The Coolest 3D Printer Projects

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vulam.kd

March 25, 2023

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Digital printing traverses the boundaries of the practical and the artistic, creating a physical something from specks of powdered material, painstakingly rendered layer upon layer during a process that can take hours.

As 3DPrinter.net noted(Opens in a new window), each 3D-printed object begins with a digital Computer Aided Design (CAD) file, created with a 3D modeling program or scanned into a 3D modeling program with a 3D scanner. To get from this digital file into instructions that the 3D printer understands, software then slices the design into hundred or thousands of horizontal layers. Typically, 3D printer either uses a Fused Deposition Modeling printer, which applies the tiny layers of material, or a laser sintering process where a laser fuses together the material. Names like 3DSystems, Afinia, and MakerBot produce 3D printers for just a few thousands of dollars for consumers and small businesses alike.

Today, whether or not a physical object may be copyrighted falls into somewhat of a gray area, Public Knowledge claimed in a recent paper(Opens in a new window). And those objects also straddle two different definitions: patents cover objects that do things, while copyright covers artistic works. Each has their own legal framework. The situation grows even messier when copyright is asserted against a site like Thingiverse, where design files are shared, allowing other individuals to download and print their own designs. In this case, traditional DMCA takedown notices, such as those applied to music or movies, may not work.

“As 3D printing and modeling grow in popularity, it is likely that we will see more companies and individuals assuming they have a copyright for a design or object and demanding removal of unauthorized versions,” Public Knowledge claimed. “While most modern songs, movies, and pictures are protected by copyright, the same cannot be said for physical objects.”

Legal issues aside, some of the objects that digital printers can (and will) be able to create are just mindblowing. Here are some of the best.

1. A Moonbase

A Moonbase

The European Space Agency is testing the feasibility of 3D printing using lunar soil to construct a moonbase. The base is first unfolded from a tubular module that can be easily transported by space rocket. An inflatable dome then extends from one end of this cylinder to provide a support structure for construction. Layers of regolith are then built up over the dome by a robot-operated 3D printer to create a protective shell. A 1.5-ton building block was originally produced as a demonstration.
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2. A Bikini

A Bikini

The N12 is named after Nylon 12, the material in which the bikini was 3D printed by Continuum Fashion. Nylon 12 makes an ideal swimsuit material as it is innately waterproof. As well as being the first 3D printed bikini, it is also the first bikini that actually becomes more comfortable when it gets wet.
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3. A Chocolate Head

A Chocolate Head

Some people give roses, some people give 3D-printed jewelry, some people give their undying love. But in Japan, you can give your lover your chocolate head so they can bite into your brain as the ultimate expression of love, Shapeways reported.
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4. A House

A House

Dutch architect Janjaap Ruijssenaars of Universe Architects designed a residence in collaboration with mathematician and artist Rinus Roelofs. They hope to begin construction on the home – based on a Moebius strip design – using a 3D printer by 2014, Time reported. Italian roboticist Enrico Dini built a “D-shape printer,” which uses a stereolithography 3D printing process, sand, and an inorganic binder to generate full-size, sandstone based objects. “By simply pressing the ‘enter’ key on the keypad we intend to give the architect the possibility make buildings directly, without intermediaries who can add interpretation and realization mistakes,” the D-Shape website says.
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5. A Car

A Car

In 2010, Stratasys and Kor Ecologic teamed up to develop Urbee, the first car ever to have its entire body 3D printed by printing layers of material on top of each other until a finished product appeared.
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6. A Dress

A Dress

Dutch designer Iris van Herpen was at Fashion Week in Paris, accompanied by MIT Media Lab’s Neri Oxman, to showcase a dress that was fabricated using 3D printing technology. It was printed on an Objet Connex500 multi-material 3D printer. Most 3D printers require that creations are printed only using one type of fabric or material, but the Connex500 allows for the mixing of different types of material.

7. A Fetus

A Fetus

Called Tenshi no Katachi or “Shape of an Angel,” Fasotec’s product is based on a digital model of the mother’s torso built from CT or MRI scans, The Verge reported, citing DigInfo TV. That model is simultaneously printed with two resins to create a scale reproduction of your unborn baby, composed of an opaque white fetus encased in the mother’s clear, colorless abdomen. The price is ¥100,000 (about $1,275).

8. Gun Parts

Gun Parts

DefDist has created a 3D-printed 30-round AR magazine, ExtremeTech reported. The magazine was printed out on an Objet Connex26 using transparent VeroClear printing material in order to show the magazine’s round count and feeding action. DefDist noted that the final printed product wasn’t perfect, as “practically every component” had to be shaved at least once. The team managed one trial that shot about five rounds before failure — not so bad for a first run.
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9. Car Parts for Jay Leno

Car Parts for Jay Leno

Comedian and car nut Jay Leno had a 1907 White Steamer with a badly damaged feedwater heater, a part that bolts onto the cylinders. Using a NextEngine 3D scanner and Dimension 3D printer, he was able to whip up a new one in 33 hours.
“It’s an amazingly versatile technology,” Leno said on his website. “My EcoJet supercar needed air-conditioning ducts. We used plastic parts we designed, right out of the 3D copier. We didn’t have to make these scoops out of aluminum—plastic is what they use in a real car. And the finished ones look like factory production pieces.”
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10. Meat

Meat

U.S startup Modern Meadow believes it can make artificial raw meat using a 3D bioprinter, the BBC reported. Peter
Thiel, one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capitalists, Paypal co-founder and early Facebook investor, has just backed the company with $350,000. The team reportedly has a prototype, but it’s “not ready for consumption.”
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Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/news/the-coolest-3d-printer-projects