A lot of 3D printing projects begin as Proxy Design Studio’s does, they wanted to [do something] with 3D printing”. But why choose 3D printing? Proxy Design does seem to have a good answer with their 3D printed toy.
The Mechaneu is a hollow ball made up of interlocking gears. In designing their gear system the team behind it managed to embrace one of nature’s defining principles “doing more with less.” Toru Hasegawa, Designer and Partner at Proxy Design Studio, explains that only with 3D printing could they create a toy that uses the least possible material to achieve the greatest possible complexity.
To make the Mechaneu porous and patterned, Proxy Design wrote custom software that generates shapes using an algorithm that models cellular growth patterns. They also had the goal of creating an object limited to 64 MB and 1 million polygon faces, a constraint placed on many 3D printer files. Like many complex 3D printed objects, the Mechaneu is printed as one single, intricate piece.The sphere is currently unavailable for purchase.
