[THE CREATORS PROJECT A PARTNERSHIP WITH INTEL AND VICE]
[3D PRINTING IS AN ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY WHICH MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO TURN 3D MODELED DESIGNS INTO CUSTOM SOLID OBJECTS ON DEMAND.]
[THIS TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN ADAPTED BY MANY ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS, MANY OF WHOM HAVE COME TOGETHER THROUGH THE ONLINE COMMUNITY OF SHAPEWAYS.]
3D printing has been around
for almost 25 years now.
[PETER WEIJMARSHAUSEN CEO, SHAPEWAYS] But for a long time it was used
for engineers and by engineers
for prototyping new products
that they would then mass produce.
What we did in 2007
is we realized basically that
"Hey. Why don't we use this amazing technology
to give anyone access to manufacturing."
Why don't we use this technology, these 3D printers
to make actual, final products?
[SHAPEWAYS + 3D PRINTING]
The 3D printing
it's a rapid prototyping technology.
[NATALIA KRASNODEBSKA COMMUNITY MANAGER/JEWELRY DESIGNER] The same way that you might carve something out of wax
or make a little sculpture
glue a bunch of matchsticks together and make a castle
is the same way now you might sit down at your computer
and use a CAD program
Rhino or Armea
to sculpt something and then print it out.
So, for me 3D printing was a way
to bring together art and science.
I was able to express the artistic thing
that I could see in my head
but use really precise techniques
and technology to realize that.
[MODELAB 3D PRINTING WORKSHOP]
If you understand 3D printing to mean
[GIL AKOS MODELAB] the deposition and/or fusing of material by layer
it really opens up what you could consider 3D printing to be.
I think that most interesting advancements
in terms of where 3D printing is and is going
have to do with dimensionality and materials,
both at the small scale of dimensions
and the large scale.
People are getting parts scanned in their body
to get custom implants made
for like, if they're having heart troubles
and things like that.
Or at the very, very big scale
like the large Gantry Mounted building scale applications
I think those are really interesting
and then, shifting out of plastics
into things like ceramics
like other biological materials
that people are looking at printing in.
Really, that opens up what 3D printing is
and what its applications can be
in an exponential rate
in terms of where it would go
and what you would do with it.
It's a good time for experimentation.
It's a good time to think about
how something that's as old as the clothing industry
[MARY HUANG FOUNDER, CONTINUUM FASHION] could be redefined with new technologies.
We use digitical fabrication technologies
and software techniques
to invent what fashion design means for a digital age.
Artists are always the early adapters.
We essentially want to be the first fashion label that's software.
We started working with 3D printing
because we like this idea of
could we make clothing without sewing.
Having one machine that can make really impossible shapes
is a huge benefit.
So, this is a 3D printed bikini.
The design of the bikini
was really about designing this generative textile
like, designing a way for 3D printing
to be almost like fabric
and be flexible and fit to the body.
And so, how this is done is
after we model this 3D shape
it actually fills the surface that you want with this geometry
that creates this fabric-like structure.
It packs the circles closer and smaller at the edges
and then towards the middle sections you have bigger circles
and this is nice because it actually looks interesting
for a bikini
and it's aesthetic as well as functional.
So, we've done some work with 3D printing.
We felt that people really understood shoes.
So, our goal was to actually have a dedicated shoe printer in the store
and then people could print their shoes
or you could even have basically a printer you could buy
just to be able to make yourself as many shoes as you want.
Inspiration, I think is one of the things
that most people need to really get started.
Especially with new technology
so, what we've therefore created
are creators in our co-creation platform
is where you can adapt in a very functional way existing in science.
So, at Shapeways we built a basic platform
to enable people to upload and print the designs they care for.
You can share it with your friends.
You can even open a shop
and you can start selling your new invention
your new creative idea
to a worldwide audience.
The one thing that's really interesting about this technology
is that it's more accessible.
Because it's more accessible
it's not only the hardware's more accessible
it's also the language that it's been coded in
is more accessible.
Also, the learning resources that you need
to be able to do it yourself is also more accessible.
So, now all of a sudden
the big walls that existed before
in terms of who had the privilege of being able to create what
and largely dictate how people used it
are gone.
But again, I think it just goes down to the fact that
information is everwhere now.
Everyone has access to it
and it's very easy to do whatever you want with it.
The technology that exists today
it also shapes the way that you think about
what the possibilities of tomorrow might be.
So, if you have a great idea
that idea might not be ready
to come into the world yet.
Until there's a mechanism put in place, right
that makes that idea now realizable.
People are comparing the 3D printing revolution
to the revolution that happened with personal computing.
I don't necessarily think there will be a 3D printer in every home
but I think there will be 3D printer product in every home.
There will be an application for it for everyone.
[INTEL]
[A VICE PRODUCTION]