30 printers to making a boat!

Posted on by Malta 3D Printing

A Project of Epic Proportions: A Taiwanese Artist is Using 30 Printers to Print a 26-Foot Long Boat Consisting of 100,000 Parts

http://goo.gl/cHA549

The 2 meter long version of Peng's boat

Artist is 3D Printing a 26 Foot Long Boat in 100,000 Separate Pieces on 30 3D Printers
Over the past year, we have seen many incredible 3D printing projects take place. There have been houses, cars, boats, and prosthetic hands that have all been created on 3D printers. However, one artist, named Hung-Chih Peng, may have them all beat, at least when it comes to creativity and time involved.
The 2 meter version
Hung-Chih Peng is a Taiwanese artist who thinks outside of the box, and I’m not just talking about throwing in a few extra colors on a painting, or sculpting a slightly controversial scene. He has garnered a tremendous amount of attention with his unique exhibits such as Post-Inner Scripture in 2013, God Pound and 200 Years in 2009, and Little Danny in 2002, among others. Now Peng’s latest work is The Deluge – Noah’s Ark, which is currently an exhibition that can be seen at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. It takes a model of a boat, and twists and turns its body in a way that isn’t physically possible in the real world.
But this is art, and The Deluge is Peng’s way of showing the inability that humans have exhibited in rectifying uncontrollable catastrophic challenges. Climate change, ecological crises, and environmental pollution are all changes that this planet is facing, yet seemingly humans do not have a way to correct these problems. The work is meant as a metaphor for showing the battle being waged by Mother Nature on the accelerated development of industrialized civilization. And as Peng explains:
“Human beings are unable to return to the unspoiled living environment of the past, and have become victims of their own endeavors. In the biblical time, Noah’s Ark is the last resort for humans to escape from the termination of the world. However, if Noah’s Ark sinks, where is the hope of the human race? If Noah’s Ark, a symbol of mankind salvation, becomes just as a shipwreck, human and nonhuman were placed in an equal position. Human subject is losing his predominance as the supreme center of the world.”
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Currently on display is this piece which Peng has created. It is 3D printed and measures 2 meters long. It depicts a time when the Anthropocene period (a period when human activities have/had significant global impact on Earth’s ecosystems), is replaced by the Mechanocene period when machinery begins taking over some of the jobs.
“It is certain that, no matter what circumstance will turn out, there will certainly be a disaster beforehand,” explains Peng. “Destruction and construction always grow and demise together. We will once again encounter the problem of moral degeneration.”
As part of the exhibition that features Peng’s 2 meter long “Noah’s Ark,” which has been twisted and turned in all directions, he has also turned his exhibition space into what he terms “an artist’s studio,” and is currently 3D printing a HUGE 26-foot-long model of the same boat, using 30 UP 2 FDM-based 3D printers. In all, there will be about 100,000 separate 3D printed pieces that will go into assembling this giant boat.
The 8 meter (26 foot) 3D printed boat - printed in 100,000 pieces.
“The boat is not finished yet, it will be finished at the beginning of Jan 2015,” Peng tells 3DPrint.com. “It will be 8 meters long and about 165 cm high and wide. We will use 560 kg of filaments, sponsored by UP printer maker, Beijing Tiertime. This is my first time using 3D printers. The original idea was only to build a huge twisted boat for this biennial. It has to be huge. After evaluating all the possibilities of different working processes, we think 3D printing is the best final decision.”
Visitors to the exhibit can see first hand as 30 3D printers are constantly working, printing different parts of the boat. When finished, they are assembled onto the larger model, which also is currently on display.
What do you think about this incredible art exhibit? Discuss in the 3D Printed 26 Foot Boat forum thread on 3DPB.com.
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3DPRINT.COM
by  | DECEMBER 19, 2014

3D printed 26 foot boat

Posted on by Malta 3D Printing

Weird or What? An Eccentric British Artist Intends to 3D Print his own Head using Dust From His Dead Father’s Crushed Skull.

http://3dprint.com/…/artist-plans-to-crush-his-fathers-sku…/

Lee Wagstaff 3d printed skull

Artist Plans To Crush His Father’s Skull, And 3D Print Replica of His Own Skull With the Dust
British artist Lee Wagstaff had a “difficult” time relating to his father. His distant relationship with his dad has led him to the point where he plans to crush his father’s skull into a fine powder – and use it to replicate a model of his own skull with a 3D printer.

Wagstaff, born in London in the late 1960’s, is an artist who, along with spending five years acquiring a full-body suit of tattoos which he says are based on “cross-cultural geometrical symbols” like circles, squares, swastikas and stars, plans to use what remains of his father to make a replica of his own skull from the ground up bits of his father’s brainpan.

After completing his studies at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, the Royal College of Art in London and Kyoto City University of Arts in Kyoto, Japan, Wagstaff has exhibited his body and large format, photo self-portraits at fine art and performance spaces around the world.

He calls his works “portraits that pursue an alliance between faith, space, geometry and anatomy.”  His current focus is on digital 3D data acquisition and reconstruction processes, and he says those technologies play a central role in his thinking.

wagstaff skull image

Wagstaff says bodily materials are, for him, simply art materials like ink, paint, or plaster. He adds that in tribal art, materials like blood and bone are often used to create art.

“It’s only in a more sanitised, contemporary world that people tend to get sensational about anything a little bit icky,” Wagstafftold The Independent. “The project’s partly about working through this weird relationship. I was interested in the transference of things that my father was – and what he stood for. We grew up with dead things around us, so I have this interest in anatomy, going back to how things work.”

According to Wagstaff, his father, a hunter and gamekeeper at various points in his life, ultimately abandoned the artist and his family to live in the countryside and pursue his own interests. As a result, the artist says he and his family members grew up with dead things around them which led him to explore his fascination with anatomy and how living things are constructed and function.

“Once something is dead – once it’s stripped of all its life and muscles – it just kind of becomes an object, and you have to touch it and really believe that it is what it was,” Wagstaff told VICE UK. “I use my body as an arena for investigation, experimentation and exhibition. As a means of supplication and contemplation.Through repetitive technical processes and abductive reasoning I seek a deeper understanding of my faith and scripture by exploring an aesthetics of theology as part of my own Christian journey.”

Are you appalled or intrigued with artist Lee Wagstaff’s plan to powder his father’s skull and use it to 3D print a replica of his own skull? You can comment on the thread  ‘Artist Plans To Crush His Father’s Skull‘ on 3DPB.com.

3DPRINT.COM
by  | DECEMBER 8, 2014

The marvels of 3D printing

Posted on by Malta 3D Printing

CHECK OUT our latest blog post! Analysing the impact of 3D printing on houses, cars and boats, we take a look at WinSun; the eco-friendly house builders, Kor Ecologic Ltd; the 3D car printers and the space age looking URBEE 2, a completely 3D printed vehicle!

http://malta3dprinting.blogspot.com/…/the-marvels-of-3d-pri…

The Marvels of 3D Printing – Houses, Cars and Boats!

If you’ve been following our blog, you’ve most likely been impressed with 3D printing’s versatility – stylish casts, augmented reality sets, retro gaming devices and even beautiful dresses – but now, prepare to marvel in 3DP’s greatest achievements.

Think big – both in scope and size – and you may come close to what we’re about to show you.

We’re taking a look at 3D printable houses, cars and boats – in a quick review sure to please the techies and leave the average person dumbfounded.

You may be asking – how can a relatively small device create a house, or rather, a home, or even a vehicle?

Simply put, these are no average printers – reports claim that the behemoth used to create houses is 10 metres wide and 6.6 metres tall, placing it towards the top of the 3D printing food chain.

The video below captures an ambitious Chinese company’s plans to mass produce houses. Oh, and these aren’t made of plastic! Using recycled stone and quick-drying cement, WinSun, the company responsible, are able to construct 10 eco-friendly dwellings a day!

As we look towards our Chinese printing cousins – we must admire their efficiency and applaud their intention to plug a hole in the market. With China’s property bubble only beginning to show signs of popping in 2014, millions are currently occupying less than adequate living quarters.

Sitting at only a few thousand dollars each, these cosy houses would make a perfect home for the millions of students in Beijing, for example.

Besides being cost-effective, 3D printing is all about environmental protection and longevity. In line with this, Kor Ecologic ltd. are aiming to reduce the billion vehicles already present on our polluted roads – by, you guessed it, 3D printing cars.

As per Korecologic.com, by the time 2050 rolls around the world’s car population will rise to a staggering 2.5 billion. Clearly it would be advantageous for the children of tomorrow to purchase one type of car when they reach their coming of age – one that supports, rather than destroys the environment.

With 3D printing ushering in a new wave of efficiency and sustainability for those knowledgeable enough to harness its power – one should certainly consider a 3D printable car as a gift for the near future.

So, what 3D printed cars are currently available on the market?

The URBEE 2 – a space age looking vehicle with an internal and external structure entirely 3D printed – would be able to travel an extraordinary 4000 kilometers with only 10 gallons of bio-fuel!

Malta 3D Printing is very excited about this prospect! As an upgrade from its predecessor, the URBEE (a worldwide sensation in 2011), the small but stylish URBEE 2 promises to deliver reliability and affordability for a better tomorrow.

Moving on to the final inspirational product that we’ve chosen to feature on our blog today, we have a pair of 3D printed boats sure to turn heads across the seven seas.

One of thee promising creations is from a group of passionate American students from the University of Washington with their ‘milk jug’ style boat – and another from our friends from the East, a Chinese boat that dipped its toes in the water for the first time less than 2 weeks ago!

The group of students who designed and crafted the ‘milk jug’ boat entered it into the annual Seattle Milk Carton Derby, finishing the race in second place! After 8 long weeks of research and preparation, the student team used recycled and melted milk cartons to build their sea vessel – as opposed to the standard thermoplastics normally used.

The Chinese boat, created by the country’s largest 3D printer, is a two-metre long boat weighing in at 35 kilograms, and made of nylon. Similar to the American entry, the Chinese boat supports two adults.

Malta 3D Printing believes that group of UW students really outdid themselves. Both companies used a minimalist approach, recycling different materials to achieve aesthetically pleasing and practical products.

Of course, these projects are not for any regular amateur – requiring plenty of materials and knowledge in the world of 3D printing and their respective areas (architecture, aerodynamics, buoyancy, to name a few).

We hope to see more groundbreaking additions to the 3D printed world soon!

MALTA3DPRINTING.BLOGSPOT.COM
by  | 29 July 2014

3D Printing Hits the Books

Posted on by Malta 3D Printing

Modern universities around the world have successfully endorsed 3D printers in the classroom. Students from all walks of life are creating innovative products, rivaling the originality and ingenuity of high-end companies.

They’ve created interesting products like boats and augmented reality headsets, to name a few.

While many of these institutions at the top of the educational hierarchy are focusing on additive manufacturing, what about those lower down the learning tree?

Imagine the possibilities of having small, user-friendly 3D printers in our children’s classrooms. Computers provided a tremendous leap in learning potential, proof that accepting modern means of learning can pay dividends.

Malta 3D Printing’s Facebook page recently featured an interesting infographic regarding the myriad of different uses 3D printers would have in a classroom.

An Inforgraphic Detailing 3D Printing’s Classroom Uses

(Image taken from 3DPrintingSytems.com)

Titled ‘Revolutionizing the Classroom,’ the picture explains how printing could impact 9 different academic subjects – from biology and chemistry, to graphic design and history.

The global surge in interest in 3D printing has even lead to books being written specifically for teachers seeking to use a printer in the classroom. One of the more recent additions is titled ‘The Invent To Learn Guide to 3D Printing in the Classroom: Recipes for Success‘, by Norma Thornburg, David Thornburg and Sara Armstrong.

‘The Invent To Learn Guide to 3D Printing in the Classroom: Recipes for Success’

(Image taken from Inventtolearn.com)


Available on Amazon, the step-by-step guide has received plenty of positive reviews. It presents 18 stimulating printing projects – covering a wide range of subjects including mathematics, engineering and science.

For educators less comfortable with certain technical aspects of 3D printing, this book is definitely for you.

It is crucial that we introduce these technologies at a young age, allowing for children to get accustomed to them nice and early. The usual naysayers – Luddites and technophobes – may resist such a transition, as they did when desktop computers slowly made their way into the classroom a couple of decades ago.

However, provided all goes well, 3D printers can become a bastion of educational technology!

Picture
The KIDE Logo

(Image taken from Dejanmitrovic.com)

It’s perfect for allowing children to explore their imagination, simultaneously widening their range of creative skills. Furthermore, it encourages kids to keep trying even after they’ve failed, as printing itself requires trial and error.

So often, children are frustrated by failure, yet 3D printing allows for an environment which accepts it with open arms.

It’s nice to know that messages from the printing industry aren’t falling on deaf ears. As far back as 2009, projects like KIDE have begun infiltrating classrooms in the UK. Started by Dejan Mitrovic – a technological pioneer – his educational scheme focuses on bringing 3D printing into the classroom, focusing on a ‘think-create-use’ model.

This Vimeo video captures the KIDE project in action – displaying the students’ work in a 2 minute slideshow.

A Happy Child Examining a 3D Printed Landscape

(Image taken from Pinterest.com)

On the other side of the pond, an article by Redorbit tells us about 12 groups of teachers who visited the Michigan Technological Institute to learn more about 3D printing. They were effectively given a crash course, ensuring they return to their respective schools with a decent understanding.

Slowly, but surely, the world is embracing 3D printing. It’s only a matter of time before it spreads across the globe!

Perhaps one-day the children of the future will begin community altering projects in their very own classrooms. We’ll open our newspapers to read about a local group of boys and girls who helped to pioneer a contraption of the future.

All we must do is provide them with the tools and proper guidance – then sit back in awe as we watch the cogs in our little men and women’s brains turn.

 

The Marvels of 3D Printing – Houses, Cars and Boats!

Posted on by Malta 3D Printing

If you’ve been following our blog, you’ve most likely been impressed with 3D printing’s versatility – stylish casts, augmented reality sets, retro gaming devices and even beautiful dresses – but now, prepare to marvel in 3DP’s greatest achievements.

Think big – both in scope and size – and you may come close to what we’re about to show you.

A Giant 3D Printer in Action

We’re taking a look at 3D printable houses, cars and boats – in a quick review sure to please the techies and leave the average person dumbfounded.

You may be asking – how can a relatively small device create a house, or rather, a home, or even a vehicle?

Simply put, these are no average printers – reports claim that the behemoth used to create houses is 10 metres wide and 6.6 metres tall, placing it towards the top of the 3D printing food chain.

The video below captures an ambitious Chinese company’s plans to mass produce houses. Oh, and these aren’t made of plastic! Using recycled stone and quick-drying cement, WinSun, the company responsible, are able to construct 10 eco-friendly dwellings a day!

As we look towards our Chinese printing cousins – we must admire their efficiency and applaud their intention to plug a hole in the market. With China’s property bubble only beginning to show signs of popping in 2014, millions are currently occupying less than adequate living quarters.

Sitting at only a few thousand dollars each, these cosy houses would make a perfect home for the millions of students in Beijing, for example.

Besides being cost-effective, 3D printing is all about environmental protection and longevity. In line with this, Kor Ecologic ltd. are aiming to reduce the billion vehicles already present on our polluted roads – by, you guessed it, 3D printing cars.

As per Korecologic.com, by the time 2050 rolls around the world’s car population will rise to a staggering 2.5 billion. Clearly it would be advantageous for the children of tomorrow to purchase one type of car when they reach their coming of age – one that supports, rather than destroys the environment.

With 3D printing ushering in a new wave of efficiency and sustainability for those knowledgeable enough to harness its power – one should certainly consider a 3D printable car as a gift for the near future.

So, what 3D printed cars are currently available on the market?

The URBEE 2 – a space age looking vehicle with an internal and external structure entirely 3D printed – would be able to travel an extraordinary 4000 kilometers with only 10 gallons of bio-fuel!

The URBEE 2 in Action

Malta 3D Printing is very excited about this prospect! As an upgrade from its predecessor, the URBEE (a worldwide sensation in 2011), the small but stylish URBEE 2 promises to deliver reliability and affordability for a better tomorrow.

Moving on to the final inspirational product that we’ve chosen to feature on our blog today, we have a pair of 3D printed boats sure to turn heads across the seven seas.

One of thee promising creations is from a group of passionate American students from the University of Washington with their ‘milk jug’ style boat – and another from our friends from the East, a Chinese boat that dipped its toes in the water for the first time less than 2 weeks ago!

The 3D Printed ‘Milk Jug’ Boat In Pole Position

The group of students who designed and crafted the ‘milk jug’ boat entered it into the annual Seattle Milk Carton Derby, finishing the race in second place! After 8 long weeks of research and preparation, the student team used recycled and melted milk cartons to build their sea vessel – as opposed to the standard thermoplastics normally used.

The Chinese boat, created by the country’s largest 3D printer, is a two-metre long boat weighing in at 35 kilograms, and made of nylon. Similar to the American entry, the Chinese boat supports two adults.

Chinese Addition to 3D Printed Boats by Sanya Industrial Innovation Design

Malta 3D Printing believes that group of UW students really outdid themselves. Both companies used a minimalist approach, recycling different materials to achieve aesthetically pleasing and practical products.

Of course, these projects are not for any regular amateur – requiring plenty of materials and knowledge in the world of 3D printing and their respective areas (architecture, aerodynamics, buoyancy, to name a few).

We hope to see more groundbreaking additions to the 3D printed world soon!