July 1, 2015 | By Simon
While 3D printing has helped enable thousands of product designers and engineers to develop impressive rapid prototype designs before sending a final design iteration into production using traditional manufacturing methods, sometimes it’s the products that both start with 3D printing as a way of prototyping and stop with 3D printing as the method of final manufacturing that are among the most impressive.
Among others that have shown how 3D printed products can be presented well to consumers (and even fellow Makers) include Quincy Robinson and Natalie Mathis of 3DKitbash. Among other products, 3DKitbash creates premium 3D-printable 3D models of toys and 3D printer test kits that are designed to be printed easily on common desktop 3D printers without the need for support structures or glue.
The company has done a remarkable job of not only creating compelling 3D printable toys, but also marketing the toys with backstories and personalities similar to those made by more traditional manufacturing methods by some of the world’s largest toy companies.
Among other characters created by Robinson and Mathis include Quin, an adventurous inventor from the planet Filamento who dreams of collaborating with Earth-bound Makers to make the universe a better place.
While a small 3D printed model of Quin has been available for purchase for $24.95 via the 3DKitbash website, Robinson and Mathis recently collaborated with Bre Pettis’ Brooklyn-based Bold Machines to make a life-sized version of Quin using the 3D printing incubator’s impressive 3D printer farm. Among other reasons for the project was to highlight what 3D printers are capable of creating when working on larger scales.
In total, the Bold Machines team - which consisted of Bre Pettis, Nathan Worth, Robert Steiner, Geo Salas, and Anthony DiMare - used twelve MakerBot Z18s and several MakerBot Replicator 2Xs to create the necessary parts for the life-sized Quin doll over 150+ printer hours. The final assembled Quin model stands an impressive 5.5 feet tall - all made from 3D printed components!
“We expected that scaling her up 550% would create a decent amount of space between the joints, making them looser as she grew larger,” said Robinson.
“Nathan Worth, Bold Machines' expert digital modeler, resolved a lot of these issues using Magics software.”
As for picking the colors of the life-sized Quin, Bold Machines gave 3DKitbash a color guide that featured the range of MakerBot PLA filaments.
“We liked several colors from MakerBot's new Martha Stewart line of filament: Robin's Egg, Jadeite, and Lemon Drop,” explains Robinson.
“We think they turned out great! We were really fond of MakerBot's Acid Lake ABS filament, so we used it for the original Quin branding. When they came out with Robin's Egg PLA, which matches Acid Lake, we were excited to use it!”
Currently, Robinson and Mathis plan on taking Quin with them to a series of events over the next few months including Maker Faires in Orlando and New York City, where they will also be presenting the design process behind developing Quin.
For those interested in finding out more about Quin and 3D printing their own version at home - along with the rest of 3DKitbash’s high quality models - be sure to head over to 3DKitbash or keep an eye out for them at the upcoming Maker Faires.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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