahedra with edges just 1 millimetre thick. You can order these shapes and more at Shapeways.
8. RP Guitar
Derek Manson manufactured this fully-functional electric guitar in one piece using additive 3D fabrication, also known as Rapid Prototyping. The body is made of polymer, while the neck is CNC-manufactured wood. Says Manson, “Due to the nature of its manufacturing process individual tendons can be turned on and off before manufacture which means every single body will be unique.”
9. Dentelle Lampshades by Samuel Bernier
This project started with a broken IKEA lamp, explains Samuel Bernier, the designer of the Dentelle series of 3D printed lampshades. Faced with an array of options he found either visually unappealing or too expensive, Bernier created the first one in a matter of hours, later expanding the range to 12 designs. “They take between 4 and 12 hours to print, use absolutely no support material, weight between 50g and 100g and cost 10 times less when printed on an UP! or Makerbot.”
10. Spinal Cuff by Fathom & Form
The Spinal Cuff by Fathom & Form is just one example of the creative jewellery that’s possible with 3D printing. While most of us tend to think of 3D-printed objects being made of plastic, it’s also possible to print with metal. This cuff is bronze, and available with silver-plated finish.
11. Microsonic Landscapes - Music in Three Dimensions
Microsonic landscapes show us what various albums look like when translated to physical material in three dimensions. Research and experimentation studio Realität translated sound waves into visualizations that resemble circular cityscapes, mountain ranges and volcanic craters. Of course, the result varies dramatically by album, depending on whether the music is is hard or soft, filled with lots of heavy bass notes or a lot of high treble.
12. 3D Printed Nest House Design
Will this be the first-ever 3D printed house? The odd ProtoHouse 2.0 is competing with the möbius-strip Landscape House to reach that record. Made of plastic, this house can be built off-site in three weeks and assembled in a single day. Softkill Design plans to have the first prototype of the single-story, 26-foot-wide house built by this summer.
13. Little Shining Man 3D-Printed Kite
Little Shining Man from Jimandtonic on Vimeo.
“Little Shining Man” is a kite made of 1700 3D-printed connectors, carbon fibre rods and cubenfibre aerospace fabric. Watch the whole process in this video as the kite is designed, printed, assembled and then taken out for a spin on the beach, looking lighter than air.
14. Project RE_ Reclaims Jars with 3D Printed Lids
Project RE_ explores 3D printing as a DIY tool for upcycling all sorts of jars and bottles, allowing you to create custom-fitting components that turn those reclaimed objects into watering cans, rain catchers, orange juicers, piggy banks, lamps, bird houses and more. After downloading the designs, users can calibrate the dimensions, choose the colours, customize the shapes and then print them on a ABS FDM 3D printer.
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