World's First 3D-Printed Car?

Hmmm, the worlds first 3d printed car?  The first thing I think is, the 3d printer has revolutionized prototyping, it is true.  It puts prototyping in the hands of the ‘garage designers / inventors’ a total Game changer.  And now, large-scale printing houses and cars?  So Cool!!!  Now will we ever get to the point where this is practical for actual product production – meaning economical option?  I have seen 3d printed bikes and they were very delicate and not great for actual use.  For prototyping, we are there, but for production we have a ways to go.  Either way, new uses for 3d printers are reveled everyday and the direction we are going is just awesome!!! ~Cornell

Watch this CNN Video.

http://us.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2014/09/14/dnt-illinois-3d-printed-car.wgn.html

 

The 3D Printed Car (a.k.a. Direct Digital Manufacturing) – Project Brief

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Futuristic drive: Step inside a 3D printed car

By Teo Kermeliotis, for CNN

updated 9:42 AM EDT, Thu June 26, 2014 |

(CNN) -- It seats two people, has a sleek retractable roof and runs on electric power. And its body can be 3D printed in a single piece.

Meet the Strati, the concept vehicle that was selected from more than 200 entries as the winner of the 3D Printed Car Design Challenge -- back in mid-April, US-based company Local Motors invited designers from around the world to submit their concepts for a car that can be manufactured using 3D printing.

Developed by Italian designer Michele Anoe, the Strati will now  < < MORE > >

What are Your Students Working on this Summer? Check out Emka’s Work (15 Years old)

Inspire your students . . .  Check out Emka Klučovska’s latest work.  She is a 15 year old artist from Slovakia and is self taught.  Some say she is a prodigy, I don’t think that term really applies here.  Well it all depends on how you define prodigy, I guess.  Emka works really hard and she is very talented!  She has be drawing since she was 2 years old, that is over 13 years.  How many hours a day do you draw?  How bad do you want it?   She wants it and all those years sketching  paid off.   I talk with my students all the time and tell them that being able to draw is not something you are born with; it is a skill AND YOU CAN LEARN IT!   So if you want it, get to work! ~Cornell

 

https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/blog/artist-spotlight-drawing-prodigy-emka-klucovska#

 

And now she is becoming a digital sculptor working with zBrush . . .  it will be great to see where her hard work takes her . . .

""5.80 Metros" . . . Very Cool!!!

"5.80 Metros" is an animated short film by Nicolas Deveaux, produced by Cube Creative et Orange. An imaginative video in which a team of giraffes practice professional dive from platforms high, demonstrating the grace of these animals.  http://www.cube-creative.fr/

Honda : Super Ultra Daydreams & 3D Printing

Check out Honda: Super Ultra Daydreams, it is a short video which explores the history of their concept designs from the 90’s to present as well as a website that allows you interactively navigate the 3d designs online.  Honda also made these designs available in a downloadable 3d format, where you can either print them out on your 3D printer or ‘reimagine’ your own design.  It is a cool idea and it is interesting to see their concepts over the years.   Check out the site and try printing few out, I plan on printing the set for a classroom demonstration.  ~Cornell   

“If your basic idea is strong, developing a new technology isn’t that hard. Technology is simply the end product. The idea from which it springs is what really matters.” ~Soichiro  Honda

FROM HONDA: At Honda, product development is driven from the bottom up, instead of from the top down. Why? Because we believe great inventions can spring from seemingly crazy ideas. That's why we actively encourage our engineers to come up with the most radically innovative Concept Cars they can imagine.

Over the years, we've showcased many of these vehicles at motor shows around the world. Now, to share the fun with everyone, we're making 3D design data for some of them available on the web. So you can download the designs, reimagine them according to your own personal vision, and share them with the world. Who knows? You may discover that you have what it takes to become the go-to car designer or engineer of tomorrow!

Thoughts from within Jim Henson - “The Red Book”

  

When I was six years old, The Muppet Show premiered and was hooked right from the start.  I just grew out of the Sesame Street era and directly in to Jim Henson’s hands.  The show aired between 1976 until 1981 when I was eleven years old;  I was a true Muppet kid.  I am sure I even kept watching the reruns until they were off the air.  The Muppets definitely influenced my childhood.   I can’t even tell you how many sock puppets I made as a kid, way too many.  I even had a puppet making supply kit fully stocked with a variety of googly eyes and a bag full of old colored socks.  I wonder where they all ended up?

“I don't know exactly where ideas come from, but when I'm working well ideas just appear. I've heard other people say similar things - so it's one of the ways I know there's help and guidance out there. It's just a matter of our figuring out how to receive the ideas or information that are waiting to be heard.”  ― Jim Henson

Either way,  I just came across “The Red Book” which was a log that Henson started in 1977 and continued until the end in 1988.  He recorded his activities and his thoughts.   One of the entries was from 1970 where he was working on computer animation for Sesame Street.  Yea, I wrote that right, in 1970 he was doing computer animation – cutting edge stuff for that time.  As a creative you need to be an explorer, a risk-taker, and also learn from others creatives, the habits, environment, the community, and their thought process.  Even if you are in a completely different industry, these skills are completely transferable.  Check out Henson's thoughts…  ~ Cornell

9/10-12/1970 – ‘In Denver doing Computer Animation for Sesame #’s 10 and 4 – Second season of Sesame Street.’

 
 

Historical information provided by The Jim Henson Company Archivist:

Jim was always interested in the next technological advancement to further express his creative vision, so it’s not surprising that he would seek out the earliest innovations in computer animation. For the second season of Sesame Street, Jim was contracted to make a series of counting films using a range of techniques. Some were live action, some were made using stop-motion animation, Jim painted under the camera to bring other numbers to life, and he worked with Maurice Sendak to produce two traditionally animated films. For numbers 4 and 10, however, Jim was eager to try a new analog computer system called Scanimate. Invented by Lee Harrison III in the late 1960s and built by the Computer Image Corporation in Denver, the Scanimate process involved back-lit high-contrast artwork that was mounted on animation pegs and scanned by a progressive scan monochrome camera. According to Scanimate chronicler Dave Sieg, those working on this technology were, “…an interesting mix of technicians and creative geniuses that understood the subtleties of color and motion that gave the work its real value.”

It’s unclear how Jim learned about Scanimate, but he had been interested in electronics in general and had used his Moog synthesizer to great effect on numerous projects. His colleague, Jerry Juhl, was an early adapter of computers and would have been intrigued with the process as well. Jerry wrote the scripts for “Number 4” and “Number 10” which Jim recorded the week before going out to Denver. The system allowed for the animation to be created in real time which made for an efficient production process. Jim arrived with the audio tracks and detailed storyboards in hand, and was able to complete the visuals for the film in just three days. While visually unimpressive in the context of today’s digital graphics, Jim’s Scanimate work was cutting edge in 1970 and an example of how he was always leading the way in the world of visual media.

FROM: http://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2011/09/910-121970/

AND you have to watch my favorite Muppet Show skit, “Manana“, 
which was the first skit shown on season 1, episode 1.

Ryan Trowbridge - 3D Math for Artists

Autodesk University puts on some great workshops!  As we are always looking for cross-curricular projects, watch “3D Math for Artists” by Ryan Trowbridge, it may give you a few ideas.  It also my be a way to push your higher end students.  It also will help them get a basic understanding on programming with Maya.   ~Cornell 

http://area.autodesk.com/masterclasses/masterclass/class3_q1_2012

Ryan Trowbridge - 3D Math for Artists
The focus of this class is to teach artists what vectors are, how to manipulate them, and utilize 3d math within their python scripts. This class will cover the following:

- how simple it is to add, subtract and use multiplication to manipulate vectors
- describe how vectors are the basis for a matrix and how a matrix is less complex than it first appears.
- How Python can access the Maya API math classes MVector and MMatrix
- how these included classes make doing matrix multiplication easier and how it closely relates to doing vector math.

Hopefully with a handful of knowledge building blocks and several example Maya files, after taking this Master Class, artists will find it easier to dig into 3D Math.