Jennifer’s Two-Faced Medallion
Dutch artist Jennifer Hoes has recently 3D printed a very nice set of stainless steel medallions at i.materialise. The medallions showcase the many faces of the artist in an attempt to remind us of the many faces that we create for ourselves in these modern times. We create our different identities towards the outside world on a daily basis. From the face we show at work, to the face we put on at home, to the face we hide behind when we’re online. It was this interesting fact of life that brought Jennifer to the Roman God Janus, famous for his two faces that represented the balance in society and who became the main inspiration for this work of art.
Jennifer shares five of her expressions with us: happiness, anger, sadness, fearful and neutral. The happiness and anger expressions are facing outwards while the mirrored image can be admired on the medallion’s inside. The neutral expression has been 3D printed on the medallion’s edge as a barrier between the two opposite expres
And the Winner is…
The Peeters & Pichal challenge has come to an end and together with the Radio 1 jury members we’ve come to our decision on a winner. As with all challenges, it’s never easy to choose the winning design, but as we all knew… there could only be one…
…and that winner is the Dutch designer Ricardo de Koning with his stylish Design for your Flowers.
Our winner was in search of a nice vase that could match the modern interior of their house but ended up finding the same old traditional vase designs everywhere he went. Nothing really stood out and his search was getting him nowhere until he stumbled upon this challenge. It was the perfect opportunity to remind us of the power of 3D printing. So instead of buying a simplistic vase, Ricardo took it upon himself to participate in this challenge and design the perfect vase that would match the look of their home. He decided to dedicate the vase to his mother. For those who speak Dutch, you can listen to the interview between Belgian Rad
Meet the Team: Dmitriy
Hi everyone, I’m Dmitriy or you can also call me Dima. I’m the part of the team that makes sure your models are printed as nice as possible, who clarifies your questions and keeps you happy.
I’m quite new in the world of 3D printing. I’ve started working at i.materialise roughly half of a year ago, but I have learned a lot since then. It was so fascinating to discover the technologies and materials, to see the possibilities of it. Like our teammate Franky said, 3D printing sounds like the coolest thing in the world. I totally agree. And I’m willing to share all the knowledge with all of you guys: talented designers, creative people and simply everyone who is interested in 3D printing.
In my work I get most of the pleasure when I see a 3D printed model which has a part that was somehow fixed or improved thanks to our support service in cooperation with the designer. In such case I see the results of work and when I realize that this is absolutely nice, I’m really glad. I also like
Pretty enough for flowers, nerdy enough for CH3CH2OH – the Sintervase
One service offered by our parent company, Materialise, is the generation of sinterboxes: web-like boxes that are 3D printed around parts for easy identification and safe shipping. Although made with functionality in mind, it turns out that these handy little boxes are also quite attractive…which got us thinking.
To make a long story short, the Sintervase was born! Designed to hold a standard test tube, an active imagination is sure to see the possibilities:
- A beautiful vase for a single rose or an equally charming flower
- The ultimate chemistry lab design accessory, putting mere test tube racks to shame
- And, for those who recognize the equation above, fill ‘er up and try out this game
Order one for yourself in our gallery and enjoy!
Materializing the City of Dreams: Sagalassos
Sagalassos is an archeological site in southwestern Turkey under the supervision of Professor Marc Waelkens from the Catholic University of Leuven. It is a tremendous archeological research project that started in 1990 and has exposed us to many of the hidden treasures from the city’s intriguing past. To celebrate the great work that has been done on this project, the Gallo Roman Museum in Tongeren, Belgium decided to exhibit many of the found treasures including a fully reconstructed miniature model of the
ancient city.
Got inspir
Brave New World with Stephen Hawking featuring Materialise
We are proud to announce that our mother company Materialise will be featured in an upcoming episode of ‘Brave New World with Stephen Hawking’, a Channel 4 documentary series during which “Professor Stephen Hawking examines how science is striving for humankind”s next leap forward”. So, for those of you who are living in the UK, be sure to set your DVRs because you will not want to miss a minute of this show. The episode will air on Monday the 31st of October at 8pm on Channel 4. Although airing on Halloween, we promise you that the only thing scary about the show is how much further technology has come than many expect.
Filming took place at Materialise’s Belgian Headquarters earlier in the year and we are excited to finally see the result of what proved to be an exciting day of shooting. Materialise is being featured in the third episode of the series entitled: Technology. It will be designer Max Lamb who will guide viewers through the world of 3D printing and who will give y
Tips & Tricks for working with Polyamide
Polyamide is one of the most popular materials amongst our designers due to its creative flexibility. It gives them the creative freedom they often seek at an affordable price. We already provide basic information about this material on our website but because we love our designers, we decided to share the four most useful tips from our past experiences.
Tip 1: How to hollow out your designs
Even though it isn’t a requirement to hollow out your 3D prints, it is often advised in many cases. This can be useful to avoid deformations and discolorations during the printing process. There are two options you can follow… You can either keep the polyamide powder inside the hollow structure or you can design a strategically placed hole (two is even better) for the powder to escape once your work is 3D printed.
Also don’t forget that Polyamide isn’t really made for designing big flat plains the size of an A4 page because the chance of deformation is quite big. Even if you hollow out
Belgian Radio 1 show “Peeters & Pichal” organizes a new design challenge with i.materialise
You know that feeling in the mornings when you’re still in between worlds with a coffee in hand while getting ready to start your day? Computer is ready, radio is on, you sit down and once again you can’t find a single spot on your work invested desk for that coffee mug! Don’t you just wish that there was some way to extend your desk and create some extra space for that mug? Well if you live in Belgium and listen to the Peeters & Pichal show on Radio 1, keep on reading cuss here’s your opportunity to solve such a problem!
Many people often have great ideas to solve simple issues like the one above, but it doesn’t often happen that they can turn them into reality. This is where we come in and provide the listeners of the Peeters & Pichal show the opportunity of a lifetime.
An example for the challenge
The objective is simple… create an awesome 3D design that makes your life a bit easier, submit it between the 18th of October and the 1st of November and whoever brings in the be
WIRED 2011 through the eyes of our buddy Sid
As I write this, our dear colleague Sid is having the time of his life at the WIRED 2011 Conference in London. It’s a two-day conference that celebrates ideas, innovations and the people reshaping our world. Therefore it’s no surprise that Materialise would feel quite at home at such an event. As excited as Sid was, he decided to give us a quick glimpse into what WIRED 2011 has to offer.
A little message from our colleague Sid:
“I just moved a ball hovering in mid-air … With my MIND! Now how cool is that? It is a technology based on using brainwaves to enhance the interactions with our environment. The thing is… this is just one out the many mind-blowing topics that I”m exposed to here at Wired 2011. From nanotechnology to talking robots to Scandinavian skiing slopes on top of a waste factory … As crazy as you can imagine it, here you meet people that actually do these things.”
“And 3D printing…? People here love it. The Materialise Bloom lamp (designed by Patrick J
Jewelry design workshop: too many applicants – great fun – wonderful results
Last June, we posted an invitation to participate in a special contemporary jewelry design workshop with Karen Wuytens, lecturer in Jewelry Design, and famous hat designer Elvis Pompilio http://i.materialise.com/blog/entry/i-materialise-3d-printed-jewelry-workshop-by-karen-wuytens. The workshop took place in early September at the .MGX flagship store in Brussels.
Unfortunately, we had to limit the amount of participants to 10, meaning that many applicants were unable to join in on the fun. However, the lucky 10 participants were not complaining about the cozy atmosphere as they spent 2 days at the .MGX flagship store, where they received an intro to 3D printing from i.materialise. Karen Wuytens shared how to design a piece of jewelry, starting from a basic shape. Fabien Franzen taught the participants how to make their design in the software MOI3, which is very well suited to jewelry design. And finally, Elvis Pompilio was on hand to impart some expert design advice.
One week
