Virtual Reality Archives - Perfect 3D Printing Filament

Motorized, 3D Printed Shoes Could Make Virtual Reality Truly Immersive

Some prefer reading, others would rather binge-watch the latest Netflix show, and then there are the gamers. We often see 3D printing used in the gaming world, with classic board games, newer tabletop games, roleplaying games, and even virtual reality (VR) games. I’d say that VR is already a pretty immersive experience in its own right, but there are always people trying to take this technology to the next level, through grabbing and even feeling things in the VR environment, wearing backpacks for a free-roaming virtual experience, and moving with VR treadmills and shoes. Unfortunately, many reasons abound as to why none of these options seem to offer full immersion, such as large, pricey headsets and non-responsive haptic technology.

Alexander Evans, a maker and software engineer, could have the answer to completely immersive VR with his motorized shoes that feature mostly 3D printed parts, made on his Prusa systems. The shoes allow users to move omnidirectionally—each one has a track of horizontally facing wheels, and another track of vertically facing wheels. Each battery-powered shoe also features an attached motor, to help control movement.

Leg binding

“I’m making motorized shoes to be used with virtual reality games. The shoes keep you in the same spot as you walk, like a treadmill. You can walk infinitely in the game while staying in the same spot in the real world. The shoes are omni-directional so you can turn, strafe, and walk in any direction,” Evans wrote in his blog.

When wearing the heavy shoes, users can glide in multiple directions, and don’t even have to lift their feet off the ground. But, in order to wear them to play VR games, Evans says you also need to wear a safety harness that’s mounted to the ceiling or a strong, stable structure; this way, you don’t have to worry about rolling into a wall or, God forbid, out of a window.

First test with sideways motion

“These are basically roller skates that you wear with your eyes covered,” Evans commented on his Reddit post about the shoes. “If there is no safety structure in place, the user will fall and get hurt.”

They’re not so much shoes as they are motorized, wheeled platforms onto which you can strap your shoe-wearing feet. It would probably be pretty uncomfortable to put your bare feet on top of all that metal.

The way the design works is really interesting. Check out the image below:

The darker rectangle denotes a foot that is on the motorized platform, while the lighter rectangle signifies that the user is bringing the shoe forward or to the side with their foot. When the right foot is moved, a sensor in the platform detects an acceleration in the Y direction, which then triggers the motor on the left platform to turn on. The second shoe will begin moving backward at the same speed the first is moving forward.

“The speed to use can be calculated by using the accelerometer data (integrating to get the velocity) or by using motor encoders,” Evans wrote. “…When the user takes a step forward with his right foot, the left foot is moved at the same speed in the opposite direction.”

In terms of braking, when the user is standing still, both feet on the platform, the motors should resist any motion until one of the shoes is moved again. Check out the blog post if you want the nitty gritty details of the algorithms Evans is using for these shoes.

Right now, an Android app manually controls the shoes, but Evans is currently tweaking the software so movement can be automated and integrated within VR games. In the future, he hopes to add support for crouching and jogging to his design, though doesn’t believe that the shoes will be able to handle full-speed sprinting.

Evans doesn’t plan on licensing or patenting his shoes, though he wouldn’t mind selling them in the future once he’s perfected the design. In fact, he is a fan of the open source movement, and has added all the 3D printing files for the shoes onto GitHub, so others can download them and try to make their own pair of motorized shoes for immersive VR play.

“I plan on continuing to develop an open-source prototype while I build a YouTube channel. Once I have a sellable version, I plan on using the version for a couple months to see how well they last,” he explained on his blog. “I need to look into any safety regulations I need to meet, and get product liability insurance. I can produce a small batch of DIY kits and sell them. If they sell well, I can get another 3D printer or two and continue producing small batches and continue to build a 3D printer farm.”

(Source: Gizmodo)

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Logitech and Realize Medical Partner to Enhance Medical VR

Canadian medical virtual reality (VR) startup Realize Medical has announced a collaboration with Logitech, a renowned Swiss-based manufacturer of computer accessories and software. The partnership is designed to enhance Realize Medical’s Elucis, the world’s first platform for building patient-specific 3D medical models entirely in VR, by integrating Logitech’s enterprise-focused VR Stylus, enabling users to draw medical models precisely and directly in the program.

Through this new joint effort, Realize Medical will take the Elucis platform’s medical image viewing, modeling, and communication capabilities to the next level by combining novel 3D visualizations with the familiar and intuitive input of a hand-held stylus on a writing surface. Based entirely on VR, Elucis lets users turn medical images into 3D medical models with ease for 3D printing and other advanced visualization applications. While Logitech’s VR Ink Pilot Edition stylus, released last December, offers a more natural and precise input modality for a handful of art and design-focused VR tools. Together, the software and the pen will open new capabilities and improve usability.

“We are constantly on the lookout for innovative ways to improve our Elucis platform, and this partnership with Logitech does just that,” said Justin Sutherland, CEO and co-founder of Realize Medical. “Giving users the ability to draw seamlessly within our program will greatly improve the user experience, bringing us closer to meeting our mission of providing healthcare professionals with the 3D modeling tools they need to improve patient care and education.”

It takes a long time to make 3D anatomical models on 2D platforms, which is why Sutherland and Dan La Russa, Realize co-founders and medical physicists at the Ottawa Hospital, in Canada, began looking for a way to make the whole process easier. In 2017. they began working on creating a VR platform to help clinical physicians make 3D models faster, and in January of 2019, they took their work to the next level by creating a medical VR startup as a spin-out company out of the Ottawa Hospital.

Combining Logitech’s VR Ink Pilot Edition stylus with Realize Medical’s Elucis software to create 3D models (Image courtesy of Realize Medical)

Two-dimensional imaging, such as computerized tomography (CT) scans or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), has been around since 1972. Although the resolution of the images has improved, it remains relatively the same technology with physicians still using the “slices” shown on 2D images for educational purposes and diagnosing patients. But even though medical imaging data represents 3D structures and can be turned into tangible physical 3D models, Realize Medical believes that many clinical settings and private companies are still relying on 2D tools to create 3D models, which is time-consuming and tedious. Instead, Elucis is expected to provide surgeons and healthcare professionals with a radically new way to create 3D medical content, much quicker and accurately.

The patent-pending input method lets users draw, measure, and annotate directly on any given view of an image, allowing for the creation to “materialize” in front of the user, offering the ability to work on it, hands-on. Thanks to intuitive hand motions and true 3D visual cues Realize Medical developed an image navigation tool that unlocks medical images and can even construct and edit 3D structures from 2D contours.

Realize Medical’s Elucis software will help the healthcare field create 3D models (Image courtesy of Realize Medical)

This new collaboration is the latest in a breakthrough trend of VR and 3D medical modeling aiming to change the future of healthcare. According to the startup, virtual reality can play a variety of important roles in healthcare and medicine, and the Elucis platform, in particular, can act as a clinician’s education and training tool, help with patient-specific planning, have the potential to guide treatment decisions, and much more. The company founders consider that shortly conventional monitor displays will be replaced by modern mixed reality tools like VR, augmented reality (AR), and medical 3D printing. To that end, the partnership continues to upgrade the technological platform offering user-friendly tools to healthcare experts.

Innovation in healthcare through 3D printing has led to the development of new applications. With hospitals and clinical settings looking to incorporate new ways to create medical models and devices in-house, the demand for technologies that can change the status quo continues to grow. In the last years, we have seen many healthcare institutions working together with researchers, startups, and companies to create bespoke clinical products, from surgical guides to patient-specific implants and 3D printed anatomical models, that can improve patient experience and surgical planning, as well as reduce operating time and costs. The role of mixed VR and 3D printing technologies is shaping up to be a staple for modern healthcare applications, as key development to advance the medical field.

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What Makes for a Great 3D Printing Webinar?

Tools and insights to help people choose the right 3D printer, materials, or become more knowledgable about how disruptive technologies can benefit the industry, are very important. This is one of the reasons why a lot of well-established companies and startups are turning to webinars to help users boost their understanding of a 3D printer they already own or to attract new customers. Nevertheless, webinars take up time, usually around an hour or more. On average people spent one-third of their time on work and around five hours a day for leisure (at least in the US), so whether you’re taking time out of a work project, using your much-needed coffee break at the office or staying up late at night, that webinar should be worth it for you to consider it.

Faris Sheikh using Form 3 during a webinar

With so many different types of manufacturing methods available, it’s difficult to decide which one is better suited for your needs, and the overwhelming amount of 3D printers currently on the market makes choosing one challenging, even more so if you need to add software, scanning devices and post-processing machines. 3DPrint.com has been surfing through quite a few webinars; these online sessions are great sources to become more informed about the technology and how to use it. Over the last year, we have tagged along with Faris Sheikh, a growth marketing specialist at Formlabs, to get a glimpse of the company’s new Form 3 printer; witnessed a live demonstration on how Markforged‘s new Blacksmith AI software can help us accurately design 3D printed parts, and learned how to take advantage of high-strength thermoplastics PEEK, PEKK, and ULTEM from specialists at Montreal-based firm AON3D. Balancing so much information is fun, and we learned a lot, yet choosing the right webinar is not easy so we have summarized the top qualities we consider can take your online viewing experience from great to amazing.

Before signing up for your next webinar you might want to read over our six-pointers. We consider a live demonstration to be on the top of our list, followed by experienced public speakers who will address at least one of the challenges when working with the product, as well as allowing for a Q&A session since we have noticed that some of the most interesting tips arise from audience questions; examples of some of the successful experiences are a great way to illustrate what can be achieved with a product, and finally, we give a lot of credit to webinars that stick to the originally scheduled time frame (remember, time is a valuable commodity).

We love powerpoints, they are great visual aids, and extremely useful when speakers need to convey complex terminology and a lot of information. However powerpoints during a 3D printing webinar are ok for a few minutes, but the audience can benefit much more from a live show, watching someone on screen explain a particular process makes the webinar worth your time. We have witnessed almost everything, from scanning and designing parts with CAD software to preparing a machine for printing.

Using Dot3D’s ruggedized tablet, software and RealSense camera for 3D scanning

Last May, 3D scanning enthusiasts were able to tune in to a webinar to witness a live broadcast of DotProduct’s Dot3D during scanning, this is one of the firm’s professional handheld 3D capture solutions which has joined forces with Intel RealSense to better capture real-time 3D data, making both indoor and outdoor 3D capture possible. One of the highlights of the session was a demonstration by company specialist Chris Ahern who performed a live daylight 3D scan of a sample field pipeline, using RealSense’s D415. After capture, Ahern moved onto optimization for cleaning any noise recognized from the data, done within just a few minutes and with ease, showing what it takes to handle the scanning features and post-data analysis. During this webinar, the audience was able to appreciate a walk through all the steps necessary to perform the scan as well as observe how Ahern dealt with one of the more challenging features, needing to manipulate the output a bit to get the acceptable quality required. This is a great example of a company that was able to channel a lot of the qualities we value most.

Some processes like metal printing and machining are not as easy to demonstrate live. In this case, webinars with lots of examples and information supporting the process are very well received by an audience, which is usually more knowledgeable about the specific process and expects to hear about successful cases and know-how. For example, one of Optomec‘s latest webinars proved how useful the company’s laser engineered net shaping (LENS) technology could be when applied on sustainable repairs to some of the most complex machinery around, including plane parts and tank gear repairs. Here, examples were paramount to convey the benefits of the complex machining process.

How Optomec was able to repair broken teeth on a gear thanks to their LENS repair machine

Webinars are one of the most effective online marketing tactics for any business, they usually bring in new customers and help keep users up to date on the latest advances in the technology that they bought. A great way to engage the audience is through a robust Q&A session. Since questions usually come in throughout the presentation, the speaker can choose a few to answer at the end, but we noticed that some of the best webinars have specialists really committed to dealing with unusual and interesting questions. Sauber Motorsport AG (the company operating the Alfa Romeo Sauber Formula 1 Team), went deep into the underlying benefits of SLS additive manufacturing processes during the Q&A of their on-demand webinar, talking about everything from accuracy to printing with different materials. Expert Richard Broad didn’t hold back in the question session proving that this is one of the reasons we really enjoyed their presentation.

Online webinar sessions usually go for an hour tops, so when they extend beyond the allotted time, it can be a bit daunting, the audience usually loses interest and can get easily bored. An average 3D printing webinar should last around 45 minutes, with presentations usually ending after 30 minutes, followed by 10 to 15 minutes for answering questions. However if a speaker will not stop at 30 minutes, presentations can last an hour or more. If companies expect their audience to keep coming back for more online sessions, they need to prove that they can deliver all the necessary information in the promised time.

Web conferences aren’t new, the first ones date from the 1990s and companies have been using them as a tool for years. Today 3D printing webinars are getting better, allowing for audiences around the world to interact, by asking live questions or filling out surveys (which later help the company determine who is tuning in, where from and what industry they work in); having some of the most experienced employees offer technical demonstrations for viewers, and especially trying to prove that their product is worth considering. We’re really looking forward to future webinars, trying to imagine what some of the most innovative minds out there could come up with to engage audiences with their product, such as using virtual reality to help viewers become even more immersed in an interactive webinar experience, or for companies with large room-size machines, a walk through their processes to witness how the systems work would be amazing. But for now, we’ll stick to our six points. What other qualities would make a 3D printing webinar experience worth your viewing time? Join in the discussion.

[Images: 3DPrint.com, Dot3D, Formlabs and Optomec]

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3D Printed Visual Aids for the Courtroom

I’ve been following the developments in 3D printing for the courts closely for years. We’ve seen how 3D scanners and VR can be used in the courts, how Canadian company C3DE wants to introduce 3D printed evidence, how 3DE was trying to do the same in the US, how 3D printed femurs can be used in forensic anthropology, how 3D printing is being used in forensic anthropology more broadly and how a 3D printed beer bottle was used for a demonstration in a UK court.

3D scanning already plays a part in a lot of evidence collection and processing worldwide. Additionally, forensic animations have also grown as a tool over the years. So far, 3D printed evidence in the courtroom is a niche activity. Although a few firms seem to believe in 3D printed evidentiary tools, I could find scant evidence of it happening. Perhaps it is still a bit early for 3D printed evidence to become more prevalent. It could be that the whiff of the whizzbang still engulfs us, and this is keeping trial lawyers from using us often. I want to make a case for 3D printed evidence however, since I believe this should be a more popular thing.

In the courtroom, visual aids can make a difference. Visual aids can give people an understanding of new complex subjects. An explanation accompanied by a visual aid can aid kinesthetic learners to understand something much clearer. A visual aid can also make a more precise memory. A clearer memory accompanies by touching an object will make that piece of evidence more memorable. With lots of two-dimensional images and talk cluttering your mind, a thing may rise to the fore. Complex shapes and interactions can also very simply be understood through objects that you can hold.

“Modern research studies show that about 75 percent of what people know is learned through visualization. A seminal study published in 1963 revealed that after 72 hours, humans tend to retain only 10 percent of the information they hear, and 20 percent of the information they see. When humans hear and see the same information, they retain 65 percent.

“In today’s world, where much of the jury has grown up watching law shows, such as CSI and Law and Order, the jury will expect that the evidence presented during a trial will include evidence that is visual in nature. A lawyer will have a much better chance at persuading a jury regarding liability issues and of his client’s damages when the jury is better able to understand what occurred and his client’s injuries and is interested in the subject. An attorney who tries a personal injury case without visual evidence will be at a distinct disadvantage in prosecuting the case.”

My go-to example of how useful 3D printed parts are for learning are the models of internal combustion engines. Almost no one can tell you how an engine works, but spend three minutes with a 3D printed model of one, and you can understand. For a jury member or judge who is wading into lots of information, I think that a 3D printed visual aid can make a difference.

3D printed haptic models representing carpal and metacarpal bones during various hand movements: abduction (left), opposition (center), and key pinch (right)

Why could 3D printed visual aids make a difference in the courtroom?

Something new and exciting to jolt a jury into attentiveness.
By touching an object, a memory is created that can give this evidence more import and make it more memorable.
Moving objects can give a jury member or judge an understanding of complex parts and systems.
If some system or mechanism is vital for a case, then a 3D print could let people see it and work the system to understand it completely.
A 3D print could make an assertion seem more real.
A 3D printed topographical map could let someone understand a route or occurrence much clearer than a normal map.
Color-coded parts and printed cutaways could make mechanisms easier to understand than the real thing.
Unknown concepts such as “how DNA works” that are essential to the understanding of broader evidence can be explained in a very tactile way through 3D printed models.
Evidence that is too dangerous to be handled (a gun) or too fragile (those two shards we have) can be handled at will by a jury.
Complex time series could be explained in a board game type of way where the pieces on the board are representative and memorable for certain parties in the case.
Evidence can be “blown up” showing people how a fiber fits in with another or how two chemicals interact.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Things Keeping 3D Printed Evidence from the Courtroom

3D Printing still seems too hobby for most people.
The technology can perhaps seem too new to be trustworthy.
Lawyers probably don’t know enough 3D printing people.
Lawyers probably don’t have enough exposure to the technology generally.
3D printing has yet to be accepted in many courts.

Things that are Super Problematic with 3D Printed Evidence

You can change a 3D printed part a lot through small settings changes in the 3D file.
Settings changes on the machine can also change a part’s surface, size and shape.
Slicing changes can also change an object.
Run to run differences between some printers of the same model are too large.
3D printed parts may shrink or become more brittle.
3D printed parts often degrade due to UV and other factors.
The same file printed on a different machine or material may be different.

What do you think?

Image Karin Neoh,

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What is Metrology Part 22 – 3D Translation and Rotation

3D Translation

3D translation and rotation is vital within a 3D environment. We have discussed the importance of this within metrology previously in CMM systems. Interfacing the physical world and digital world requires precise measurement coordinates. Within 3D environments, movement is vital. In particular, movement is our focus today. We will talk about how example code within Processing can help us interface the digital world and physical realm. How does one simulate the real world within a virtual space? VR and 3D build environments are critical. So what are the basics needed for measurement and calculating space in a digital field? Metrology systems and laser scanning help. Tracking movement in terms of translation within a coordinate system is vital. So how could we learn about the basics of all of this? Let’s look into Processing as our main digital coding tool. How does Processing compute translational movement? If one wants to understand coding in a 3D environment, it is highly recommended that you understand object oriented program. We will not do a deep dive into this today, but a lot of the operations we are doing are object oriented. The following code is how I will demonstrate movement within Processing:

size(640,360,P3D);

background(0);

lights();

pushMatrix();

translate(130, height/2, 0);

rotateY(1.25);

rotateX(-0.4);

noStroke();

box(100);

popMatrix();

pushMatrix();

translate(500, height*0.35, -200);

noFill();

stroke(255);

sphere(280);

popMatrix();

Processing Example Code

Let’s take a look at this line by line. The first line is dedicated to building the 3D environment. The background of this window is denoted by the color value 0 which corresponds to black. The lights() function allows us to use ambient light, directional light, and specular values within our environment. In this case we are using the default light structure. pushMatrix(), we have discussed before as a function that allows us to set our original matrix of data that will be manipulated later. Our manipulation will come in the form of translational and rotational forces implemented. translate(130, height/2, 0) manipulation in question. The rotateY() function is used to move the window towards a particular angle based on units from the Y-axis of our viewport. The rotateX() function is similar except it is rotating within the X-axis. noStroke() allows us to be free from bordered 3D image renderings. box(100) allows us to create a 3D box with a float dimension of 100 in the x-dimension. popMatrix() ends the manipulation of the original data set. We then are able to start a new data manipulation through translation with pushMatrix(). This time, we have used the following command to apply a translation: translate(500, height*0.35, -200). Instead of a box though, we created a sphere for rotation.

Planar Rotation

We have focused a lot on coding basics within this metrology series as a whole. Being able to have standardized measuring devices within our metrology equipment is key. Without such, we would lack tangibility. If a 3D environment cannot be built with a computer, there is no way to interpret the data from a 3D world that we interact with. Being able to set a coordinate based on the world around us is still a difficult task though. So how can we do this? It makes us question how most of the devices we use in metrology are able to accurately set values of measurements based on the real world. These set of questions are things I would further like to explore.

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Interview with Ganit Goldstein on Craft, Technology, Fashion & 3D Printing

Ganit Goldstein

Ganit Goldstein is a Designer whose interest lies in the intersection between Craft and Technology. Ganit studied Jewelry and Fashion. She received the Excellence Award from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, Israel. Her work is focusing on new methods of incorporating 3D Printing into the world of Textiles, Shoes and Fashion. In her Collection ‘Between The Layers’, she created garments and shoes, inspired by her study of ‘IKAT’ weaving in Tokyo, Japan. Her collection received great interest and immediate press recognition, and was presented at Exhibitions and Museums around the world including Milan Design week, New York Textile Month, Asian Art Musuem – San Francisco, Holon Design Museum, ‘TALENTE’ exhibition in Munich and more. Ganit Goldstein believes in an interdisciplinary approach to design- mixing Tradition with Futuristic techniques – 3D printing & 3D body scanning.

Give us some background on your experiences so far.

I studied at Bezalel Academy of Arts in Design and majored in the department of Fashion and Jewelry. Since my first year of study, I was fascinated by using 3D design software, especially because of the design-freedom it allowed me. During my studies, I have often incorporated tools from other disciplines into my work, whether it is CNC, laser cutting, 3D scanning and 3D printing. The use of different tools and mindsets helped me discover my own desig language.

During my third year of study, I was expected to participate in an exchange student program. My decision was to apply for the opposite direction of what I was used to. Meaning, the opposite of the cutting-edge technology field. I found my way to the Craft Department ’Textile Art’ program at Tokyo University of the Arts – GEIDAI. During this time, every single process of my designs was made using traditional handmade techniques. Meaning, I turned completely low-tech, changing my entire thinking structures and patterns. That was very significant for me in terms of expanding my horizons and changing my view on design. Talk about stepping out of your comfort zone! When I finished my studies in Tokyo, I went back to Jerusalem to finish my final project. That’s when I decided to combine the traditional methods I recently learned, with the latest technology I was working on before. This was translating both worlds of the past and future into one design language.

Since my graduation, I was lucky to participate as a finalist in four international competitions, presented my projects in New York Textile Month, Hong Kong Fashion Week, Asian Art Museum- San Francisco and ‘Talente’ exhibition in Munich. These competitions helped me a lot to reach my goals, discover possibilities, and meet great people that influence my work until this day.

Craft and Technology Outfit

When did you first get excited about fashion and design?

I was excited to mix the borders between art and fashion, back in high school, when my project consisted of dresses made from broken glass and metal wires. I was looking at garments as a platform to make art pieces, that aren’t necessarily meant to be worn, but rather a manifestation of aesthetics, culture, language, and design.

One exhibition that is very powerful in my memory is a solo exhibition (2014) of Iris Van Herpen at the Design Museum Holon. The exhibition was very special and it featured beautiful outfits, that crossed borders between art, fashion, and futuristic techniques. It was influential for me because it dealt, or perhaps answered the question of whether fashion can be presented at museums as art pieces.

When you did your first 3D printing project with fashion?

As part of my second-year curriculum study, we were asked to reconstruct costumes from the 18th- 19th centuries. I was asked to build an entire costume, made up of 7 different layers, just as it was made back in the history of fashion. The dress I was assigned to reconstruct is held by The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Costume Institute collections) – from the year 1870. This decade was a “golden decade” for lace dresses. In the next semester, we were asked to think about the outfit in a modern perspective, and I was focusing on the lace. I decided to design and create a 3D lace of our times, based on algorithms printed with hard material, combining flexible properties inside the printed part. This was the first time I used 3D printing as an integral working method in my designs, and that’s when I discovered the huge potential in using algorithms, software and parametric design in the process of my work.

During my studies, and especially due to this project, I began working closely with the Institute of Chemistry – Casali Center at the Hebrew University, for innovative research in 3D printing. The research group, led by Prof. S. Magdassi, focuses on materials science, nanotechnology and their applications in a variety of fields such as 3D and functional printing.

This collaboration gave me the opportunity to work with great researchers, and thus better understand the different approach for material research studies, working on innovations in the field of 3D printing.

How important is the differentiation of fully created 3D printed items vs hybridized fashion products from textiles and 3D printed material?

The harmony of putting together two different worlds makes the innovation approach, and bring forward a new way of thinking about design. I believe in taking the essence of the traditional techniques from our past and translate those methods to the new technology- a different point of view from the traditional technique inside the process of the newest technology.

I feel it is important to make the hybrid of textiles and 3D printing together because it has the power to bring 3D printing to a much more wearable level. I also understand that fully 3D printed fashion is still in a building stage, and the combination of traditional textile methods helps this method is growing quicker. Hybridized craft methods in 3D printing are important in my opinion because we should not lose sight of the traditional processes. Technology will always move forward, but craft methods can disappear easily. I believe it is important for the designers also to remember the traditional working processes, not to lose the history of crafts. Bridging the craft methods and technology to move forward with the latest technology.

Craft and Technology Shoe

What are some of your favorite projects that you have worked on in 3D printing?

Seeing the first 3D printed multi-color shoes that were made in collaboration with Stratasys was an extremely exciting moment. In these shoes, my aim was to create a fabric-like texture inside the printing process. I couldn’t hope for better results. Since my graduation presentation, the shoes were presented in exhibitions worldwide (the last exhibition was in Milan Design Week 2019). Most of the people I have met during the exhibitions were sure the shoes are made from fabric and not from 3D printing. The shoes are now part of the Holon Design Museum permanent collection, they were the first pair I made together with Stratasys. We made a few more designs, but nothing compares to the success and joy that was brought by my first pair.

One of the most exciting projects that has had a huge impact on my projects so far, was working in collaboration with Intel ‘RealSense’ studio in Jerusalem. We incorporated their technology into the design process by 3D scanning an entire body thus allowing to create customized fashion and accessories, designed for a specific person. We also launched together an AR App (made together with Yoav from RealSense Studio) that demonstrates the 3D printing process using a hologram featured on the reality).

Another very exciting collection will be soon launched together in collaboration with Prusa Research company for FDM processes of wearable shoes. I worked closely with their maker-lab, and we made huge progress, the shoes are 100% wearable with multi-color and flexible materials!

Stratasys and Goldstein Collaboration

What is currently being worked on for you within the 3D printing world?

I am a great believer in collaboration and partnership with great people and open-minded companies. I want to continuously break boundaries, that is my core value, and I understand that in order to do that, I must turn to other disciplines and utilize what they have to offer. The ability to combine both worlds of past and future technique has a big impact on both my past and current projects. This is my take on the future of the 3D printing world.

Harnessing the power of the new technology and utilizing traditional techniques helped me create my own design language. I think that the ability to be open minded in the design process enables me to achieve my goals. I am a great believer of trying new methods, and not putting limits. This works because the design process has ups and downs, and from some failures and material tryout, you can reach better-designed results.

How was it to partner with Stratasys so early on in your journey?

My 3D printing journey started in a small room in my parent’s house, which I filled with 2 desktop printers. That room became my very own printing lab, where I got to experience, try-out materials and utilize the good old “trial and error” method.

I was fortunate enough to gain that experience, because I believe that is what enabled me to work with a “tip of the spear” company such as Stratasys.

The collaboration with Stratasys established after I had many “flight hours”, examples and tryouts. We partnered up during my last year studies. As my vision was to integrate colors inside my printed projects, They allow me to carry out my vision and turn it into reality. I’ve been incredibly lucky, and honored, especially knowing it came at such an early stage of my career. And it also makes me very proud.

I worked closely with the R&D team, and therefore, we shared the same vision of pushing the boundaries of the technology through design research. During the making process, we made some very interesting tryouts with the ability to control any voxel (3D pixel). At the same time, our research was growing, I made it into the final stage of numerous worldwide competitions and exhibitions (‘Talente’ & Milan Design Week), so we were continuing our collaboration for specific events that lead to new developments and exciting processes in each of the projects.

Woven 3D Print Shoes

Do you wish to branch out of just 3D printing?

I wish to further develop in the field of augmented/virtual reality.

3D printing is already well integrated into our lives and in many industries. From medicine to automobiles, furniture, military equipment, housing, fashion, etc.

I believe in the future of 3D printing and its applications. I also believe that 3D printing is directly linked to 3D scanning and ARVR applications and that this technology will completely alter the user experience in public sites and will be adding new features to the digital medium.

The adoption of the technology by museums to reach new levels of audience experience- multi sensational- rather than just viewing. I believe AR will soon be in every museum, using the newest technology for public use, and even controlling our experiences in different senses- not just by looking at an art piece.

I’m also very interested in the smart- textile field, adding new reactions for textile by using programming software. I find especially the 4D printing process very interesting topic to work on, creating 3D objects that change their shape over time.

What are some key skills needed to be a designer within the 3D printing world?

I believe that the main key is determination. Not to be afraid of failure. 3D printing can be very attractive on the one hand, but on the other hand, it is a relatively new technology, there are some limits and tons of failures in the making process. It takes time unti you figure out the path to the final project, it takes time and extra effort.

Being a Maker- For me, to be a designer in the 3D printing world means to be a ‘maker’, I believe in hard work from the beginning. You need to be experimental with many technology techniques. Building your own printer and so on are examples of how I describe a ‘maker’.

Professionalism and expertise- 3D designing and printing is just like programming. You must “study the language”. You must learn the 3D software skills, be an expert in your field. Luckily, in our times, this information is approachable by everybody via the internet. It is possible to study everything you set your mind to, every single feature is fully covered.

Independence and self-confidence – I believe to fully be in control of your designs, anyone that wishes to be a designer in the 3D printing world, should do the work on his own, and not rely on others people’s skills. The making process changes the way the final object will appear, and for me, this is the main freedom space, that you have the ability to bring your design from your imagination into reality and constantly improve it upon your request.

Who are organizations you want to partner or collaborate with in the future?

I want to continue my work with the partners that supported me and have been fantastic in our collaboration: Stratasys, Prusa Research and Swarovski.

I believe the future of my work also lays in collaborating with companies that have new technological developments and have design potential that can become a platform for combining my design visions. I would love to work with researchers of innovation in material research such as Neri Oxman and designers working in the field such as Iris Van Herpen. I’d like to extend the collaboration for shoe design with companies that develop 3D printed shoes such as Adidas.

Designers are not fully on the 3D printing wave just yet, how does it feel to be an early adopter?

It’s extremely exciting to be a part of a relatively small group that consists of designers and makers, who are investigating into how design can be developed in a sustainable and innovative way, using 3D printing technology.

This era is the most stirring time for pushing the boundaries of this technology, and I’m looking forward to working on new projects that will inspire me to think about “re-inventing” our future.

I feel that there is so much space for designers to grow in this field, working together with researchers and scientists all while keeping an open mind for new opportunities.

I feel blessed and extremely lucky to have become an early adopter in this field. It is a magical time filled with opportunities to seize and enjoy and to continue being excited from any new features, ideas, and projects.

I think 3D printing has great potential in so many fields, and design is one of the most exciting uses for this technology, clearing the way for further development of Art and Design (and maybe the concept of fashion and design as art), presenting each artist’s point of view the production process, from imagination to reality.

Where do you see the field of 3D printing and fashion in 5 years?

I see 3D body scan as a key process that will be an integral part of any fashion development department. I believe that 5 years from now, personalization will receive a different meaning and will bring a drastic change in the fashion industry, moving from mass production to one of a kind customizable piece.

In my opinion, another upcoming major change that will take fashion design forward is the ability to design your own clothing- the customer will be his own designer by, ‘pushing buttons’ (by simplifying the design and programming software) for producing his favorite design.

I’ve also found the development of flexible material as a very important process for 3D printed fashion, and the development of new material will be a major step for 3D printed textile to make 3D printing – wearable.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

With 3D printing and 3D scanning, we can utilize the new technology to develop tailored pieces and fit to measure clothing for individuals. I want to take this a step further and produce customized clothes, based on body scans, ready-to-wear fashion and I hope to have designers and partners in the future, bringing innovative approach into daily production methods of fashion.

In the next two years, I will be studying at the Royal College of Arts in London, in the master’s program for smart textile developments called ‘Soft Systems’.

I believe this upcoming period will greatly influence and affect my career, and I hope that 5 years from today I will be able to continue developing my design language, and open my own brand, start-up, lab and continue researching and developing the wearable technology field. I hope to continue being thrilled and excited from any new project, any new printing method and constantly breaking the boundaries of the latest technology

Interview with Patrizio Carlucci of Innovation Lab ECCO on 3D Printing Shoes

Patrizio Carlucci

Patrizio Carlucci is the Head of Innovation Lab ECCO a subsidiary of Danish shoemaker ECCO. The Innovation Lab is ECCO’s independent cross-disciplinary design studio. They explore, create, and deliver projects embracing alternative production methods, various materials, new technologies and experiential solutions. This lab has a big project called QUANT-U. It is a footwear customisation project by Innovation Lab ECCO. Built on half a century of industry experience and footwear research in dynamics and fit: QUANT-U combines future technologies to create 3D printed customised comfort, quantified by you. So for more info on innovation and 3D printing within the footwear industry pay attention to this interview!

Tell me a little bit about your background and how you are at this point of your life and your career.

I am an industrial designer by trade with a keen passion towards computer aided design and 3D printing. Fortunate enough in my career to be involved in innovative projects, not only from a designer’s perspective, I have been driven to challenge my own skills and knowledge base on a regular basis. Having been an early adopter of innovative digital tools has helped me in roles were transformation and change management was paramount for businesses, especially from a product strategy perspective.

What are some of the most important aspects of your career that have followed you through various roles?

A common thread for me has been the application of digital agile processes between concepts and products. Being agile in product design and development means more opportunities to identify at an early stage a breakthrough design direction or to refine to perfection existing ones. Furthermore, I have never understood how design and styling, in terms of creative moments, could be isolated from the physical creation of a product, particularly when ultimate product performance is paramount. Designers often delegate 3D work to a modeler, and this is often cause for delays and misinterpretation. For this, from 3D modeling passing by FEA simulation to 3D renders used for marketing purposes, I have personally experienced almost any phase of advanced product development. This helped me further down the line with a decent understanding of advantages and shortcomings of innovative technologies during innovation tasks for the entire product life cycle management.

Quant-U

What skills are the most useful to have at the intersection of 3D Printing and footwear in particular?

It might be trivial but 3D modeling and developing a shoe is a challenging feat compared to other types of products. To mention just a few reasons for this: the lack of lines’ symmetry between the medial and lateral sides of the shoe, the criticality of observing the right fit requisites for a wide range of wearers and the relatively low-tech manufacturing processes that causes inconsistencies between the 3D models and the final shape of the shoe. This is mainly due to components that can’t be molded, cemented or stitched in their final shape if not developed in a flattened form. Additionally, a shoe is a soft and hard good at the same time, requiring distinct processes for uppers and soles. 3D printing an outsole creates a decent representation of the final product but 3D printing a soft upper that feels like the final product is close to impossible.

The team at Ecco has had some interesting projects coming recently. Can you go into more depth about what Ecco is doing in particular when it comes to 3D Printing and footwear?

Dassault Systemes

We are focusing heavily on the wearable data capturing process, both in terms of next generation hardware development and for the advanced interpretation of motion data related to FEA processes with our project partners Dassault Systemes. With DOW Chemical, another project partner, we continuously explore further properties of 3D printed silicone we use for our Quant-U project. There is a lot of hyped and misunderstood activity around 3D printed footwear without a solid solution for true mass production and customization. AM offers the chance to create bespoke parts in series, but this is rarely translated in a consumer product; most likely due to the complexity of the 3D models and a lack of measuring data to begin with. To solve this, we invested heavily on the digital capture and interpretation of motion and orthotic data and the related AI and automated processes for the creation of 3D models without human intervention. With our Quant-U project we are showcasing these abilities on the market already and we look forward to extending its reach to more customers soon.

Which countries around the world are the most innovative in terms of integrating fashion and technology? Where should we be paying attention to in terms of 3D Printing and fashion?

Well, if you consider how thin the separation line between fashion and sportswear is today, and if you consider that technology in wearable goods is usually seen in sportswear, I would put the USA and Germany on the top list. France is seeing a lot of activity related to technology in the luxury brands arena, although still at an experimental level. In Italy, the motherland of luxury goods manufacturing, there is some use of AM processes in the product development phase that might find their way in final products. In the Netherlands, a country often ahead of the curve, there is a vibrant movement dedicated to 3D printed shoes that has been inspiring for a lot of young designers, although not commercially exploited yet. For us at ECCO, a Danish company, we believe to express digital maturity in fashion with our latest project and we hope to engage more and more with consumers from this point of view.

I believe that the next technological innovations in fashion will be represented by new bio/growth materials with a strong focus on sustainability and smart materials that have augmented functionality. The commercial application of 3D printing processes for fashion in general is, and will still be, for few players that have the necessary resources to sustain processes that are still slow in terms of output and expensive in terms of investments. Until a 3D printed product is either fully circular and sustainable or performs substantially better than a standard one, I doubt it will ever surpass the scope of a hyped experiment.

For this, at ECCO with Quant-U, we invested into an approach were a fundamental component of a shoe could be customized and 3D printed using a material and a process that truly augments the product’s performance while keeping the manufacturing aspect intact.

Nintendo Labo VR review #VirtualReality #LABO @theVerge

Nintendo is back with another cardboard maker kit. This time they are diving into the world of virtual reality…again. Check out the review from the Verge on YouTube:

Nintendo Labo VR is a fresh take on virtual reality gaming. VR can be isolating, but Labo VR is centered around quick, shareable games designed to be played with friends. You can fly like a bird with the wind blowing in your face, paint with an elephant’s trunk, and take photos of underwater fish. There’s also Toy-Con Garage VR, which lets you code and play your own VR games. Labo VR will work with Nintendo Switch games like Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which makes Nintendo’s belated foray into VR well worth the wait.

See more!

Founder of Gravity Sketch recognized as one of UK’s most innovative women

Daniela Paredes Fuentes, founder of 3D modelling tool Gravity Sketch, has been awarded £50,000 from the UK government’s Technology Strategy Board Innovate UK as part of its Women in Innovation Awards 2019. Fuentes is one of nine women recognized in the awards, which grants funding and support to the UK’s most innovative female-led businesses with global potential. Gravity […]

Children Design Playground Equipment to Test 3D Printing and Virtual Reality Software

In a thesis entitled “Designing Playground Equipment with VR and 3D Printing,” author Christian Knaapen argues that virtual reality is necessary in designing objects in 3D. In CAD programs, he says, there is a disconnect between the 3D object on its 2D screen and the final object, which can be walked around and interacted with – hence the necessity for virtual reality. However, converting models made in virtual reality to 3D prints is not straightforward, as the 3D prints need to show a number of desired properties. These properties include:

The object should consist of one connected component that touches the printing platform
It should be able to stand without falling over
It should be structurally sound

For his project, Knaapen implements a program that analyzes these properties on models made in virtual reality. It is the first 3D print analysis program, he says, that works in virtual reality.

To test the program, Knaapen asked 35 children at a local school to design playground equipment in Google Blocks, after which the models were analyzed and 3D printed. The children worked in groups of two or three, forming 16 groups in total. The project consisted of three sessions: in the first, the children were introduced to Google Blocks and began designing their playground equipment. They finished their designs in the second session, and in the third session they used Knaapen’s software program to analyze their own models. The designs were then 3D printed and tested for the desired properties, and a winning design was chosen.

The prints were tested on connectedness, balance and strength. Connectedness was tested by seeing if the print remained in one part after the supports were removed, and balance was tested by placing the print on a flat surface in the orientation in which it was designed, and seeing if it remained upright. Strength was tested by performing drop tests from a height of 75 centimeters (the height of a standard table) onto a hard surface. If the print did not break or visibly deform, it was considered strong enough for everyday use.

13 models were connected and did not fall apart after the supports were removed. 14 passed the balance test, and seven survived the strength test.

“We can compare these results to the predictions of the analyses of our program,” says Knaapen. “We do this separately for each property, as seen in table 5.3. The connectedness analysis correctly predicted the outcome in 92.9% of cases, where the one time that it did not predict correctly was due to print accuracy and thin areas. We observe that the balance analysis correctly predicted everything. Still, we can not conclude it is perfect considering the sample size. We only got to test our program on 16 models which means there could be edge cases where that functionality is not sufficient. The strength analysis shows some issues and only predicted the strength of the physical print correctly in 50% of cases. Furthermore in cases where it did predict issues with strength, it often did not predict what part of the model would be weak correctly, as can be seen in figure 5.10.”

While further research is needed, Knaapen concludes, the project was a good first step in gaining understanding of what it takes to convert models created in virtual reality to 3D prints. Although not the purpose of the experiment, it was also a great way to introduce children to 3D printing and virtual reality by allowing them to design their own playground equipment.

Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.