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rapid prototyping and three-dimensional printing have been around for some years, but unfold lab as
successfully built a DIY ceramic printer. the design is based off an open source project and prints wet
clay from its nozzle, which can then be placed in a kiln and fired. the machine uses powder clay which is
mixed with water and printed out using a syringe. to test their design unfold wanted to print a ceramic
vessel which would be difficult using traditional techniques. so they drafted a double walled vessel with
fins connecting the two walls. the result was successful and they fired the vessel along with a number of
other testing pieces that demonstrate the printers effectiveness.
http://www.unfold.be

This is awesome! Although, in its current form , it lacks the capacity for high resolution construction, the fact that it uses a commonly available media (instead of some proprietary liquid/gel) is what impresses me most.
Devices like this make me believe I’ll see the tabletop manufacturing unit available in my lifetime. Very cool. It’d be neat to see a similar device capable of shaping a block of media with common hand tools.
this months blueprint magazine has an article on one of these that apparently prints small scale buildings. While Im certainly no eco warrior, I agree with Dan, using natural materials is a big step forward
So great!!!
I’m a ceramic designer, and now I will lookink forward to see how to made one.
That a great news, what a good day!!
Old friend of mine is a mechanic engineer, I remember for his last project he proposed something like that, which was lacking to have a particular media. anyways its a genius idea and let me tell ya by the time it comes to table top production or private use it must be 100% or five star green and recyclable!we speaking of four years right??!!
I’m an interior designer.
Wow fantastic!I like this printer and the technology used to build it is really impressive but how can it be used for the purpose for what it is built?
Looks just like a fused deposition model except in clay. Poor quality though – I also doubt that the fired piece has any inert strength due to the lack of compression in the clay state. Nice idea though – needs serious development. Depends if there’s a market demand?
Excellent idea… still in the early stages, but this could seriously affect the look of household objects within the next 2 decades.
url=http://www.designboom.com] designboom [/url]
As a potter this technology is fascinating but a bit scary. May be I’m concerned the potter’s wheel will be forgotten as a useful tool for clay designers but on the other hand I like seeing new possibilities for an ancient material.