3D Pen Printer

There’s been a lot of hype over the past couple of years around 3D printing, with it featuring in some of the latest blockbuster films to hit the big screen – including Iron Man’s suit and life size James Bond’s DB9. This begs the question what else can be done with 3D printing… Or how can it be done? We caught wind of a new 3D printing method, it’s not new concept by any means, but what it does is key! That’s right – A 3D pen, How cool! Below you can see what can be accomplished using this device but I think this is only the start of something much bigger.

The actual pen (3Doodler) is made by a company in Boston US called the WobbleWorks, creating innovative toys and robotics the 3Doodler is expected to be the company’s biggest breakthrough and for obvious reasons! This sort of activity hasn’t been seen since magic sand, YouTube that if you have never seen it, it’s basically the same result, only it’s underwater and with sand!

Now you wouldn’t usually call this 3D printing because you’re not really printing anything, more sculpting. But as it uses the same material as the real deal 3d printers so I guess we can it “printing”. The material used is called PLA or ABS plastic, rapid cooling, super light and incredibly strong. Much like a glue gun (I’ll remember not to touch this one) the material hardens almost instantly allowing the user to create pretty much vertical structures with ease. The video below shows a number of stencils being used to create intricate and detailed structures on a flat surface that can then be combined into one 3d structure, probably easier that way! But you can also completely hand sculpt for something a bit more unique and personalised. But there’s no rubber or tip-ex for this pen so I have no idea what to do if you get it wrong.

This is only the beginning of 3D printing and I can imagine most schools and art studios will have one of these in the future, but at the bargain price of just $75 dollars it shows how this technology is here for commercial availability right now.

I can’t wait to see what artist objects can be made with 3D pen devices like this one, we have already seen the amazing detail 3d printing machines can do (a grain of sand detailed). But no matter how detailed a machine cannot be creative, which is why putting the technology in the hands of a person is such an exciting prospect!

Written by Ryan Holt:- Ryan is the SEO Exec at TonerGiant.co.uk, the leading supplier for ink & toner cartridges. He loves anything fast and dangerous but also has a geeky side experimenting in web design and development in his spare time!