Five of the Coolest Things Created By a 3D Printer

The ingenious creation of 3D printing has not only changed the way we print forever, but it has produced some incredible creations, taking the concept of printing to new heights.

From 3D underwear to a vampire quadcopter, the mind simply boggles when we explore some of the most innovative and bizarre items that can be produced by a 3D printer.

The following list features some of the coolest things ever to be created by a 3D printer:

• Urbee hybrid car

Created by the 3D printing pioneers, Stratasys, this was one of the first things ever produced to create the frames of hybrid car prototypes. It worked through the use of a process known as fused deposition modelling. Stratasys produced the car’s chassis and subsequently 3D printing has never looked back as it has continued to evolve in a number of weird and wonderful ways.

Image Source: Engadget.com

• Buildings and puzzles

The Enrico Dini’s D-shape “3D building system” was created by using a huge 3D printer that combines extruded liquid adhesive compound on a bed of sand with a solid catalyst mixed in. The gigantic printer miraculously created a solid structure and the whole process takes a mere quarter of the time it takes to implement traditional building techniques – the days of building sites may be numbered!

Image source: theverge.com

3D puzzles are beginning to emerge as a popular replacement for traditional puzzles as 3D rivals tap into a new world of imagination. Aside from creating some truly mind-boggling and futuristic puzzles, designers of puzzles can create their marvels in considerably less time than using the antiquated techniques of using wood and glue!

• The Walking machine

Designed by the avant-garde Dutch artist and kinetic sculptor, Theo Jansen, the Animarus Geneticus Parvus is a remarkable sculpture of a walking/running machine, with one notable difference – it has been printed!

Image Source: shapeways.com

Rather than being assembled in various stages, the Animarus Geneticus Parvus was printed in one session from a 3D printer. In bypassing the time-consuming process of constructing buildings and sculptures by hand, 3D printing enables such projects to be carried out with the minimum of fuss.

• The PL1Q Vampire Quadcopter

Image Source: Globalguerrillas

The PL1Q Vampire Quadcopter would certainly take some beating in the innovative 3D printing stakes. Although the entire frame of the Vampire was printed by a 3D printer, the electronics and various other moving parts were produced separately.

• The Human jaw

Image Source: museumoftheweird.com

One of the most incredibly bizarre items to have been printed out has to be a human jaw implant which was used to restore an elderly person’s bite. In fact, doctors today are increasingly relying on 3D printing to produce exact replicas of human bones. This comes as 3D printers produce more accurate replicas than traditional casts and moulds, meaning that surgeons can carry out notably complex operations before operating on the real thing.

   Richard Owen

About the Guest Author:

This is a guest post submitted by Richard Owen who works for Phoenix Direct, providers of top quality printing supplies, including the provision of ink cartridges, toner cartridges and additional hardware.