Oct. 3, 2014 | By Alec
The past few years, 3D printing technology has also been winning ground in the automobile industry. More and more car manufacturers, both large and small, are resorting to 3D printing, both in the design room and on the production floor. This has recently even culminated in a 3D printed car by Chicago-based company Local Motors.
And now in a the most recent publication of the glossy Aston Martin Magazine, this gentleman amongst car manufacturers published an article exploring the many revolutionary changes 3D printing has brought about for their company. And to accompany the article, the manufacturer of James Bond's stylish cars also commissioned a 3D printed typeface.
This very impressive piece was created by the Canadian designer and letter artist Ben Johnston, who developed this intricate piece of art to illustrate the many advantages and possibilities 3D printing brings to the designers of cars. And, much like Aston Martin's own creations, Johnson produced a wonderfully stylish and regal-looking artwork.
As the artist explained on his Behance profile page, the 'piece was designed to be regal and also highly complex to show the capabilities and advances in 3d printing.' After going through a number of CAD designs, this very impressive typeface was printed in PLA material, using a MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer.
Johnston's designs for the typeface.
The innovative possibilities of 3D printing are also highlighted in the article itself, and anyone interested in cars as well as 3D printing technology would enjoy the read. In it, the writer enters into a dialogue with Aston Martin's Design Director Marek Reichman on the many advantages this modern manufacturing technology brings to the design room. As the writer explained, 'Technologies at the cutting edge – 3D printing, rapid prototyping and rapid manufacture – are changing the way that Aston Martins are designed and, increasingly, built.'
This is especially the case in the design room, where it is most prominently used to develop prototypes and bring sketches to life, at a fraction of the cost and time that accompanied traditional methods. Marek Reichman even argues that '3D printing is an integral part of what we do – it's become one of the essential modern tools of car design.'
3D printing was therefore also extensively used to create the 2013 masterpiece Aston Martin CC100 Speedster. Built to commemorate the company's hundred year anniversary, it fully profited from the possibilities that 3D printing brought to the table. 'Without 3D printing, we couldn't have turn it from sketch into reality in just six months.'
The Aston Martin CC100 Speedster.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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Ok, so where's the STL file? :-)
Michael wrote at 10/4/2014 1:31:15 AM:
Tell us the process used to convert his 2d illustration into the 3d model. What software was used or was it completed remodeled from scratch?
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