Airwolf 3D prints entire outfit with over 20 materials using their newest HD-R 3D printer

Jan 5, 2015 | By Kira

Airwolf 3D will introduce its latest desktop 3D printer, the AW3D HD-R, at this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. In order to stand out from the crowd and showcase their latest innovation, the team decided to 3D print an entire outfit, including a dress and accessories, out of over 20 different materials, which will be on display at CES on Tuesday, January 6^th.

AW3D HD-R’s Printing Innovations

The HD-R is the latest in an award-winning line-up of desktop 3D printers for the professional market. The Californian company’s greatest innovation to date sets new industry standards offering a high resolution, dual head printing, Wi-Fi connectivity, cloud-based slicing, file storage and management, and a rigid aluminum backbone. It comes integrated with web-based software based on the AstroPrint 3D printing platofmr that utilizes the cloud, eliminating the need for desktop software.

Due to this intuitive software and Wi-Fi capability, users can print remotely from a smart phone or other tablet device. “We’ve successfully combined superior print quality using a wide range of materials with unparalleled ease-of-use to create our most advanced product to date,” said Erick Wolf, founder and chairman of Airworld 3D.

In addition, Airwolf partnered with 3DaGoGO, the developer of the all-in-one 3D printing software platform AstroPrint, to offer existing customers a Wi-Fi upgrade kit called WolfWare.

Airwolf is currently taking pre-orders for the HD-R, which has a suggested retail price of $4595. The WolfWare upgrade kit will sell for roughly $250.

Sandy the Materials Girl

Having a groundbreaking new 3D printer is one thing, but if you can’t reach your target market, it will never get off the ground. That’s why Airwolf 3D decided they needed to do something different, something really eye-catching, in order to stand out amongst the 3,600 exhibitors at the International CES. And what could be more eye-catching than a beautiful woman in a little black (3D printed) dress?

Enter: Sandy the Materials Girl. The stunning young lady from Southern California, will demonstrate and model a custom-fit dress and accessories that are entirely 3D printed by Airwolf 3D, showcasing the fact that they can successfully print in over 25 different materials, more than any other product on the market.

The “A.X.I.O.S. Dress” was designed by Cameron Williams, and stands for “Advanced Xtreem Integrated Operating Scales.” It is made of ABS, Wolfbend TPU and TPE, costing roughly $78 in mtaerials, and was custom-fit to Sandy’s precise measurements. Williams also designed her lightweight SoCal Wristlet and wristband out of the same materials.

Other accessories include jewelry made of copperFill and stainless steelFill, an emerald lipstick case 3D printed in green T-Glase for a solid yet translucent effect, and a “leather-ette iPhone case,” printed in Laywood. While Laywood is a composite that typically looks like actual wood, designer Jowell Randall manipulated the filament to have a weathered, leather-like feel and appearance, giving the iPhone a comfortable grip while protecting it from accidental falls.

Of course, every woman knows that no outfit is complete without a killer pair of shoes, and the Vegas Wedge is no exception. Printed in red and black PLA, the shoes (as well as the iPhone case) are completely biodegradable.

The final touch is the delicate martini glass, printed out of PET. PET is an interesting material in that it offers flexibility, strength, and is FDA approved for contact with foods (it doesn’t absorb water the way nylon does). In order to showcase this fascinating material, Eva Wolf and Jowell Randall designed the martini glass, even leaving a part of the stem hollow so that they could pour in ultra-fine sand from the Isla Mujeres in Cancun in the middle of the printing process. As you can tell, no detail was left behind.

If you thought that 3D printing and the world of fashion had nothing to do with each other, Airwolf 3D, along with Sandy herself, are asking you to think again. Clearly, a lot of thought, care, and artistic design went into the creation of every single piece of her outfit, right down to the details of the hexagonal pattern mirrored in her dress, shoes, armband and wristlet. Of course, the head-to-toe outfit is just a playful example of how the HD-R can be used to manipulate dozens of unique materials into almost anything you can imagine.

If you’re lucky enough to attend the International CES, which showcases thousands of manufacturers, developers and suppliers of consumer technology hardware, content and more, make sure you check out one of Sandy’s fashion shows, which will take place every couple of hours (she’ll be at booth #72334). If you do, you’ll get an “I Saw Sandy” sticker and the chance to win and autographed poster, an airworld 3D tshirt, and a selfie with Sandy. The grand-prize winner will also receive a $900 certificate towards an Airwolf 3D printer.

2015 is already shaping up to be an exciting year in the world of 3D printing, with innovators continuing to bring out the best in creativity, design, and exotic, rarely used materials.