Your Custom Furniture within Minutes
This is just an experiment for now, but it goes to show you the amazing possibilities with 3D printing. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Self-Assembly Lab, Steelcase, collaborated with a Swiss designer to come out with a 3D-printed customized furniture.
It’s a breakthrough in a sense that the product came out sans the constraints normally associated with conventional 3D printing. It went beyond speed, scale and even quality. It used the process called Rapid Liquid Printing, possibly opening up the market for affordable, custom furniture in a variety of scales.
The Lab technique printed inside of a translucent gel, the semi-liquid was contained in a large vat and was acting as the support, 360 degrees. Within the gel, the custom furniture is designed, essentially drawn in 3D space without the limitations of gravity.
There was no layering, no curing time, the printing was faster and the product can be big as the machine available. The material used cures chemically, not using light nor heat. Some tests were done under 30 minutes, others in just 10 minutes. The speed it takes is impressive. It simply fascinated designers.
What designers liked about it was not just the uniqueness of rapid liquid printing, but the soft, almost organic line quality of the print. They were as though brushstrokes or like the branches of plants. Rapid liquid printing works with rubber, foam, plastic, or any other industrial liquid material for that matter.
From a design perspective, the technology is desirable, better than typical 3D printing. While it is still experimental, the collaboration will continue with other materials, scale and further improvements.
Customizing Your Ideas in Seattle
If you got a great idea for just about anything, or have a new concept you can talk to us about, we invite you to come over to your 3D printing company in Seattle. Pro 3D Composites can help you turn them into reality.
