Tag Archives: art
Fab Lab of the Week: Collab in New York City [video]
This week’s featured Fab Lab is Collab, a New York City-based think tank and fabrication laboratory.
As co-founders Mark and Adina Levin explain in the video below, Collab is an art and science collaborative. Designers, engineers and scientists share the space to work on their own ideas but also collaborate on projects. If someone has an idea and needs specialized skills, they can tap into the talent pool and combined experience at Collab.
In the 5,500 square foot facility, shared equipment available to members includes 3D printer, laser cutter, woodshop, sewing studio.
Below is a video interview and feature produced by Fast Company.
Last year, Collab supported Maker Faire with a project called Electric Doodle. Kids who were attending Maker Faire could design their own art displays with LEDs and get a real-time print out of their creations.
Anarkik3D Seeks Crowdfunding to Launch 3D Printing Software for Artists
We’ve featured crowdfunding proposals in the past, but this one is truly original. Anarkik3D is a software-hardware combination that empowers artists to digitally design the natural way: by hand.
Ann Marie Shillito, CEO and Founder of the Edinburgh-based startup, narrates the video on IndieGoGo. The visuals are fantastic. Be sure to watch the video below.
Here are the key pitch points:
- Funding target: £120,000 by June 27.
- Software: Similar to TinkerCAD, Sketchup, and 123D, the Anarkik 3D Design studio can be used to create designs that can be manufactured using 3D printing.
- Hardware: Anarkik 3D Design (formerly Cloud9) employs a haptic device, which is like a 3D mouse with force feedback. This lets a designer manipulate the software as if she is truly working with physical material. ”As an artist and designer, it’s really important to have touch as sensory feedback in addition to sight. Cloud9 allows you to feel the object change in more than one dimension.” – Farah Bandookwala, 3D Artist
- Objectives: Cloud9 is already usable software. This funding goal will be used to fix the bugs, add more features, hire new programmers, and expand internationally.
Visit their crowdfunding page on IndieGoGo for details on their perks to contributors. Good luck to Anarkik3D!
Innovative and Strange 3D Printing: Chocolate, Stone, Candy, Organs
3D Printing is mostly known as a method for additive manufacturing of plastic polymer, used for prototyping, creating small tools, and designing works of art. Consumer-ready printers, like MakerBot, enable anyone to be their own mini manufacturing plant – of plastic goods. This is about to change.
Innovative as well as strange raw materials are starting to emerge in the 3D printing landscape.
Chocolate. The ChocoEdge printer lets you “melt some chocolate, fill a syringe that is stored in the printer, and get creative printing your chocolate.” Available at retail for $3940.
Sandstone. D-Shape has a 3D stereolithic printer that can create large-scale structures out of sandstone. ”It prints the structures using artificial sandstone which is sand or mineral dust glued together by an inorganic binder.” More at Fast Company.
Iced Tea and Bone? Two entries from Open3DP that make the strange category are iced tea and bone. Both examples have only been shown in the lab and are not commercial yet.
Candy. CandyFab4000 from Evil Mad Scientist. “Our three dimensional fabricator is now fully operational and we have used it to print several large, low-resolution, objects out of pure sugar.”
Organs. Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine is experimenting with 3D printed organs. While strange, this has huge commercial potential.
Via SolidSmack.
Demonstrating the Versatility and Variety of 3D Printing [Video]
We know that 3D printing can be used to manufacture a variety of different goods, but until now we have not seen the range of items that can be born out of a single printer.
In the video below, Objet’s Sam Green showcases his collection of favorite 3D printed objects. These include:
- Single material printing of complex finished assemblies
- Multi-material 3D printing
- Combinations of rigid materials for art pieces and product design
- Combinations of rigid and rubber-like materials for household tools
- ABS grade engineering plastic for performance
I personally like the intricately designed snake skeleton and gear designs. Since the objects are printed fully assembled, there are no seams or joins but still very complex moving parts.
From Sam Green:
In short, inkjet-based 3D printing is the only technology that can really simulate the true look, feeland function of complex assembled goods. And this is thanks to the wide variety of materials and the inkjet process itself – which can simultaneously jet different materials from the separate inkjet head nozzles. This enables you to combine materials to create different color shades, different Shore A values and even simulate engineering plastic durability. It also allows you to selectively place different materials within a single model.
Via Objet
Winners Announced in Global 3D Printing Design Competition by Stratasys
In the eighth annual Extreme Redesign 3D Printing Challenge hosted by Mineapolis-based Stratasys Inc. (NASDAQ: SSYS), students were asked to redesign an existing product or create an original work of art or architecture. Submissions were received from around the globe, including India, Sweden, Romania, and across the US.
Dimension 3D Printing, a division of Stratasys, awarded the winning students cash prizes. Below is a summary of the winners:
1st Place: Pravaah – A Continuous Supply Handpump
Jabalpur, India
Indian Institute of Information Technology Design & Manufacturing
A hand-pump design which not only provides a continuous supply of water and a saving in your utility bills but also provides water during both the phases of pumping.
2nd Place: Diabetic Testing Station
Dearborn, MI
Wayne State University
The main purpose of the DTS is not to replace the users’ current glucometers and lancet pens, rather to provide a product that will house all of their devices. The overall goal is to take the job of the amputees’ caregivers so that the users can be more self-reliant.
3rd Place: Scissors for Right & Left-Handed Users
Lulea, Sweden
Lulea University of Technology
Now, families or schools with both right and left handed people can finally buy universal good working pair of scissors.
It’s exciting to see students driving forward product innovation, and incredible to think that these students truly can dream up any new product they like thanks to 3D printing technology.
Check out all the winners, including Art & Architecture and Middle School submissions at Dimension Printing’s challenge coverage.
