ICYMI: 3D printed music, hydroponics, hemp pinhole and sunglasses, landscapes, and more!

Sep 4, 2016 | By Tess

In case you missed it…here are some cool and artsy 3D printing projects from the past week. From 3D printed music, to dieselpunk Russian tanks, and even to provovative art installations, be sure to check them out:

#1 3D print your own music with Prinpl

If you’re wondering what a Prinpl could possibly be, you’re likely not alone, but fortunately for all of us, you won’t be wondering for long. The Prinpl is essentially a small device that fills the role of a modern day music box. The small player doesn’t just play any music however, as it reads 3D printed discs which can be customized by you! Yup, that’s right. You can play your own custom tunes by simply 3D printing specialized discs embedded with small braille-like bumps, which the Prinpl then turns into music. The Prinpl makes the sound through its internal prong system which comes into contact with the bumps and a piece of sheet metal. Of course, like a music box, the Prinpl can only play simple, and short looped pieces, but the novelty of the device is still charming. In addition to the 3D printed discs, the Prinpl can also read conventional data and mp3 CDS.

#2 3D printed cigarettes in art installation

At its core, art is meant to challenge, provoke, and reflect our societies and cultures, exposing contradictions and inconsistencies in our everyday lives. And while some artists might lose sight of this, Greek artist Valinia Svoronou has used her artistic skills to make a strong statement about Greek vacation and party culture. Specifically, the artist has set up an installation called The Glow Pt.2: Gravity Regimes, which draws attention to Mykonos’ simultaneous role as a tourist party destination, and an entry point into Europe for hundreds of thousands of refugees. Part of the installation is made up of a number of 3D printed cigarettes which are strewn about on the floor, broken and bent but unsmoked, which are meant to highlight not only the trash and debris left behind on Greece’s scenic shores after partying, but also the glow-sticks that wash up on shore from the navy border patrols. Svoronou also used other materials in her exhibition, including scaffolding, laser-engraves clear perspex, fiberglass, LED strips, etc, to make up a number of other provoking pieces, such as glowing purple surfaces which evoke the ocean and more. The exhibition is currently being hosted at Berlin’s Frankfurt am Main gallery.

#3 3D printed patterned landscapes

Not far from Greece, a group of 2nd year students from the University of Nicosia in Cyprus got our attention for a CAD course project they undertook. The project was to design and create a series of 3D printed tiles with geometric and patterned surfaces in order to combine modern technologies with more traditional elements of architecture and art. Michail Georgiou, the CAD teacher who conceived of the exercise, asked his students to first design a two dimensional geometric shape, which they then turned into 3D patterns using Rhinoceros 3D modeling software. The finished tiles, which were to measure 125 mm x 125 mm and maximum 25mm in height, were 3D printed on the university ZMorph multitool 3D printers and took roughly 9 hours to print each. Despite the time it took to print a total of 18 tiles, the results are stunning and together they make up quite the impressive panel.

Source: ZMorph

#4 3D printed Dieselpunk Russian Tank

If you’re a fan of the dieselpunk culture and aesthetic, this 3D printed russian tank is sure to get you fueled up. The Dieselpunk inspired piece was designed by maker NoahLi and is 3D printed from Strong and Flexible plastic. The tank, which is made up of a number of individual components which can be assembled is easily customizable and can be posed in a number of different positions (thanks to NoahLi’s cunning design). Unfortunately, the tank’s 3D files are not open-source, though you can still get your hands on them through the maker’s Shapeways store, where they are being sold as a kit to be assembled at home. NoahLi has also included a painting guide along with the assembly instructions so that people can recreate the incredible and soviet inspired decorations. The individual components cost between $12 and $25.

#5 GrowGrow: 3D printed hydroponic capsules

fiilo, an American lifestyle brand with minimalist and contemporary values, has recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for its latest product: GrowGrow, a 3D printed capsule that makes growing herbs and other plants hydroponically easier than ever. The capsule is essentially designed to be fitted onto a water-bottle using a simple screw mechanism and functions to help plants get the water and air they need to grow. The capsules themselves are 3D printed from a biodegradable PLA plastic and were inspired by the existing sub-irrigated plastic bottle planters, also known as SIPs. The only problem with SIPs, and what fiilo set out to fix, was the sharp edges that the plastic bottles can have when converted into the planters. With the Kickstarter campaign, the startup is hoping to raise at least $3,500 by the end of September to get its product off the ground. Rewards include the GrowGrow 3D printed capsule, and a number of geometric planters.

#6 3D printed hemp pinhole and sunglasses

Some of our readers might remember Kanèsis, an Italian startup which earlier this year launched an Indiegogo for their 3D printing HempBioPlastic filament. The innovative bio-filament is essentially made out of the industrial waste from hemp production which is turned into new bio-compounds for the filament base. The patent-pending material is now being featured through another crowdfunding campaign (this time on Kickstarter) but this time it is geared primarily to the rewards. That is, if you decide to back Kanèsis’ hemp-based filament project, you’ll not only be able to receive a 700g spool of filament, but will have the opportunity to get your hands on either a 3D printed pinhole camera (plus 10 hemp film cannisters) or 3D printed sunglasses made out of the innovative hemp filament. Kanèsis, which boasts that its hemp filament is 20% lighter and 30% stronger than traditional PLA filaments, is hoping to raise a total of €5,000 with the crowdfunding campaign by September 28th. Be sure to check out their page, especially if you want to get your hands on a pair of sweet 3D printed hemp sunglasses or a cool 3D printed pinhole camera.

#7 OpenLabs 3D printed lamp

To celebrate the opening of a new office and the launch of a brand new maker space, music production software company OpenLabs has designed a 3D printed LED light logo, which you can make for yourself at home. The 3D model, which was designed by OpenLabs’ in house designer Jesus, is can be downloaded through an easy-to-follow Instructables lesson, which details how exactly to turn the print into an awesome lamp. Keeping simplicity in mind, the lamp is designed to be powered by a micro usb connector and is made up of only a few 3D printed pieces (essentially just a base and a top plate). The most important thing to keep in mind while printing them, is that they need to fit into one another without necessitating screws or glue. The lamp itself is made up of 12 LEDs powered by a 5V input, 12 resistors, and a 1m long cable. Once the LEDs and electronic components are installed (the detailed steps can be found on the Instructables page), you’ll simply need to glue the LEDs down to the plate, put the base and top plates together and place it wherever you want!

#8 3D printed light capture bagpipes

In 2014, we covered a story about Donald Lindsay, a bagpipe enthusiast who set about figuring out how to 3D print a bagpipe in an effort to extend the instrument’s range. The project, called “Dreaming Pipes,” was ultimately successful and inspired Lindsay to keep working on the Scottish wind instrument more. Now, the innovator has launched a Kickstarter campaign for his latest achievement: a bagpipe that uses light to capture sound. In fact, with his new bagpipe Lindsay may have even created the world’s first electro-acoustic woodwind instrument that uses light to collect sound. The project as a whole, called “The Brittle Light of Stars”, is geared towards not only developing the instrument itself but also exploring new types of music that will be possible with the woodwind’s new sounds and style. How does the light bagpipe work, you might ask? Well, using a 3D printed light-chanter, the pipe is able to collect sounds from the reed’s vibrations, which is then sent directly to an amp through an electric guitar cable. What’s more, if you back Lindsay’s Kickstarter campaign, you yourself could receive the STL files to print your very own light-chanter and light pickup system (perhaps most useful if you yourself are a bagpipe player!). The Kickstarter is hoping to raise a total of £2,500 ($3,326) by September 30th, 2016.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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