Aluminum Sand Casting 3D Printed Nose Ring

It's a nose ring. Get it? NOSE RING...
David Kent Watson 3d scanned his face, 3d printed his nose and used lost PLA casting to make it in aluminum. Cool project. I would wear that ring.

Here is the ring being sand casted:



Project homepage with much more details:

http://dkentwatson.com/art/the-nose-ring/

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Mini Metal Maker is ready to go to production

Mini Metal Maker is a small metal clay 3d printer developed by David and Lindsay Hartkop. It extrudes special metal clay which is then air dried and fired in a kiln to get metal objects. Ideal for jewelry makers and other small fine metal specialists.
The first version of Mini Metal Maker had a very successful Indiegogo campaign in 2013. Now the new version if fully matured and is on Indiegogo again to move the production of the machines from their home to real factory..
They have developed it from a wooden proof-of-concept to a sturdy production-ready machine ready for this specific metal clay 3d printing market.

Technical specifications:

• the print bed currently allows for prints up to a 3.15 in cube (8 x 8 x 8 cm)
• XY resolution: 10 microns
• Z resolution: 2 microns
• Extrusion resolution: 250 micron traces with 22 ga. nozzle
• The device prints with a commercially available jewelry product known as "metal clay." This material is a pre-mixed emulsion of metal particles in a water soluble organic binder. When heated to 1550˚F(600˚C-900˚C) in a kiln, the binder burns away as the metal particles fuse together.
• The Mini Metal Maker measures 9 in wide, 12 in deep, and 18 in tall (23 cm x 30 cm x 46 cm) 
• Electronics / software: Arduino Duo with modified open source Sprinter firmware
• USB port
• Price: starting from 2100 USD on Indiegogo

Bronze metal parts for ReRap Wades extruder

Here is a well produced presentation video:

Go and check their Indigogo campaign:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/produce-the-mini-metal-maker

Here is the company homepage:

http://www.minimetalmaker.com/

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High 3d printed fashion projects by Lilah LaValle and Airwolf3D

3d printed fashion is really emerging as one cool new area for artistic expression. I recently found this two nice works of arts (and 3d printing crafts). One is more industrial-art and second is more of a DIY-fashion project.

First piece is a fully 3d printed Red Corset designed by German artist Lilah LaValle in collaboration with her boyfriend Daniel Sirkett and it is printed by Shapeways in SLS Nylon. Since it is a larger and more complex piece the high-end SLS process was required sou you probably will not print this soon in your home.

Photographer: Susanne Kreuschmer / Lily Like Visual Art H&M: Meachy Wong Model: Lilly / Look Out Management

And here is a Sandy "the materials girl" from Airwolf 3D showing all the clothing, jewelry and accessories you can already 3d print at home from various commonly available DIY materials!

The A.X.I.O.S. (Advanced Xtreem Integrated Operating Scales) dress designed by Cameron Williams is printed from hexagonal plates in ABS / TPU / TPE. Very cool!

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Marriage proposal with 3d printed ring

Some guy proposes to his girlfriend with 3d printed ring. I wish them all the best! Mazel Tov!
General observation: every technology will be (ab)used for purpose of marriage proposals.

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Photo buildlog on how to cast metal with lost-PLA method

Here is detailed step-by-step buildlog or photo guide of how to cast metal (bronze) jewelry into mold produced with lost-PLA casting method. It goes from design to final product stage. Object is 3d printed and used in mold making by melting away the plastic with high temperature.

Finished bronze pendant 

Source: http://imgur.com/a/7K870

Reddit thread by its creator about it with more details:

http://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/22osqr/my_first_lostpla_casting_with_lots_of_pictures/


Here is very detailed video tutorial about same casting method for larger objects in aluminum:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2013/05/3d-printing-and-metal-casting-tutorial.html

Update:

You can see more objects made by same maker here:  http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/06/more-bronze-objects-made-with-lost-pla.html

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Asiga Pico 3d printer with solid state UV LED light source

Asiga Pico is specialist 3d printer with size of a small kitchen countertop appliance. It is designed with jewelry, dental and medical industry in mind. It produces wax polymer casting for metal parts or uses medical grade biocompatible resin for things like hearing aids. It is priced at USD 6990. It comes with Asiga Composer software.

The Pico is the first 3D printer of its kind to use a solid state UV LED light source. The LED lifetime is up to 50,000 hours and is not classed as a consumable, unlike other systems. The result is consistent curing from layer to layer, day after day, year after year. UV light allows broader materials choices, such as water-clear and pure white materials.

The Pico now has an improved resolution of 39 micron pixel size with a build envelope of 40 x 30mm (X and Y), and a build height of 75mm (Z). With the ability to grow parts in 1 micron increments in Z, the Pico is ideal for high resolution applications such as dental, jewelry and hearing. When building at 50 micron layers, the Pico achieves a build speed of approximately 6mm p/hr.

https://www.asiga.com/products/printers/pico/

Pico PDF brochure:

https://www.asiga.com/media/main/files/Pico%20Brochure_us_en.pdf

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Wicked MAD 3d printed organic collars and bracelets by MadLab

I REALLY love this designs by MadLab. It is like something from a SF movie. Kudos to the designers!

Here is the video about design process and technology:

Reverberating Across the Divide reconnects digital and physical contexts through a custom chronomorphologic modeling environment. The modeling interface uses a three phase workflow (3D scanning, 3D modeling, and 3D printing) to enable a designer to craft intricate digital geometries around pre-existing physical contexts.

Chronomorphology –– like its nineteenth-century counterpart chronophotography –– is a composite recording of an object’s movement. Instead of a photograph, however, the recording medium here is a full three-dimensional model of the object — a virtual creature simulated within a digital environment. This virtual creature exists as a 3D printable module; it is constructed as a closed mesh, with a spring skeleton that prevents self-intersections. The composite, chronomorphologic model (of the virtual creature over time) retains these printable properties at each time-step. Therefore, no matter how intricate or complex, the digital geometry will always be exported as a valid, 3D printable mesh.

The chronomorphologic modeling environment facilitates the rapid generation of baroque and expressive spatial forms that both respond and expand on existing physical contexts. By mediating 3D scanning and 3D printing through the modeling environment, the designer has a streamlined workflow for oscillating between virtual and analog environments. This ease between digital design and physical production provides a framework for rapidly exploring how subtle changes in the virtual environment, physical environment, or designer’s gestures can create dynamic variation in the formal, material, and spatial qualities of a generated design.

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This project was supported in part by funding from the Carnegie Mellon University Frank-Ratchye Fund For Art @ the Frontier (http://studioforcreativeinquiry.org)
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Music: "Portofino" by Teengirl Fantasy (http://teengirlfantasy.angelfire.com)

here is the MadLab.cc homepage with more photos:

http://www.madlab.cc/work/#/reverberating-across-the-divide/

For other cool looking 3d printed fashion pieces look here:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/search/label/fashion

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3d Printed Nails by The Laser Girls

3D printed fashion collaboration project by New York based digital artists Sarah C. Awad (http://www.sarahcawad.com) and Dhemerae Ford (http://www.dhemeraeford.com).

http://thelasergirls.tumblr.com/


PS: When I posted this I wondered who was the "average" reader of this blog and how many people will find this interesting. Just sayin' ...

Update:

Here is video of Laser Girls

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