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The ‘World’s First Mechanical 3D Printer’ Omits STL Files in Favor of Hand Craft
As we continue to move into an age where products can be produced at the push of a button, the question of “Will additive manufacturing ruin or enable the next generation of designers and engineers?” is one that keeps coming up.
While being able to turn a CAD model into a physical object for all stages of prototyping is certainly a benefit in one’s workflow, the ability to 3D print a chair in its entirety rather than going through the motions of creating separate parts is arguably a shortcut that diverts away from mechanical thinking.
Similar to how the digital, always-connected smartphone age has helped consumers get in touch with more handmade goods that could have been made over a hundred years ago, could the same thing be happening with today’s industrial designers and mechanical engineers who feel nauseated by the “Just Push Print” mind frame? If a recent project from Netherlands-based industrial design student Daniel de Bruin is any indication, then – yes.
“I have always had a fascination for production processes but also for natural phenomena,” says de Bruin. “I want to stay true to both these fascinations and so try to find a balance between control and chance in most of my products.”
“The shape of the print is controlled by an aluminium wire – the wire can be modified for each print. (This) results in countless variations of modeling.”
According to de Bruin, while he is grateful that digital fabrication methods – including 3D printing – enable him to produce and iterate more swiftly and efficiently than ever before, none of the products feel like his own – but rather a product of ‘this new technology’.
Aiming to reclaim ownership over his work – imperfections and all – de Bruin’s ‘This New Technology‘ is a new take on the 3D printer that omits Gcode for hand movements in what can best be described as a hand-cranked FDM 3D printer.
The machine, which makes ceramic objects, functions by a handmade pulley system that lifts and presses weight simultaneously to exert force on the clay-packed syringe. While the pressure extrudes the clay filament onto a plate, a series of gears spin at the same rate that the material is deployed to help guide the creator’s process while still keeping it a ‘handmade process’. Once a piece is ‘printed’, it is processed like a traditional ceramic piece through a kiln and glazing process.
Read The ‘World’s First Mechanical 3D Printer’ Omits STL Files in Favor of Hand Craft at SolidSmack.
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Source: http://www.solidsmack.com/fabrication/the-worlds-first-mechanical-3d-printer-omits-stl-files-in-favor-of-hand-craft/
