Rapid Ready Roundup: 3D Art, Hyperloop, Test Kit and Coca-Cola

In the course of my diligent efforts to keep you good people up to date on the state of rapid prototyping, I come across many interesting news items. I’ll gather them up every so often and present them in a Rapid Ready Roundup (like this one). You can find the last Roundup here.

We’ll start off today’s Roundup with some class. Art enthusiasts who are interested in the works of Vincent van Gogh, but aren’t excited about basic reproductions may have something to be excited about. Fujifilm, in cooperation with the Van Gogh Museum, has developed a way to use additive manufacturing (AM) to build near perfect reproductions of the master artist’s works. 

The process is called Reliefography, and uses 3D scanning along with AM, and the help of museum experts to build reproductions with the same texture and colors of the original paintings. The primary use of the reproductions will be for education, as well as exposing the blind to van Gogh’s works by allowing them to feel the textures of his painting.

“Considering current developments regarding the 3D printing process, the creation of a three-dimensional reproduction is an exciting but, most of all, logical new step,” said Axel Rüger, director of the Van Gogh Museum.” By means of Relievos, availability and accessibility of the works of art can be enhanced, which gives the Van Gogh Museum the opportunity to realize its mission to inspire and enrich as large an audience as possible.”

Moving on, you may have heard some rumblings about Elon Musk’s Hyperloop. While there aren’t currently any plans to make a full scale prototype of the SpaceX founder’s mass transit vision, a small service bureau named WhiteClouds did the obvious and used AM to build a scale prototype in 24 hours.

From WhiteClouds’ website:

“The WhiteClouds’ Lab is home to 10 types of 3D printers that use different technologies and various materials to build 3D objects. The Hyperloop project is a fun demonstration of what WhiteClouds is able to do. But the company is generally busy working on other 3D printing-related projects that will help bring 3D printing to the masses.”

Next, it could be that you’re looking for something interesting to do with your 3D printer. Maybe you are a teacher with AM access, a hobbyist, or just someone who can sneak in a couple of hours on the company’s 3D printer. If you are looking for a quick and easy way to display the basics of what AM is capable of producing, the 3D Printer Test Kit from 3DKitbash may be just what you’ve been seeking.

For $25 you get plans for your 3D printer to create 12 “Test Chips.” Each chip provides a different example of what AM can do, from telescoping parts, to crankable gears. All of the chips have been designed to be printed out with standard material extrusion printers, like those sold by MakerBot, without requiring support material.

Last for today, it appears that marketing departments have begun to take notice of AM. To promote the launch of its new Mini bottles in Israel, Coca-Cola offered the chance for a number of lucky winners to get a full-body scan and receive a 3D printed mini of themselves. Other companies have used the technology in a similar manner, and I’d expect those clever marketing folks to find yet more uses for AM.

Sources: Kickstarter, Fujifilm, WhiteClouds, VentureBeat