Awesome 3d Printing

This miniature roller coaster is made from 3D-printed parts and has a motorized launch system and working brakes. The cars, twisty tracks, and supports were digitally fabricated. Its motion is controlled by an Arduino, micro servo motors, and a DC motor. It took 3D Coasters roughly six months to complete the project.

One of the limitations of cheap desktop 3D printers is their small print bed size. But this nifty hack by Swaleh Owais incorporates a conveyor belt print surface that can eject parts and then move on to the next one without human intervention. By angling its print head, it can also print very long objects.

3D printed objects are typically made out of plastic. But as Robinson Foundry shows us, these computer-generated pieces can be used to produce detailed castings for more substantial materials. In this case, he output a 3D print of a menacing alien emperor and used it to create a ceramic mold for an awesome brass sculpture.

Ivan Miranda has built a few homebrew 3D printers, including three very big printers. His latest build – the Giant 3D Printer MkIV is his largest yet, with a 1000mm x 500mm (39.3″ x 19.7″) heated printing bed. Follow along with the build process, then watch it print a massive plastic wrench. You can buy the plans to build your own here.

With a price approaching some 3D printers, the 3Doodler Pro+ isn’t for everyone, but it does feature big upgrades including a powerful dual-drive system, precision temperature controls that enable more intricate and consistent drawings. It can print with ABS, PLA, FLEXY, wood, copper, bronze, and nylon filaments.

With the help of Pikus Concrete, Zack Nelson of JerryRigEverything managed to have a gigantic 3D-printed statue created in his own image. The 12-foot-tall concrete sculpture weighs in at 6,000 pounds, and Jerry had it dropped next to his buddy’s swimming pool as a prank. We’re sure it will soon get sliced open by What’s Inside.

Artist Rayclay used a combination of 3D modeling software, 3D printing, and hand-finishing to create miniature models of a freediver and a manta ray. He then precisely painted the pieces and submerged them in transparent resin to create the illusion they were swimming beneath the ocean’s surface.

Typical 3D printers build up objects one layer at a time. This new technology is capable of printing an entire, highly-detailed object at once. The one big caveat of EFPL and Readily3D’s volumetric printer is that it can only print really tiny objects. Since it can print in a sterile container, it could be used for biomedical applications.

Artist Hongtao Zhou uses 3D printing to produce these wildly innovative works of art. Each one offers up a tactile and dimensional sculpture of a city, sculpted from letters of varying heights, and forming words which describe the locale. Some of his works are even printed on a flexible background so they bend like paper.

Maker James Bruton is a big fan of 3D printing. In this video, he uses his Lulzbot HS+1.2 heavy duty print head to output carbon fiber reinforced plastic filament to create a skateboard with a unique structure. He then takes it for a spin to see just how strong it is.

HomeMadeModern shows us how to use 3D modeling software and a 3D printer to create a set of silicone molds for casting a concrete firepit. Despite the complex look, the entire design you see was created from just three different mold shapes.

The University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center now has a 3D printer that can crank out objects up to 100 feet-long, 22 feet-wide, and 10 feet-high. In this brief time-lapse, watch 72 hours condensed down to 30 seconds as it outputs a 25 foot-long boat that weights 5,000 pounds. And yes, it floats.

Animator Raphael Vangelis pays tribute to all the lost time spent watching spinning circles, hourglasses, beachballs, and progress bars on our computer screens, by replicating the idea with stop-motion animation and 3D printing. The behind the scenes video equally enthralling.

Sandvik created what it believes is a nearly indestructible guitar. Its body was 3D printed out of titanium, while its neck, fretboard and hub were milled from stainless steel. They let prolific axe wrecker Yngwie Malsmsteen put it to the test.

Using a pair of clear plastic domes as a canvas and a 3D printing pen, artist 3D Sanago created a wireframe model of our planet, then proceeded to conjure up some plastic gears and attach the whole thing to a motorized base. The result is a neat see-through, spinning globe.

Every time we’ve picked up one of those 3D printing pens, we’ve ended up with a glob of hot mess. But 3D Sanago has proven time and again that you can really make some incredible art with the things. His latest creation? An intricate model of a bicycle with working pedals and wheels that spin. Turn captions on.

Artist Akinori Goto came up with a truly wonderful take on the zoetrope. He uses 3D printing to turn 2D frames into a donut-shaped object. It looks like an abstract sculpture, but it reveals its animation when hit with a narrow beam of light.

Hermit crabs wander the beach looking for abandoned shells to call home. But artist Aki Inomata creates custom shells based on buildings and other forms using CAT scans of shells, 3D modeling, and 3D printing. And if this seems wacky, check out Inomata’s other project.

Open Bionics’ Hero Arm is an electronic prosthetic arm that is custom made using 3D scanning and 3D printing. It’s controlled by muscle movements and has haptic feedback, beepers, buttons and lights. It also has swappable covers.

YouTuber 3D Sanago greets us by saying he’s a 3D pen master. But he easily backs it up by making a badass statue of Deathwing the Destroyer from World of Warcraft. He makes liberal use of a wood burning tool to smooth the plastic and add textures.

Crayon Creatures turns kids’ drawings into accurate full color figurines thanks to the wonders of 3D modeling and 3D printing. The figurines measure up to 4″ tall and are printed in sandstone. Additional figures of the same drawing can be ordered at a discount.

Thingiverse member DanielMitchell has shared his 3D model for a triangular desktop bladeless fan. It uses a computer fan hidden in its base, and is easy to put together. Thingiverse has links to print shops if you don’t have access to a 3D printer.

Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a 3D printing method called Computed Axial Lithography. It projects 2D slices of a 3D model into a cylinder of resin, creating an object in one go. It’s much faster than other 3D printing methods, which deposit material layer by layer.