Aug.20, 2012
Dutch artist Theo Jansen began in 1990 with the creation of huge beasts made of PVC conduit and plastic tubing that could run independently on the beach with enough wind.
Last year he teamed up with 3D printing shop Shapeways to offer miniature version of his creations to the public.
The version which you could buy are 3D printed and is therefore different from the PVC version. For 94 euros you can have a cute 6.2 inches long (15.7cm) Animaris Geneticus Parvus #5. This consists of 76 separate moving parts and comes fully assembled.
These strandbeests are an example of what 3D printing is capable of. Right after birth from the 3D printer these models will work straight away and do NOT require any assembly.
The newer version of 3D printed Strandbeests can now walk autonomously with the new propeller add-on (39 euro), powered by the wind, just like Theo's full-scale Strandbeests.
Here you can look at 3D printed Strandbeest with new Propeller Propulsion System.
Theo and his Strandbeests are so popular worldwide especially in Japan & S. Korea, some people have replicated his structures into hamster-powered miniatures and even man-powered ones.
32 year old Industrial Designer kvanb from the Netherlands built a scale model of one of Theo's nicest sculptures, the Rhinoceros.
Lego Rhinoceros, the Lego version of the beach beast Rhino is as big as a moving box. The idea is featured on Lego's Cuusoo site, a Kickstarter-like crowd-sourcing website for startup.
kvanb says,
Right now the space for 1 leg mechanism is 7 studs. We might be able to get this down to 6 or 5 studs, but it will be tight. The crankshaft needs to be quite sturdy, that's why I went for a robust solution.
(Images credit: kvanb)
At the moment the package is not for sale. What kvanb needs is your votes. With 10,000 votes on Lego Cuusoo, Lego corporation will review the idea to see if it is feasible for production. Currently, the project has already got 860 votes.
Another nice project is the Humble Velocipede by Small Wonder Toys, a small-scale and simpler model of Theo's Strandbeest kinetic sculpture, made of bamboo. It was crowd-funding on Kickstarter and have received $57,670 for their $10,000 goal.
(credit: Small Wonder Toys)
The artist has been working on a herd of six animals in the summer, and the strandbeests are now in a big traveling exhibition (now in Asia). But some of them will be showed on the beach in Den Haag, at 5pm on September 24/25/26, 2012. If you live close by don't miss the change to visit them, check the route to the beach exhibition here.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
Maybe you also like:
- EnvisionTEC support Aardman 3D printing 7,000 parts in its latest Pirates! film
- 3D printed Hand Robot InMoov
- ABN AMRO sees big future in 3D printing
- 3D printed Apple accessories from Curve Creative
- 3D printing a perfect replacement part for dishwasher
- Mcor Technologies celebrates St. Patrick's Day and ready to enter US Market
- Win a ShapeOko CNC kit for 3D printing and CNC routing
- A second generation 3D concrete printing is under development
- "Pimp My Ride" host to customize a Nissan Cube for 3D systems' cross country trip
- 3D Printing/AM China 2012 Conference
- Building an extra large Ultimaker 3D printer
- First retail 3D printing in postal service
- EMS announced 3D Tech Days 10 City Tour
- Create a full-color 3D relief sculpture from your photo
- Create 3d-printable jewelry and sculpture with Cell Cycle WebGL design app
- Breakthrough: High-speed 3D printer with nanoscale precision
- New 3D-ONE 3D printer from Robot Factory
- SoundCloud teamed with Shapeways to get soundwave 3D-printed
- Bathsheba's experimental 3D printed ceramic oil lamp
- RouterStrap 3D printer on the CNC Machine
- PotteryPrint designing app aims to introduce kids to 3D printing
- GE invests on hands-on labs for ordinary people
- How low can a Prusa Mendel 3D printer cost go
- Using 3D Printing to create small business
- StreetScooter and 3D printed dashboard
3Ders.org provides the latest news about 3D printing technology and 3D printers. We are now seven years old and have around 1.5 million unique visitors per month.
