tracking the use of 3dp to make art Jul 30 Charles Stross's
latest science fiction novel, Rule 34, includes a whole lot of
deep thinking on the implications of widespread 3D printing. 3D
printers are great for complex engineering projects, but what
happens when you try to get creative with it? Most artists
obsessed with digital fabrication opt for milling machines or
laser etching–which are cheaper and easier to access–but some
have stuck with rapid prototyping (aka rapid manufacturing)
because building ultra-precise objects out of nothing is
undeniably awesome. Can you imagine if Torolf Sauermann tried to
make this snail shell-esque math art using a pottery kiln? (He
actually designed it using TopMod, an open source 3D topological
mesh modeling system, and then sent the image to a printer for
conception.)