We had a lecture in the morning about 3D printing. It helped me to understand the limitless possibilities this technique has to offer. As 3D printers getting cheaper and more available in the future mass production will give place to personalised unique objects.
People from different disciplines recently experiment with this method and developing different applications. In design it mostly used by jewellers but in this year 3D printed textiles appeared on the catwalks as a novelty. In terms of jewellery it allows the designer to create very detailed objects, layers, and by playing with very pixelated images it can create interesting textures too. With a brand new programme called Cloud 9 virtual making became possible as well. Instead of beating the actual metal with a heavy hammer a lightweight tool can do the job virtually. It’s playful, experimental, and allows the user to create organic forms. Than the designed product can be printed out in 3D using a wide selection of different materials like plastics, metals, precious metals, smart materials, sand, paper, wax ceramics, and even chocolate.
In textile design Continuum Fashion recently introduced N-12 a 3D printed ready to wear bikini made out of a special nylon material. It is the first affordable fashion piece created with this technique. It's also unique as a swimsuit material since it's waterproof and actually become more comfortable when it gets wet. I love the crochet look of the piece which been designed in Rhino 3D by using a specially written algorithmic script to create the structure. So make something like this is utterly computer based and although we will learn how to use the Rhino 3D software at this point I can't imagine myself being able to design something as complex as this. The designers enlisted the service of Shapeways a 3D modelling company to print out their final product. They offer a cheap access to designers to use this technique without buying a very expensive printer. You can get the ready product in about 2 weeks depending on the material you choose (plastic, metal, glass). You can find other adaptations of the technique in fashion such as shoes, and knitted structured clothes. Here comes the future!
3D printing also has some important eco-friendly qualities. As soon as it will get popular and available for everybody you won't need to order the product on the internet and receive it by post. Just as we have printers at home at the moment a portable version of 3D printers is coming soon. So the design can come straight out from the printer which means transport won't be necessary anymore which lowers the carbon footprint of the production. Some of the materials it uses also reusable or recyclable. But the best thing about this technique is the possibility of reproduce bits of objects that lost or broken in your household. It could be the foot of your son's robot or the plastic bit you set the temperature with on the hob. Rhino 3D is a user friendly programme so designing simple objects like these wouldn't take a huge effort. It's good for your purse and for the planet too since you won't bin the toy and buy a new one but fix it easily. It also allows you to redesign bits in your household which opens up new ways of thinking about interior design. You can personalise your light-switch, your door handles, and basically anything that's changeable. In fashion I can see new products coming with changeable bits either bags, shoes or clothing. We'll be able to design earrings, belt buckles, pins and buttons. The possibilities are endless, the only limit is our imagination.
Quick workshop:
Design the perfect 3D-printed chocholate!
- rounded not square
- like a fruit? What kind of fruit? ....
- grapes?
- 5 a day chocolate = quilt free pleasure
- 3 different types of chocolate - milk, dark, white
Designed in 3D Max:
Designed in 3D Max:
