www.3ders.org

Apr 25, 2016 | By Tess

Earlier this month, Rehovot, Israel and Minneapolis based 3D printer company Stratasys unveiled their most recent innovative product: the J750 3D Printer, capable of high resolution multi-material and multi-color printing. The new 3D printer, the first of its kind in the world, is expected to be a game changer for both 3D design and product development. Excitingly, the J750’s amazing potentials have been showcased recently through two stunning art projects, “Wolfkiam” an impressive 3D printed sculpture designed by Nick Ervinck, and “Polyomino” created by architect, programmer, and game designer Jose Sanchez. Both projects, created by Stratasys’ J750 3D printer, display the high quality functions of the printer and mark the first two artistic pieces made with the potentially revolutionary technology.

Wolfkiam by Nick Ervinck

Ervinck’s Wolfkiam sculpture is the first piece in a new collaborative art venture that Stratasys is embarking on called “The New Ancient”, which will investigate the relationship between ancient crafts and artworks and modern technologies, such as 3D printing. The series will be made entirely with the J750 3D printer and will feature works created by such accomplished designers as Neri Oxman, Daniel Widrig, Dov Ganchrow, Luc Merx, and most notably Zaha Hadid Architects.

As Naomi Kaempfer, Creative Director of Art Fashion Design at Stratasys, explains of the exciting new collaborative art series, "The New Ancient is a tribute to ancient wisdoms and lost crafts. The collection focuses on revisiting timeless design concepts from different cultures and antique eras and exploring the way in which these are interpreted with our modern tools, technologies and contemporary visions. Merging these historical design elements with our new breakthrough 3D printing technology is the perfect way to celebrate this transformation of art, design and manufacture.”

Wolfkiam, which resembles a sort of futuristic organic being, was inspired by the unique capabilities of the J750 3D printer, which offers a wide range of colors (over 360,000 of them!) and an extremely precise layer thickness of 0.014mm (half the diameter of a human skin cell). Ervinck explains, "The vibrant colors and intricate details of the piece, such as the central lines representing the figure's veins, were integral to the sculpture, both in creating a sense of movement and fluidity and in reflecting the traditional cultural styles that inspired the work. It would have been impossible to manually transfer this texture onto the sculpture in any other way - it is only with the new Stratasys J750 3D Printer that this first-of-its kind artwork has been made possible.”

Ervinck’s sculpture intricately combines design elements from ancient Inca and Mayan cultures with a more technological aesthetic that connects the sculpture to our present times. The sculpture, which features extremely detailed, veinlike elements as well as a biomorphic color palette could only have been made using additive manufacturing, as even the empty spaces of the sculpture are deliberate and precise. Ervinck explains further, “With Stratasys' J750 3D Printer, I was able to design a piece that combines an organic, biomorphic shape with a very technical play of lines and colors, and bring this to life from screen to sculpture with unmatched precision and quality - all at the click of a button.”

Polyomino for its part, marks the final phase of a two-year long collaboration between Stratasys and Jose Sanchez. The project, which has recently been finalized thanks to the capabilities of the J750 multi-color and multi-material 3D printer, was inspired by the constructive nature of certain video games, like Tetris, and as it is made from many separate parts, is meant to be assembled in a number of different ways.

Polyomino by Jose Sanchez

Sanchez explains of the importance of the J750 for the final phase of his project saying, “The artwork uses color as a guideline to construction. Consisting of only two different geometries, we explored the use of color as a form of differentiating the connecting pieces. With the limitless colors available on the J750, we were able to explore the way in which different colors affect perception of the piece, mimicking areas of lightness and shade and facilitating an almost infinite number of unique mixes and blends. These options connect 3D printing with gaming strategies, allowing users to explore and interact with an artwork in an entirely new way.”

Having seen the impressive nature of the first two artworks created using Stratasys’ J750 3D printer, we have to say that we are very excited for them to unveil their next projects, especially as their “The New Ancient” series continues.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Application

 

 

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