Objet260Connex
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Visualized: Objet's 3D printer breathes plastic life into Hollywood creatures, layer by layer
It ain't easy being plastic, you know? Objet -- the 3D printing house that aimed to replace your office's all-in-one Epson back in July -- brought a few of its snazziest pieces here to SIGGRAPH, and we popped by to have a gander. Targeting the animation-inspired crowd that showed up here in Vancouver, the company brought along some Hollywood examples of how its multi-material Objet260 Connex helped movie makers craft prototype creatures before they were inserted into the storyline. Thor's Destroyer and Avatar's Na'vi were both on hand, as well as the two critters shown above. The hothead on the right was crafted in around 18 hours (and subsequently painted), while the cool cat on the left was built in three fewer. Wildly enough, that fellow required no painting whatsoever; so long as you're cool with shades of grey, you can program your object to be colored from the outset. Oh, and as for his cost? Around $80 for the materials -- slightly more for the printer itself. %Gallery-130291%
Objet260 Connex makes 3D printing cheaper, feasible for cramped offices
Waiting for a 3D printer you can actually -- you know -- afford? Well, unfortunately the wait isn't over, but we're certainly getting closer with Objet's 260 Connex. The latest offering can still print two materials simultaneously like its more expensive brethren, but is more compact and apparently more "attractively priced." Exactly how frugal, the firm didn't say, but can one really put a price on something that can churn out chunks of Iron Man armor? Yeah, we didn't think so. No word on when it'll ship, but with more than sixty materials to print with, you had better start brainstorming those prototypes now. Video after the break.
