May 6, 2015 | By Alec
Those of you who visited the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, the Netherlands in October 2014 might still remember a very interesting collaboration called Keyshapes. A combination of three intriguing projects by the Belgian Unfold, the American Jesse Howard (USA) and the Dutch Kirschner 3D projects, this exposition in a nutshell was seeking to reinterpret manufacturing. All three projects sought to revolutionize design and creation by asking themselves how manufacturing can make our surroundings more environmentally friendly and how design itself can be reinterpreted.
Since then, these innovative designers have been hard at work to follow up on their interesting projects, in part due to the overwhelmingly successful response in Eindhoven. As Aron Kirschner explained to 3ders.org, that successful exhibition has already opened numerous other exciting doors. They are nominated for the Design of the Year award, will be exhibiting at the Adhocracy in Athens, Greece and have just concluded an exhibition in Atelier Clerici in Milan.
But as Aron explains, they are also hard at work at bringing one of their projects from Eindhoven to life. The project in question is Parametric standardization, that essentially consists of an attempt to combine 3D printed components and 3D design with real life objects to make design faster, easier and more environmentally friendly.
To bring that to the public, Jesse Howard and Kirschner3d have now launched a website where you can find an open source, partly 3D printable PS-lamp for consumer purposes. ‘On the website we created together with Jesse Howard, we made a first step in creating an environment where a consumer could have the possibility of giving its own input in a design,’ Aron explains. Right now, that consists of three options: download the standardized files through the website, purchase 3D printed parts for the lamp and assemble at home (EUR 50), or order a full lamp complete with three different materials (wood, brass, or aluminum) for EUR 140.
‘For us this is a first test in applying parametrically standardized design with a real product using raw materials from home depots or wholesale stores and without post processing the materials and being able to create a product,’ Aron tells us. ‘Moreover, we use a printing process (FDM) which is widely available for decent pricing. This makes the idea of having a friend or family that can print your downloaded parts an actual reality.’
If you’d like to 3D print and assemble this lamp yourself, head over to their website here. Its designers encourage you to 3D print the lamp components in ABS, though PLA can also be used but is less durable. ‘The extruder is heated up between 235 and 245 degrees Celsius. We prefer 245 when prints are what larger for better inter layer adhesion. The models are already placed in correct direction, do not alter these because the printing direction is important for the object strength,’ they write. Printing itself can be done with a layer height of 0.2 mm and will not require any supports.
Staying true to their principles, this interesting PS desk lamp combines 3D-printed components with various standard raw materials that are found in furniture, including metal tubes and wooden profiles. ‘Each software-generated component is based on a selected dimension, or parameter. Parts therefore adapt to the material they will accompany. One can imagine printing components that fit a standard 8mm metal tube in Europe, while components produced in the U.S. might join to a half-inch wooden dowel,’ they write on their website. It is, in short, a reimagination of how a piece of furniture is created, what it consists of and what it is used for. ‘Distribution can occur on a variety of scales: as a usable product, a DIY self-build kit, or simply as digital definitions of individual components.’
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
Maybe you also like:
- Conceptual designer inspired by aliens to create sci-fi 3D printed neck wear
- Dutch scientists successfully 3D print the first clavicle to be used in surgery
- Microsoft announces new 3MF 3D printing file format, launches 3MF Consortium
- ALS-diagnosed Maker uses 3D printing to create eye-tracking wheelchair
- Xavier students use 3D printing to create prosthetic leg for three-legged service dog
- Transaction Project combines the best of ceramics & glassblowing into beautiful 3D printed art
- Dutch scientists develop 3D printed fiber structures for bone cartilage repair on a large scale
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.
