A LEGO 3D printer? Have our childhood dreams finally merged with our adult interests? Jason Allemann, a full-fledged AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) has created some pretty amazing objects with this popular kids’ toy, but his latest project is proving to be particularly interesting for 3D printing enthusiasts. Since many a Maker can credit LEGO with providing some of her/his first building materials, this should come as a pleasant merging of past and future interests.
Allemann and his partner are the brains behind this JK Brickworks creation. They have worked with Mindstorms EV3, the LEGO line of robot build kits before, and, with this project, they took advantage of the technology to allow them to build a working color scanner and printer that uses 1×1 blocks to turn any image into a LEGO masterpiece, delivering pretty fantastic results.
The printer has multiple tubes on the side that hold the LEGO “ink” (the 1×1 blocks) which can hold up to 450 individual 1×1 blocks in up to nine different colors. After an initial scan, the printer’s arm grabs the necessary blocks and places them on the building plate to create a LEGO replica of the scanned image. Allemann used graph paper to color his own pixelated images that the color scanner could reproduce. He also modeled the part that picks up the blocks and places them on the build plate on an actual 3D printing extruder. The circular block rolls off onto the build plate and the printing arm moves to select another piece. Though the build platform is small (16 x16), it is certainly a step in an exciting new direction.
The inner workings of the feed tube are also fascinating. The printing head uses a legend or color key for each row of the scanned image that directs it to the proper tube for retrieving the correct color plate. The print time for one 16×16 plate is about 20 minutes.
The Bricasso is constructed entirely out of LEGO parts and components from the Mindstorms EV3 kit. Even the smaller, more intricate parts, like the printing head that grabs the 1×1 block “ink” and the clips that hold down the 2D image, are 100% LEGO. Though the Bricasso is currently more of an homage to 3D printing technique, since it is really only capable of 2D printing at the moment, we hope that this is just the first step. No word on the availability of the Bricasso, but we will surely keep you updated on this fun, new toy for mini-Makers. If you would like to see a step by step guide to Allemann’s process, watch below:
