We looked at DDM (Direct Digital manufacturing) with 3D Color Printing yesterday. Anthony is the perfect example of putting this to use, turning designs into art that also happen to be product.
Curious about the process? I was and caught up with him via email. Here’s what he had to say…
As you may see I use a number of 3D packages to create my signature geometries. Mainly I’m using Rhino for it’s superior surfacing capabilities. I also use SolidWorks for detail function and robust filleting as needed. My most exciting development is the utilization of Rapid Quality Manufacturing‘s (RQM) Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) process. It has allowed me to realize a level of expression and function that is unreachable using traditional manufacturing processes.
If you hit his blog you’ll see recent work and how much he loves SolidWorks.
The Process
This part, a wrist bangle, will be manufactured two ways. It will be rapid-prototyped by Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) of Nylon for flexibility and also by DMLS with Colbalt Chromium. In this example, Anthony started in SolidWorks. He then brought the model into Rhino for some minor editing. Next it was sent to RQM to be sintered. Finally, it was polished to a smooth finish. The last image are the nylon versions of several different bracelets.
And now for the really interesting stuff…
These are the products you can see in Anthony’s gallery and most likely what you’ll remember him by. Sure these could probably be mass-manufactured with plastic, but tooling for a one-offs like these would be horrendously expensive. Plus, using nylon and gypsum epoxy just sound much cooler.
Inspired? Can’t wait to buy some of these? You can buy Anthony’s stuff at places like ObjectFetish.com or Etsy.
Via Ponoko
