Tag Archives: toys
Why 3D Printing Will Be More Fun Than LEGO: Minecraft Video
As humans, we attach more value to things we create than things created for us (See Dan Ariely’s research to understand what he calls “The Ikea Effect”).
This common psychological motivation is why personalized 3D printing will engender a new generation of toys that are not mass produced. Although toys like LEGO and Lincoln Logs let kids use building blocks to create their own structures, they are still limited to the granularity of the block.
The popularity of the game Minecraft has shown that kids are ready to go beyond centimeter-tall blocks, and want to build entire worlds. One 3D printing enthusiast has demonstrated how to export your Minecraft village and print a physical copy to play with.
In the video below, watch as he walks through his digital to 3D printed transformation.
We have reported about this before. This is just the beginning. The toy industry is soon to be turned upside down as 3D printing gains popularity.
MakieLab Launches Personalized Doll Collection Via 3D Printing
Britain-based startup MakieLab is looking to disrupt the toy industry by letting customers design and 3D print their own doll. CEO Alice Taylor has been at this mission for over a decade, as she explained in an interview with Wired:
Taylor has been experimenting with the idea of dolls that can talk to the web for some time. In early 2000, she set up stortroopers.com, which allowed users to build Creative Commons-licensed avatars on the web. A decade later, while in the basement of the NYC Toy Fair looking at digital toy avatars that were physically and commercially separated from the “real” dolls on the floor above, she had a brainwave. “I was aware of 3D printing anyway, and wondered whether you could build an avatar-maker that could automatically output a toy and I also wondered whether that toy could then affect the digital world it had come from, [to create] an infinite loop of play.”
What are Makies?
From the MakieLab website:
MAKIES are 10″ gosh-darn poseable action dolls with faces and features designed by YOU.
You get to choose what the face looks like: the eyes, nose, jaw, smile, the hair, the clothes and the hands and feet too. Once you’ve finished creating, we manufacture your exact figure for you, dress it with the clothes you’ve chosen, add the hair and eyes you’ve chosen, and put it in a beautifully recycleable cardboard tube to be sent directly to you.
According to Wired, the dolls are not ready for children yet, but MakieLab expects to complete the necessary safety testing to expand the market.
We’re also excited to see MakieLab embracing open innovation through Creative Commons.
Digital MAKIES are about to be CC-licensed: we’ll post the license details as soon as we can (backlog of things to do …!)
Alice Taylor photo by NEXT Berlin used under Creative Commons license.
Make Your Own Superhero: Your Face 3D Printed on Batman
Have you always wanted your own superhero action figure … of yourself? Now Firebox can help you fulfill that dream.
Step 1: Take 2 photos of your face and upload them to Firebox.
Step 2: Select a superhero template to personalize, from Batman to Superman to Captain America to Batgirl.
Step 3: Firebox 3D prints your action figure and ships it to you for $128.
Besides the cool factor, we were interested in this novel application of 3D printing. Firebox explains how it works:
Using advanced 3D printing technology your photographs will be turned into a fully-formed 3D version of your noggin – including eye colour, skin tone, hair style (or as close as possible) and hair colour. Accurate? It’ll be like looking in a teaspoon.
Learn more at Firebox.
Hat tip to geekosystem.
What to 3D Print: Wired Showcases the Best of Thingiverse
Wired and Thingiverse teamed up to showcase some of the most impressive 3D printing designs that can be printed on your MakerBot.
Above is a genuine Mario Kart Koopa shell racer.
His goal was to build a full-size RC vehicle based on Mario Kart Koopa shells. The Makerbot’s constraints would have stymied a lesser designer, but by breaking the design into small parts, Skimbal created a large, multi-color object, where the resolution is barely noticeable. The project takes over 40 hours to complete, but it’s like being able to print the Mona Lisa in your garage.
Next we have a Lincoln Log cabin. We have covered the disruptive impact that 3D printing will have on the toy industry. Why buy expensive toys when you can 3D print cheap generics?
And finally, we have a novel design called Big Love Heart Gears. This is something that would not be possible with traditional manufacturing processes because the design is printed as one interconnected object.
Via Wired.
Top 3D Printing Headlines from Last Week: SketchUp, Medical, Toys, Jobs
A roundup of the top news On 3D Printing brought you from April 30 to May 6.
Monday, April 30
- Why Google Sold SketchUp and What It Means for 3D Printing
- 3D Printing Companies Exhibiting at Maker Faire 2012
Tuesday, May 1
- Top 10 Countdown: Most Popular 3D Printing Stories in April
- Futuristic Medicine: 3D Printed Jaw Implant Rescues 83-Year-Old Woman
Wednesday, May 2
- 3D Printing the Rosetta Stone for Kids Toys: Nerd Dad Triumph
- Inspiring High School Students to be Tomorrow’s Designers: 3D Printing [Video]
Thursday, May 3
- Shapeways Feed is a Pinterest for 3D Printing Designs
- Stable Design: 3D Printing with Autodesk 123D and MakerBot [Video]
Friday, May 4
