Printing 3D Art

Herbert Schulze is visiting the ANU in Canberra and talked about using 3D printing machines for making art. He is a lecturer in the Design Department of the University of Applied Science in Dusseldorf. The art students work with "rapid prototype development" techniques, which can turn a computer model into an object:

Three-dimensional printing is a method of converting a virtual 3D model into a physical object. 3D printing is a category of rapid prototyping technology. 3D printers typically work by 'printing' successive layers on top of the previous to build up a three dimensional object. 3D printers are generally faster, more affordable and easier to use than other additive fabrication technologies. ...

From: Three-dimensional printing, Wikipedia, 2007

Unlike the usual engineering talk, this was about the artistic use of the technology.
It is possible to produce objects with thee-d printing which would be very difficult to create by hand or other machines. As well as direct design of objects using CAD tools, there was also use of digital phototgraphs. The plastic part produced by the 3d printer can be used directly or used as a mold for casting in metal. Examples of jewlllery and scultpture and door handles were shown. The ANU also has a 3D machine for use by the artists.