Unlike Shapeways’ recent announcement about 3D printed products made golden with lost wax casting, design duo Nervous System has 3D printed the gold itself. The studio, which recently developed their Kinematics method for 3D printing segmented pieces that can be folded or unfolded into much larger objects, has 3D printed their latest Kinematics piece in 18k gold. The pair, in collaboration with 3DP consultancy firm A3DM, used the jewelry-specific direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) technique of Cooksongold to 3D print the piece. See it in all of its glory below!
While the print was just a swatch, Nervous System has hinted that they are working on a special Kinematics piece for release later this year. What’s amazing about the Kinematics concept is that their pieces can take advantage of the small work spaces of most 3D printers. It’s hypothetically possible for a Kinematics design to be folded up in such a way that it might take up the entire area of Cooksongold’s EOS 3D printer and, then, unfold, post-print, to reveal a long, luxurious piece of jewelry. The Kinematics design technique might not work for 3D printing a large jet engine, but it is an awesome manifestation of the new ways of thinking that 3D printing will inspire.
Source: Nervous System
