3D Printing the Arts: an engineer’s perspective

by Vincent Khau

3D printing is a tech-innovation that is set to revolutionise the world as we know it, in every field imaginable. Over the past few years it has become THE buzz-word to use and a hot topic of conversation in the areas of engineering, architecture, fashion, medicine and dentistry. Yet there seems to be small (but increasing) interest from the arts and humanities; not to worry, this only means that the use of 3D printing is set to EXPLODE in these disciplines over the coming years, and the best time to get involved and started in the next big thing is NOW!

What is 3D Printing? Put simply it is an additive process in which a 3D object is created. Think of a block of wood and how you would create an object like a wooden spoon out of it.

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Wooden spoon? 3D printing? Where are we going with this? What is this analogy? What happened to the rule of threes in comedy?

You’d have to carve it out of a larger wooden block. There would be a lot of waste. Now imagine if you had the ability to create it, layer by layer, using only the material you needed. Enter, 3D Printing! Not only do you save a ton on material cost but in addition the process is computer controlled allowing for a level of accuracy that cannot be achieved by mere mortals. 

So how can this incredible technology be applied to the arts? I personally don’t have an exact answer. What I do know is that if we equip artists and historians with the technical skills to use 3D Printing technologies many great leaps forward will be made. One must remember that with innovative technologies such as 3D printing, it is not the technology itself that innovates but rather the way in which it is applied. So as an engineer, it would be remiss of me to say how exactly 3D printing can be applied in this field; it comes down to YOU!

I will however, offer suggestions as to its use (so far) within the arts and humanities, as well as common uses within engineering, architecture, medicine and dentistry, in the hopes of inspiring you to imagine how it can be used within your area of expertise.

1. Artefact Documentation/Replication

Many artefacts can be very delicate to the point that it is impossible for anyone but a trained expert to handle these pieces. Such items are squirreled away, with public access only made available every now and then. Now imagine if these objects could be easily replicated and cheaply printed, allowing for publics to access artefacts regularly and without threatening preservation. Too good to be true? What about a digital repository documenting each and every artefact so that researchers need not travel to museums to conduct studies, but be able to view them from their hometown. Such dreams have become reality with museums like the Smithsonian digitising their collection, revolutionising the way we define museums. This allows researchers to save time, money and carbon footprints!


2.  Restorations

That artefact missing just the tip? Passage of time wearing the item down? It doesn’t have to be this way. With 3D printing technologies we can 3D scan objects and then manipulate the model using CAD software to digitally restore the piece. Furthermore, the model can then be 3D printed and displayed alongside the original, giving publics a better understanding of how the artefact once looked to past generations.

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3. Rapid Prototyping

It may be that you have a design you’re working on with a couple of iterations that you simply can’t decide between. The cost of sending it off to be fabricated may be quite expensive, and the turn-around time too long. So why not 3D print it? In a couple of hours, you’ll have a few models to physically play around with for only a fraction of the price of fabrication. There’s a misconception that 3D printing must be the end destination, whilst in reality it can simply be part of a process to cut project time and costs. This way, we would be able to quickly go through many iterations in a very short time-frame in order to arrive at the design we want.

So hopefully I’ve given you something to think about. There are many other ways in which 3D printing is used, and if you want to see some physical examples, come to Research Platform’s 3D Printing Showcase held at the University of Melbourne on the 9th and 10th of October (free entry, although register here to avoid the queues!). I’m also holding a free tinkerCAD introductory workshop to help you go from pretty much nothing to a 3D printed model in minutes! Thanks for reading!

tinkerCAD Training!

by Vincent Khau

Hey everyone,

Quick announcement that I will be holding my first ever tinkerCAD workshop on the 15th (1pm-3pm) and 16th of September (11-1pm), over at Room 8.03 Level 8 Doug McDonell. tinkerCAD is a free-to-use 3D modelling software that’s all contained within the web browser. That means there’s nothing to download and install! It’s super easy to use even if you have no prior experience in Computer Aided Design (CAD). It’s the perfect ‘my first CAD tool’ and during the workshop I will be going through how to use tinkerCAD to create basic parts and assemblies so that you’ll be able to go from absolutely nothing to a 3D printable object within minutes! If you’re interested in attending, be quick and click here to register, spaces are limited! Come check it out and start your CADventure!

Vincent Talks #SharksDen: Pitch Perfect

by Vincent Khau

The final day of Shark’s Den brought with it a buzzing atmosphere of excitement as well as a nervous sense of anticipation as the teams prepared to pitch their innovations in front of the panel of ‘investors’, made up of Rohan Workman, Grace Carey, Dinesh Kantheti and Matthew McKnight. In the few minutes before the pitches began, teams scrambled to discuss last minute details, reviewing Powerpoint presentations, and checking up on their prototypes.

The pitches kicked off with 'Artistic Instrument Design’ presenting their bespoke guitar components, turning musical instruments into works of art that could be quickly customised to fit the mood of the music being played. Furthermore, the extraordinary efforts that this team had put in over the last few works was evident in the aesthetically pleasing 3D printed scratch-plates and capos fitted onto a guitar they had on display. Their business model centred around having consultations with music artists to design personalised pieces that will be cheaper than custom works by luthiers, and more stylish than cheap tacky stickers. It was a great pitch and needless to say, 'Artistic Instrument Design’ was one hard act to follow!

'Radiance’ (my team!) followed with low-cost LED strips on bicycle wheels to produce spinning discs of light as the rider cycled; this tackled the age-old problem of poor visibility of cyclists at night. I presented the pitch whilst Khalid showed off our working prototype that we had managed to piece together, captivating much of the audience’s and impressing the panelists, raising many questions which culminated in Roh’s “Can I have one?”!

The pitches just didn’t stop coming and next up was 'Fit 'n’ Click’, an innovative company that takes individual biometric data of your hand and produces an ergonomic mouse which perfectly fitted the contours of your hand. The pitch was convincingly presented by Ed, accompanied with a prototype mouse that passed between the panellists. What was brilliant about this idea was the versatility around the biometric data; it can be used to produce any number of personalised products, not just ergonomic mice!

The final group to pitch was 'Next-Gen Cover’, who reinvented the concept of phone cases with a modular design which you could add or remove your desired features from. Aliza demonstrated in-depth knowledge of the product, impressing the panelists with the level of detail and research the team had gone to. Additionally, this phone case also had an in-built solar powered battery which meant that you could charge your phone sustainably!

Pitch night was a fantastic way to end the five week journey by celebrating all that everyone had achieved. Congratulations to 'Fit 'n’ Click’ for being the competition’s winners, and I’m sure that all the other teams gained insightful knowledge about the processes of founding a start-up.

Keep an eye out on the Research Bazaar blog page if you would like to participate in the next Shark’s Den; I would highly recommend it because of all the great people you get to meet, and the awesome creative ideas that will be shared!

Vincent talks #SharksDen: Day 3

by Vincent Khau

Day 3 of Shark’s Den meant we were already at the halfway mark of this exciting innovation challenge yet it only seemed like yesterday that we had met our fellow team members. We were now rapidly approaching the pointy end of things and ideas were flying out left right and centre as teams worked together to produce a marketable product.

The first hour flew by as each team quickly discussed the prototype designs that they were going to 3D print, before the CTOs were whisked away by Paul and given a tour of UniMelb’s 3D printing facilities, along with a demonstration of how they worked. Everyone was palpably excited as they learnt about both the advantages and (present) limitations of this fascinating additive manufacturing process. During this time, the remaining team pooled their minds together and increased their efforts to further refine and reiterate on their existing product, now calculating and ironing out the technical details of design, trying to bring the product to life; out from the confines of their minds and into the real world.

The teams were fortunate enough to have the expertise of Gil who came along to give advice to each team on their product, getting them started on not only thinking about the current design, but future considerations of the growth and development of their product.

As the end of the session approached, the teams rushed to get their models off to the 3D printers. This acted merely a starting point from which they need to produce rapid reiterations to get their product ready for their pitch on the 29th of July.

Vincent talks #SharksDen: Day 1

by Vincent Khau

Hey everyone!

My name is Vincent Khau, the newest recruit to join the ranks of Research Bazaar! I will be coming on board with the rest of the team as a Research Community Coordinator, working primarily with TinkerCAD and 3D printing, although some of you may recognise me during your #CADventures as one of Aliza’s minions for the Inventor 3D modelling course. I’ve completed my Bachelor of Science just last year, and am currently studying a Master of Engineering (Mechanical) at the University of Melbourne (so I’ll definitely be seen around campus a great deal!). Feelings about joining the community? EXCITED!

Recently I participated in the exciting Shark’s Den Challenge hosted by Research Platforms. If you are, like I was prior to the event, slightly afraid that this might be a gambling den populated by card sharks, let me reassure you by explaining what this event actually is. The Shark’s Den Challenge is an opportunity for technical enthusiasts, entrepreneurs-in-the-making, and innovators to meet new people, form teams, and get creative by designing a product (over consecutive Wednesdays) that they will be pitch to a panel on the 29th of July. Successful teams may have the opportunity to pursue their design with the Melbourne Accelerated Program (MAP)!

My aforementioned premonitions quickly dissipated with David and Paul’s warm hospitality, and with so many interesting and affable people to meet and talk to, the first event on the night was a quick 2 minute ‘speed dating’ of the 20+ crowd where we discussed our strengths and whether we saw ourselves fitting into CEO, CTO, CFO, or CMO roles. The participants who gave the best first impressions were then nominated as CEOs and the teams were picked for the upcoming weeks.

In these teams, we were confronted with the challenge of innovating on an invention which has been around since… well since forever really; the door. After coming up with prototype designs (a foam door with key-less entry and a 'quarantine zone’ that cleans you? What’s not to like!), we immediately started working on a pitch to present our design to the other teams (with CFOs taking frivolous notes as to who were our main competitors).

With an event that was so enjoyable, with so many fascinating ideas being shared, some teams even stayed well beyond the end of the event to continue discussing the next steps to their designs! It was truly an amazing experience to see the power of idea sharing at work, and I am really looking forward to next session on Wednesday 8th July. Can’t wait!

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