30 Coolest Things People 3D Printed
Here’s an interesting fact you probably did not know – 3D printing is actually almost 40 years old! The first prototype 3D printer was invented all the way back in the 80s and as technology advanced and the prices of printers dropped, they started becoming available to more and more people. That led to users getting creative with this new technology, coming up with unique and ingenious creations that wouldn’t be possible to create using conventional methods.
Casts, rims and even full-size houses – check out the most interesting things people created using 3D printers in the gallery below!
#1 Toucan With A Reconstructed Beak Done Throughout 3D Printing
#2 See-Through Prosthetics 3D-Printed From Titanium
#3 3D-Printed Classical Paintings That Let The Blind “See” Famous Art For The First Time
#4 A Prosthetic Arm I Made For A Friend
#5 A Neighbor 3D Printed A Walker For His Crippled Little Buddy
#6 I Came Back To My Apartment To Find That My Roommate 3D Printed A T-Rex Shower Head
#7 My Brother Is In A Wheelchair And Is Starting His First Job At Google Next Week. People Said I Should Make Him The Google Logo, But That’s No Fun So I Made This For His Desk
#8 3D Printed Shell For An Injured Tortoise
#9 3D Printed Doorstop
#10 My Moms 3D Printed Cast. She Can Take A Shower With It!
#11 Chloe’s 3D Printed Walking Assistant
#12 A Friend Nailed Halloween And 3D Printed His Own Face
#13 3D-Printed Plastic Cast That Uses Ultrasound To Heal Broken Bones Faster
#14 Cubone Corgi
#15 Our 3D Print Failed Half Way Through. This Is How We’ve Been Using It
#16 3D Printed Violin
#17 Student In My Country Made Mostly 3D Printed 1:1 Moveable Bb-8 Model As Her Engineer’s Thesis As Final Work Ending Her Studies. She Also Programmed An App Which Let You Control The Robot
#18 As A 16 Year Old Guy With Nosy Parents, This Has By Far Been My Most Useful Print
#19 3D Printed And Painted My Cat
#20 Not Inherited, But 3D Printed
#21 3D-Printed Vases That Give Plastic Bottles A Second Life
#22 Darth Vader Pen Holder
#23 Friend Made A Luggage Tag With Her 3D Printer
#24 My Friend Made This Costume For Dragoncon… With A 3D Printer
#25 3D Printed ‘Game Of Thrones’ Lamp
#26 Proof That Perseverance Pays Off… My Full Iron Man Suit, Printed In Many, Many Pieces On My Tiny Up Mini Over 6 Months
#27 Fully-Articulated 3D Printed Mesh Gown, Worn By Burlesque Icon Dita Von Teese
#28 I 3D Printed My Son’s Brain Using Data From His MRI
#29 3D Printed Rims
#30 This House Was 3D-Printed In Just 24 Hours For Less Than $11k
Aušrys Uptas
One day, this guy just kind of figured - “I spend most of my time on the internet anyway, why not turn it into a profession?” - and he did! Now he not only gets to browse the latest cat videos and fresh memes every day but also shares them with people all over the world, making sure they stay up to date with everything that’s trending on the web. Some things that always pique his interest are old technologies, literature and all sorts of odd vintage goodness. So if you find something that’s too bizarre not to share, make sure to hit him up!
University Students Make A 3D Printer That Prints Soil And Grass
The future means printing your own garden. Yes, that’s the idea behind printGreen designed by the students at University of Maribor. It’s a CNC machine (which means it’s entirely computer controlled) that prints using a mixture of grass seeds, soil and water. The images will sprout grass later on, making for some crazy green designs. As long as clay soil and small seeds are used, anyways – the former for better printing, the latter to fit through the nozzle!
The project was made by a student group headed by prof. Dušan Zidar of the University Of Maribor, Slovenia. The group was comprised of Maja Petek, Tina Zidanšek, Urška Skaza, Danica Rženičnik and Simon Tržan. The project website states that “Print Green transverses the term ‘think, before you print’ as the used motto and turns it into the slogan of an alternative modern society – “print, because it is green”.
More info: print-green.org | facebook (h/t: mymodernmet )
Watch it write its own name:
Martynas Klimas
Writes like a mad dervish, rolls to dodge responsibility, might have bitten the Moon once.
3D Printing Ideas That You Can Try Out Today
It’s no secret that 3D printing is poised to take the world by storm in the not-so-distant future. The technological progress achieved in just a few short years gives hope that one day the entire manufacturing industry will be revolutionised, turning every willing person into a designer and unleashing the creativity of the world at large. While we’re not quite there yet, the list of things that can already be brought to life is astounding.
But what exactly is 3D printing and how does it work ? The first 3D printer was developed in the early 1990s at MIT, who continue to be at the forefront of the 3D printing revolution today. Using an additive manufacturing technology, 3D printing allows for the creation of 3-dimensional objects from a standard Computer Aided Design file, or CAD for short. Different types of plastic are used as raw materials to be melted and turned into solid objects through successive layering. While not long ago 3D printing was restricted to development labs and big companies, now small businesses and even individual users can get in on the fun. With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few 3D printing ideas that are sure to make a splash in the years to come:
- Bringing apps to life
Nowadays almost everyone has spent time perusing the myriad applications available for smartphones, tablets and laptops. What 3D printing can do is take the colorful characters from such apps and videogames and bring them into real life. Everything from dolls to action figures can be created with relative ease through intuitive and easy-to-use software programs. You can even opt to make an action figure of yourself, through the use of a 3D scanner that can capture an individual’s unique look and turn it into a fun figurine.
- Designing automobiles
On the more serious side, even something as big as an automobile can be successfully built in this day and age using solely 3D printing methods. While big time car manufacturers have only dipped their toes in the water so far, a small American company named Locals Motors already has a fully functional car out. Called the Strati , this roadster is the world’s first 3D-printed car. With a sturdy frame and an eye-catching design, this prototype is indicative of the marvels that are soon to come.
- Tools for sprucing up the office
It’s important to note that 3D printing isn’t just for large-scale projects. Indeed, there are plenty of ways to use 3D printers to design objects that can significantly improve the atmosphere and efficiency of a simple office setting. Everything from wall mounted cable keepers to modular desk organisers to snazzy lamps can be designed and created this way. Aside from fostering independence and encouraging self-sustainability, such products are also very easy to customise, allowing users to tinker with them until they fulfill their goals.
- Jets, robots and beyond
While it may seem inconceivable to people unfamiliar with the technology, 3D printing has evolved in leaps and bounds ever since its conception just a few short decades ago. Already there have been several instances where the technology has proven sufficient for designing highly complex items that in the past would have required the use of industrial machinery. For instance, GE Aviation has successfully managed to created 3D-printed parts for its aircraft engine platform, which are lighter and more durable than what would’ve been achievable through conventional manufacturing. And MIT has recently unveiled the first line of hydraulically-powered robot bodies that require no assembly and use solid and liquid materials at the same time . With further developments on the horizon, it is only a matter of time before commercially-available 3D printers will be able to generate robots in a single step.
As you can see, the time of 3D printing is already upon us. The degree to which this technology is going to change our lives is as of yet hard to predict, but it will undoubtedly be one of the defining technological revolutions of this era. Embracing change may not always be the easiest thing to do, but 3D printing promises to improve and enrich life as we know it, which is why it deserves our full support and attention. Because when it comes to 3D printing, the sky’s the limit.
3D Printing
