In this video, two members of Front Design use motion capture software to record their “pen strokes” in 3D space. Then they use a 3D printer to materialize their sketches.
I can’t wait for virtual reality design. This is getting pretty close, but I don’t think they could see what they were sketching in the air when they did it. I think you would need a 3D hologram to see the object you’re working on to make this truly useful.
The rapid prototyping (stereo lithography) machine that produced the chair uses a UV sensitive liquid (photopolymer). As the laser hits the surface of the liquid, the top 1/10 millimeter turns to a solid. There’s a platform just below that layer that drops 1/10 millimeter, and the laser “prints” the next layer. It probably took a full day to build that chair.
The machine they used cost north of $200,000, and the photopolymer runs ~$800/gallon. If you can’t afford that, you can hire someone who already has one to print your designs. For $200 on Ebay you can have a small object (up to 12 cubic inches) printed if you send them your 3D CAD file.
Front Design is Sofia Lagerkvist, Charlotte von der Lancken, Anna Lindren, and Katja Savstrom from Stockholm, Sweden. Industrial designers all.
:: /. :: Front Design :: How Stuff Works :: 3D Systems :: Archinect
