3D Printing Contemporary Art

3D Printers are changing the way we approach fabrication and design, and they’re impacting art as well. Artists all around the world are producing masterpieces using this innovative technology. The cool part of 3D printing is that an artist produces a design, not the actual piece. This means you can replicate any artwork many times. This also means that others can change and modify the files you make public.  In the future, you can expect to see more open source online communities built around creating various works of 3D printable art.

I came across an interesting article about the M Museam in Leuven, Belgium. The museam recently ran an exhibition of sculptures created using 3D printers called the The Parallellipipeda Project. Check out the promotional video for the Parallellipipeda Project above.

3D Printer for Home Usage!

For decades 3D Printers have been used for rapid prototyping, but researchers have recently predicted that home usage of 3D printers may skyrocket in the near future. As 3D printing technologies emerge, 3D printers are becoming more compact and affordable for the masses. Check out the 3D printer designed by engineers from Vienna exclusively for home usage. This prototype desktop printer is no larger than a carton of milk! AMAZING!

http://www.thinq.co.uk/2011/5/18/vienna-engineers-create-home-friendly-3d-printer/

Objet Geometries Unveils Advanced 3D Printing Materials

Objet Geometries LTD. is the innovation leader in 3D printing for rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing. The company just launched numerous innovative materials for 3D Printing usage, the most interesting being Object ABS-like material:

"The Objet ABS-like is a photopolymer material that is tough and resistant to high temperatures. It enables manufacturers to employ the high accuracy and resolution of inkjet 3D printing for fit and form testing, and also simulate engineering plastics for functional testing. The ABS-like material is excellent for simulating snap-fit parts, durable and movable parts, and products requiring drop-testing."

This material launch is a huge success for Objet and the 3D Printing industry. Objet will also be unveiling an Objet30 Desktop 3D printer this week, which is designed for the office environment. Read more about these product launches and Objet Geometries at http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Objet-to-Unveil-New-Advanced-prnews-2634137813.html?x=0

2D to 3D

I have been asking myself the question if there are no easier ways to create simple CAD files if you don't have any skills in 3D-designing or don't have a 3D scanner.

Shapeways.com came out with something they call "Image Popper". It is supposed to take a 2D image and add depth to it, to generate a functional CAD file. 

I tried it out with a jpeg saying "The 3D Printing Blog". So all I did was take a screenshot of the text "The 3D Printing Blog" and uploaded it. Check out the results:

 AMAZING! Great for standard logos and stuff like that...obviously more sophisticated things will not work, but still - great! 

Unfortunately they dont allow you to download the CAD file...but I could order it