10 incredible 3D-printed objects

10 incredible 3D-printed objects

(Courtesy of Nervous System/Shapeways)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Two-dimensional printing is nothing new. It has been around for centuries.

It is humbly used for books and business paperwork, but still has its creative merits in art reproductions. It prints along the X and Y-axis, with no room to go anywhere else. While it held high regard for a long time, the third dimension begged to be used.

X, Y, and now Z all come to play in the printing world and the results have often been stunning or unbelievable. With this new ability to make almost any conceivable object, many curious and creative people naturally rose to the challenge and made something incredible.

Here is a list of ten amazing projects that will make anyone second-guess whether it was made with a printer.

Acoustic guitar

This fully functioning guitar opens up a new realm of possibility to enthusiasts. Scott Summit, a pioneer of creating aesthetically pleasing prosthetic limbs, created this beautiful and playable guitar. Think of the possibilities — want to play on an exact replica of Carlos Santana's guitar? Not a problem. Now a true guitar fanatic must find room to store all of the legendary rock instruments. Take a peek at the video to see the finished product.

Figurines of children's drawings

Parents may rejoice knowing that Christmas giving can always be taken care of when they have a little Picasso in the house. Crayon Creatures offers parents of small artists the opportunity to make sculptures from drawings. Simply upload an image to the website and have a sculpture of said drawing sent anywhere. It gives new meaning to the phrase "art is life." Check out the company's website to find out more.

Photo: Courtesy of Crayon Creatures
Photo: Courtesy of Crayon Creatures

3D fetus

Yes, an expectant mother really can see what her baby looks like, aside from the hard-to-make-out ultrasound images. Using 3D scans of the fetus, the data is then entered into a computer and rendered into a 3D model using a special technology called Bio Texture. When the fetus is printed, the printer sprays two different resins simultaneously: a clear resin to represent the mother's body and an opaque resin to form the fetus. Watch the printer in action in this video.

Medical models

Medical students now have access to accurate and detailed models of the human body, which may in turn lessen the dependence on cadavers. Also, it creates a practicing ground for surgeons to perfect a method or pin-point where a surgery needs to take place within the body. MRI scans of a body part can help create exact replicas of patients' organs, bones or otherwise, thus giving doctors a clearer understanding of procedure and letting them practice several times. Stratasys is a company that specializes in creating these 3D models, such as renderings of pediatric patients' hearts and organs.

3D printed hearts, a perfect replica of a patient. (Photo: Courtesy of Stratasys)
3D printed hearts, a perfect replica of a patient. (Photo: Courtesy of Stratasys)

A fully functioning, drivable car

Yes, a working car! The brainchild of Local Motor, the Strati is the first 3D-printed car created from start to finish in just 40 hours. While it is in rough form and boasts only a larger golf cart motor so far, it still gets a person from A to B with minimal cost. It is made with layer upon layer of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, which is lightweight, and with ingenious engineering, it can be structured to be impact absorbing in case of accidents. The estimated cost for such a vehicle — with a more substantial motor, of course — would be in the ballpark of $5,000. See the car in action in this video.

Functioning miniature drill and circular saw

The word miniature here is not taken lightly: these tools can perch easily on a fingertip. While it may take some dexterity to get these little tools going, to see something that small be that functional is incredible. These tiny creations are the product of New Zealand resident Lance Abernethy, whose wee tools were recently featured here on 3dprint.com. Abernethy reports that it takes less than an hour to make the tools, printing them in layers from 21-40 microns thick. To put that into perspective, a micron is one-thousandth of a millimeter, or one-millionth of a meter. A human hair can range from 17 to 181 microns. Here is a video to see these tools work.

Nano sculptures

There are 3D-printed sculptures so small that when placed within the eye of a needle, they look like they are playing in the foyer of a mansion. Jonty Hurwitz — who was also featured on 3dprint.com — had the idea to recreate classical sculptures. Of course, these exceptionally small creations are very easily lost and as such won't ever be seen again. Luckily, photos captured the smallness.

Trust. A nano sculpture by Jonty Hurwitz.As of Nov 2014 this is the smallest human form ever created.More at http://www.art.ninja/nano

Posted by Art of Jonty Hurwitz on Tuesday, November 11, 2014

3D fabrics

Want the season's hottest tech looks? 3D printers are churning out fabrics for clothing. There are fashionable pieces of swimwear made from Nylon 12, which is a thin, flexible material that is coincidentally waterproof — making it ideal for swimwear. A company called Shapeways dedicates itself to 3D-printed wearables from clothing to jewelry. Below is an example of the incredible effort and brainpower that went into designing this dress. Visit the website to see all the potential options.

Photo: Courtesy of Nervous System/Shapeways
Photo: Courtesy of Nervous System/Shapeways

M.C. Escher impossible structures

M.C. Escher had a knack for making 2D renderings of things that simply could not exist in the three-dimensional world. The endless staircase is one of his most famous creations. Gershon Elber, a computer science professor at the Israel Institute of Technology, used computers to manipulate Escher's drawings and render them into three-dimensional objects. Check out this video to see these printed wonders.

Batman suit

While the cape and the underclothing are not 3D-printed, the armor is a nearly identical replica of the very Batsuit in the "Batman: Arkham Origins" video game. Julian Checkley, the captain heading the Ireland-based company Order 66 Creatures and Effects, took it upon himself to recreate the iconic superhero's battle-worn suit. While it didn't originate in a bat cave, many Batman fans would still take it. More photos and a video can be found online.


Corinn Sessions is an aspiring writer with big dreams and far too much free time on her hands. Contact her at corinnsessions@gmail.com.

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