Category Archives: design

First Football Cleat to Be Built Using 3D Printing Technology

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Nike is taking its forty years of experience and innovation to create the first ever football cleat built using 3D printing technology.

Nike Football debuted the Nike Vapor Laser Talon. The plate of the cleat is 3D printed using Selective Laser Sintering technology (SLS). The shoe weighs only 5.6oz and is designed to provide optimal traction on the football turf. This should help athletes excel in the 40-yard dash although I can’t pretend to be an expert in American football. I am however, more than half way through season one of Friday Night Lights. give me another few weeks and the next few seasons and I should be up to speed.

Building Bytes: 3D Printed Ceramic Bricks

Desktop 3D printer printing Building Byte, ceramic brick

 

In keeping with the ceramic 3D printing theme, I want to talk about Design Lab Workshop who have come up with Building Bytes. During a six week residency at the European Ceramic Work Centre, they focused on 3D printing ceramics for large scale construction. Using desktop 3D printers, they created these printable bricks.Each Building Byte can be unique without complicating its fabrication process. The Building Bytes were made from a liquid slip cast recipe of earthenware ceramics typically used for casting molds.

honeycombed 3D printing block, Building Byte

A desktop 3D printer was connected to an extrusion system made up of plastic cartridges and air pressure. The only change to the 3D printer was a material extrusion head requiring minimal change to the printer.

interlocking 3D printing brick Building Byte ribbed 3D printed brick Building Byte xbrick shaped 3D printed ceramic brick Building Byte

Building Bytes from design lab workshop on Vimeo.

3D Printed Ceramic Water Filters

The WaterBoiler adapted to unclude a 3D printed ceramic water filter.

Design studio Unfold, based in Belgium, created a ceramic filter for an open source water boiler and purifier to be used in the developing world. The reason I’m writing about this is because the ceramic filter was 3D printed.

How was it made? This machine was first designed by Jesse Howard in collaboration with Thomas Lommée as The WaterBoiler. This design was passed on to Unfold who adapted the design by replacing the PET bottle with a cut through glass bottle holding the 3D printed ceramic water filter.

The WaterBoiler created on OpenStructures design principles.

The original WaterBoiler created by Jesse Howard and Thomas Lommée

Source: OpenStructures

3D Printing Skyfall’s Aston Martin DB5

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Last year’s Skyfall (by far the best James Bond film made in years) saw the return of the Aston Martin DB5. To save having to blow up the priceless classic car, the makers of the film 3D printed three one-third scale replicas.

Propshop Modelmakers, in charge of creating the prop, commissioned Augsburg-based high-tech company Voxeljet to create the three Aston Martin DB5 models that double for the priceless original vehicle from the 1960s. The cars were printed in 18 parts layer by layer using plastic particle material.The parts were then sent to Propshop Modelmakers in Pinewood Studios near London for its assembly, finishing, lacquering in the original colour, chroming of certain components and the application of realistic bullet holes. Well, colour me impressed.

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3D Printed Shells for Nokia’s Lumia 820 and 520 Handset

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In January, Nokia released design files allowing owners of 3D printers to make their own custom-designed cases for the flagship Lumia 820 handset. In February, the Lumia 520 joined in the fun when the CAD files for its shell were also released. 3D printing still being in its infancy, I don’t think it was ever intended for anyone other than hobbyists but it’s nice to see to ability of some phone personalisation. Have any of you managed to print the case out? And possibly more importantly; has it been durable?