6 ms·

Sculpture Made On A MakerBot

68 points by k0mplex 14y ago

ChuckMcM 14y ago
Nicely done. I have considered doing these sorts of sectionals on my replicator. Still working on a nice 'low density' internalized structure (solid PLA/ABS is out of the question) which provides the necessary support and rigidity. My last attempt was intersecting triangles.
- joshuaheard 14y ago
  I have seen hexagons used, like in a honeycomb.
  - nnnnni 14y ago
    I believe that's the standard reprap infill pattern.
grannyg00se 14y ago
It looks like the assembly and finishing of a 3D printed group of parts was taken to a whole new level. I don't see any indication that a whole new level has been achieved in the 3D printing itself. Great finished product though.
EvanMiller 14y ago
MYTH: 3D printers will never be able to print underwear FACT: Wrong. Hard plastic underwear provides amazing protection and support MYTH: 3D printers will never be able to print the Mona Lisa FACT: Wrong again. Today you can download a 3D model for "rectangular hard plastic canvas" from the Internet, print it out using your Makerbot, and then paint the Mona Lisa on it MYTH: 3D printers will never be able to print small, wobbly, leaky coffee cups that warp when hot beverages are poured into them, and that lacerate your lips when you attempt to drink from them FACT: This is already possible on some of today's higher-end 3D printers MYTH: 3D printers are useful in any way FACT: It turns out this myth is true. Watching a 3D printer emit a hard plastic object in a color that nobody wants keeps nerds in a state of rapture that prevents them from engaging in more dangerous activities such as shooting heroin or starting actual businesses
- tomkinstinch 14y ago
  You're wrong. If you step outside the narrow world of software for a minute and look at tangible product design, 3D printing is wonderfully useful. One benefit is that it allows you to develop functional prototypes without shelling out for evaluation tooling of injection molds. Second, it's faster. Third, it can produce structures that would be difficult or impossible to produce using conventional machining or casting methods.
  - tjmc 14y ago
    I don't think anyone doubts that you can make amazing structures with 3D printers. This sectional technique is a nice extension to that. What I find annoying with the current 3D printing hype is that material properties are being completely overlooked. I can make a brake disk out of sponge cake about as easily as I could print one in plastic. Neither will work though. There's some exciting work going on at Cambridge with 3D printing using metal powders and laser sintering, but these printers will be orders of magnitude pricier than desktop plastic printers for some time. Perhaps a nice interim approach for the maker crowd would be to combine 3D printing with lost wax or sand casting. That way, you could still print an intricate part but then use it as a pattern to create something much stronger in metal.
    - beambot 14y ago
      Metal-based laser sintering (SLS) has been used in high-end research and industry labs for the better part of 10 years (or more!). It's just the democratization provided by outfits like ShapeWays that is making it available to the masses. People already use the casting solution you suggest. I remember the early Autom (robot) prototype used silicone casts [1]. I'm sure there are many other examples too... [1] http://www.hizook.com/blog/2009/11/22/building-robot-heads-using-3d-printing-silicone-molds-and-injected-plastic http://www.hizook.com/blog/2009/11/22/building-robot-heads-u...
  - sown 14y ago
    No need to be mean.
- 14y ago
sliverstorm 14y ago
MYTH: MakerBot Desktop 3D Printers can only make things up to a certain size. BUSTED This awesome photo shows the 29 unfinished blocks of the horse head before Cosmo went to work fusing them So, not busted after all?
- evoxed 14y ago
  Like the printing resolution. Oh yeah, you can get rid of the ridges for a perfectly smooth model. They're called "interns". Bring your sandpaper and a dustmask! That being said, I'm glad that they're recognizing the ability to extend their product with good old fashioned hand skills, even if it isn't the greatest marketing pitch.
viviantan 14y ago
You'd still need quite a bit of artistic talent to make hard plastic look good. But would I want a super expensive and buggy 3D printer for Christmas? Yes please!!! Btw, has anyone used 123D Catch (or any 123D software)? From what I gleaned from Autodesk's TOS, you inevitably end up granting them a irrevocable license to use your 3D models however they please. Perhaps that's why 123D remains a "hobbyist" software suite. I still haven't heard of anyone who uses it professionally.
- nnnnni 14y ago
  Sounds like 123D Catch and the new Thingiverse are made for each other! ಠ_ಠ
delinka 14y ago
"MakerBot Desktop 3D Printers can only make things up to a certain size." The printer did not make the horse head. The printer produced the parts (up to a certain size) and Mr. Wenman assembled and finished it. He made the horse head. "...but they’re not, like, museum-quality great." Notwithstanding that the printer can't finish the pieces to make them "museum quality," there are striations on the horse head that come from how the plastic is stacked up. Not Museum Quality. While this is a fine use of 3D printing, it's not a major advance like the article tries to make it.

68 points by k0mplex 14y ago

Nicely done. I have considered doing these sorts of sectionals on my replicator. Still working on a nice 'low density' internalized structure (solid PLA/ABS is out of the question) which provides the necessary support and rigidity. My last attempt was intersecting triangles.

joshuaheard 14y ago
I have seen hexagons used, like in a honeycomb.
- nnnnni 14y ago
  I believe that's the standard reprap infill pattern.

grannyg00se 14y ago

It looks like the assembly and finishing of a 3D printed group of parts was taken to a whole new level. I don't see any indication that a whole new level has been achieved in the 3D printing itself. Great finished product though.

EvanMiller 14y ago

MYTH: 3D printers will never be able to print underwear FACT: Wrong. Hard plastic underwear provides amazing protection and support MYTH: 3D printers will never be able to print the Mona Lisa FACT: Wrong again. Today you can download a 3D model for "rectangular hard plastic canvas" from the Internet, print it out using your Makerbot, and then paint the Mona Lisa on it MYTH: 3D printers will never be able to print small, wobbly, leaky coffee cups that warp when hot beverages are poured into them, and that lacerate your lips when you attempt to drink from them FACT: This is already possible on some of today's higher-end 3D printers MYTH: 3D printers are useful in any way FACT: It turns out this myth is true. Watching a 3D printer emit a hard plastic object in a color that nobody wants keeps nerds in a state of rapture that prevents them from engaging in more dangerous activities such as shooting heroin or starting actual businesses

tomkinstinch 14y ago
You're wrong. If you step outside the narrow world of software for a minute and look at tangible product design, 3D printing is wonderfully useful. One benefit is that it allows you to develop functional prototypes without shelling out for evaluation tooling of injection molds. Second, it's faster. Third, it can produce structures that would be difficult or impossible to produce using conventional machining or casting methods.
- tjmc 14y ago
  I don't think anyone doubts that you can make amazing structures with 3D printers. This sectional technique is a nice extension to that. What I find annoying with the current 3D printing hype is that material properties are being completely overlooked. I can make a brake disk out of sponge cake about as easily as I could print one in plastic. Neither will work though. There's some exciting work going on at Cambridge with 3D printing using metal powders and laser sintering, but these printers will be orders of magnitude pricier than desktop plastic printers for some time. Perhaps a nice interim approach for the maker crowd would be to combine 3D printing with lost wax or sand casting. That way, you could still print an intricate part but then use it as a pattern to create something much stronger in metal.
  - beambot 14y ago
    Metal-based laser sintering (SLS) has been used in high-end research and industry labs for the better part of 10 years (or more!). It's just the democratization provided by outfits like ShapeWays that is making it available to the masses. People already use the casting solution you suggest. I remember the early Autom (robot) prototype used silicone casts [1]. I'm sure there are many other examples too... [1] http://www.hizook.com/blog/2009/11/22/building-robot-heads-using-3d-printing-silicone-molds-and-injected-plastic http://www.hizook.com/blog/2009/11/22/building-robot-heads-u...
- sown 14y ago
  No need to be mean.
14y ago

sliverstorm 14y ago

MYTH: MakerBot Desktop 3D Printers can only make things up to a certain size. BUSTED This awesome photo shows the 29 unfinished blocks of the horse head before Cosmo went to work fusing them So, not busted after all?

evoxed 14y ago
Like the printing resolution. Oh yeah, you can get rid of the ridges for a perfectly smooth model. They're called "interns". Bring your sandpaper and a dustmask! That being said, I'm glad that they're recognizing the ability to extend their product with good old fashioned hand skills, even if it isn't the greatest marketing pitch.

viviantan 14y ago

You'd still need quite a bit of artistic talent to make hard plastic look good. But would I want a super expensive and buggy 3D printer for Christmas? Yes please!!! Btw, has anyone used 123D Catch (or any 123D software)? From what I gleaned from Autodesk's TOS, you inevitably end up granting them a irrevocable license to use your 3D models however they please. Perhaps that's why 123D remains a "hobbyist" software suite. I still haven't heard of anyone who uses it professionally.

nnnnni 14y ago
Sounds like 123D Catch and the new Thingiverse are made for each other! ಠ_ಠ

delinka 14y ago

"MakerBot Desktop 3D Printers can only make things up to a certain size." The printer did not make the horse head. The printer produced the parts (up to a certain size) and Mr. Wenman assembled and finished it. He made the horse head. "...but they’re not, like, museum-quality great." Notwithstanding that the printer can't finish the pieces to make them "museum quality," there are striations on the horse head that come from how the plastic is stacked up. Not Museum Quality. While this is a fine use of 3D printing, it's not a major advance like the article tries to make it.