In addition to announcing their new 3D printed light fixture service, Artworth, a Chinese company held a design contest where 30 of the most interesting 3D lighting designs were chosen as winners.
Artworth is a new subsidiary of HLH Technology, one of China’s leading prototyping and manufacturing firms and LED lighting specialists. Artworth is their new brand that specializes in custom lighting fixtures and installation, including 3D printing custom designed light fixtures. Artworth is capable of printing with standard FDM, SLA and SLS 3D printers and materials.
The 3D design contest ended in April, but as you can see from the 30 winners 3D printing is allowing companies like Artworth to really push the boundaries of traditional design. Most of these light fixtures would cost several thousands of dollars to manufacture using standard materials and methods. In fact many of them would never even be able to be made due to limitations in traditional tooling and manufacturing methods.
Artworth asked artists to send in 3D designs for lamp shades, ceiling light fixtures or desk lamps. The designs were to be organic, look cool, or otherwise be interesting and push design boundaries.
The artists were told not to worry about the mechanics of attaching their fixture to actual light fittings because the technicians at Artworth would find a way to make it work.
Each selected design would win $200.00 and have a small miniature version of their design 3D printed and sent to them. And if Artworth customers decide to buy your design, the artist will get a commission.
There is a widely held belief that eventually 3D printers will be in every home. And while at some point I do believe every home will have a device that creates 3D printed products for them, it is a little presumptuous to assume that it will be any time soon, or that these future machines would look anything like our current desktop 3D printers. However I do believe that it is more likely that services like Artworth will start popping up and offering customized 3D printed products at affordable prices. These services are already available to pretty much anyone with the money to pay for them, but with advances in 3D printing technology more companies like HLH Technology will be encouraged to expand their existing services into more boutique or specialized brands, bringing 3D printed products to more people than just the rich.
