The Next Big Thing, revisited « The Faded Mirror

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The Next Big Thing, revisited

June 9, 2009 at 11:35 am | In Economics, Technology | 1 Comment

On the heels of a previous posting, the good folks at Dimension sent me a free sample “print” — a salt shaker of an unusual shape. Here are the pics I took with my brand-new Samsung Alias 2 (excuse the focus problems — I’m still learning the ins and outs):

3D printed salt shaker with screw-off top

Inside the shaker

As you can see, the shaker has a unique twisty shape. Anyone who has worked with plastic molds will tell you that shapes like these make for very complicated (read expensive) molding operations. But, apparently the uPrinter can handle complex shapes like these with aplomb. The possibilities seem to be limited only by the imagination of the designer….

It’s hard to see in the picture, but the shaker has a very fine ridged texture on all surfaces due to the manufacturing process. The ridges could probably be polished off, or it may be that consumers will accept this in exchange for the benefits of creating their own plastic implements. The ABS plastic itself, however, is solid and durable, and I maintain my statement that stereolithography someday will become a major disruption in the worldwide consumer economy.