3D Printing

CreoPop Takes Drawing in 3D to A New Level

The success of the 3Doodler last year , ‘3D printing’ pen that caused such a stir when it’s developers raised over $2 million on Kickstarter, brought a raft of me-too products that have also enjoyed various degrees of success off the back of it. It has now emerged that the initial concept of  drawing in three dimensions by extruding plastic has been superceded, and taken to the next level by CreoPop, a company based in the labs of the National Design Centre in Singapore.

CreoPop 3d printing pen

Andreas Birnik calls CreoPop “a really cool 3D pen” and says that the company has been following developments in the personal fabrication space for quite some time, which includes 3D printers and 3D pens. They obviously wanted in on the space, but knew they needed to come up with something different rather than a slightly improved “me-too” product. Citing the problems of the extrusion based 3D pens — notably the high temperatures of operation and the safety aspects of that, as well as the unpleasant smell — CreoPop went back to the drawing board last year to bring photopolymers to the hand-held 3D drawing implement table. Calling the resins “light-sensitive ink” they harden when exposed to an ultraviolet (UV) light source, similar to the DLP 3D printing process, but with no toxic components. The UV source is built into the pen itself and reported to be a similar strength to regular sunlight and “completely safe”. Although, no mention of whether sun cream is required! Another significant improvement the CreoPop claims is the elimination of the power cord, by way of battery operation. The battery is charged via a micro USB port requiring access to either a computer or adapter.

The company says it has already developed a range of different ink types and colours, including glow-in-the-dark, aromatic and temperature reactive materials that change colour, as well as flexible, magnetic and conductive inks; with more in the pipeline.

CreoPop 3d printing pen

CreoPop is targeting creative types — artists and designers, and kids are certainly on their radar — when it launches its Indiegogo campaign later this month. Interested parties can also sign up for the early bird offer  (US$89) via the company’s website. This offer obviously includes the pen, but will also include five ink cartridges and first shipments are expected to go out early next year.