If you ever have the opportunity to go see a 3D printer in action, DO IT. I was lucky enough to catch one in action when the Questacon Science Circus came through town, and it is the most gobsmacking bit of tech I have seen in quite a while. The tech itself has been around for a few years, but it is only relatively recently that they have become cheap enough to be available domestically.

Each object is first designed on screen using a special 3D computer program, before it is sent to the printer. There are few different types of printers, but the one I saw is probably the most common, with a heated print head that feeds out a thin stream of molten plastic. The head moves around parallel to the tabletop, printing one layer of the object at a time before lifting up to print the next layer (kinda like stacking up pancakes – so that if you make smaller and smaller pancakes, your stack will end up resembling a cone shape). You can print pretty much any shape you like – EVEN WORKING PARTS FOR AN ENGINE. Gobsmacking, I tell you!

So I was rather excited to see these very fun rings from blingiebot – a side project of Burt Isenstein, Adjunct Assistant Professor in Contemporary Practices at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago, and also one half of Nancy Gardner & Burt Isenstein Ceramics who I featured a while ago here.

 

 

Burt told me a bit about the process. He explained that because the process works in layers, structural support is required to support and stabilize the form, and then the support is removed after printing. Where the support is removed, there is often a bit of compromise in the final surface, and it is for this reason that he usually tries printing the same design in various orientations (eg. completely upright, or tilted side-on as in this image) to see which orientation results in the best print.

“The additive process of printing this way tends to leave fine lines that are visible on the surface.  There are other (very expensive) printers that print smoother objects but I’ve decided to “embrace” the lines as an inherent aspect of the finished object. I find the patterns that are formed by the lines, particularly in the transparent PLA, to be rather beautiful as they refract light.”

 

 

I asked Burt about how he came to 3D printing.

“Here’s the story. I’ve been interested in the idea of 3D modeling for a good number of years, but never had enough time to delve into the software and found it to be somewhat unapproachable.

“Our department purchased three Makerbot 3D printers this spring. Our Department chair, in his wisdom, made arrangements for faculty members to take the printers home to get up to speed for the Fall semester.

 

 

 

“I brought one home and struggled with the machine for a while but was completely captivated by the process, drawing an idea on the computer, printing it, adjusting and tweaking, printing again, etc. My time with the school’s printer was limited and it had to be returned.

 

“I couldn’t imagine how it would be possible to live without a 3D printer so I placed an order for my own.

 

 

 

 

“After generating some organic abstract forms on the computer I played around with some rings and realized that it is the perfect format to for me to work with sculptural ideas and provides me with a definite set of parameters to focus within.

“I’ve long been attracted to contemporary primitive style jewelry and blingiebot is paying homage to that art form. My rings have a lot in common with ideas for ceramic sculpture I’ve made over the years, but the process of designing on the computer and printing my designs is allowing me to work through ideas much more quickly and answer formal questions that were just too hard to get to working in clay .

 

 

 

“One of the most exciting aspects of blingiebot is that it allows me to make these little sculptures that people can wear but can also afford to buy. My grandfather was a jeweler and my father was in the printing business so in a way printing jewelry seems completely logical.”

 

blingiebot will be appearing at the Art vs Craft show in Milwaukee, and you can always find them on their very own website, blingiebot.com and their Etsy shop, blingiebot.