Reach in & Take a Look Around: Create it REAL Integrates Augmented Reality into REALvision

Have you ever spent hours in the design process for an intricate 3D model and then set it up to print before going to bed, tiptoeing off, fingers crossed, hoping to see success in the morning? While many times you will experience that euphoria of pulling a perfect print from your machine, there’s nothing worse than seven hours (or 27) of 3D printing ending in failure, and all you have to show for it is a hunk of plastic, wasted time, and wasted money in materials. That’s just depressing, frustrating, and expensive. Wouldn’t it be great if you could look into the future before you pressed print?

The good old print preview has been around so long that these days it’s just often ignored until after we notice a problem and become curious enough to look while in the frustrating reformatting process. But what if it had a major facelift for the 3D world, allowing you to reach in and grab your model—turning it this way and that—inspecting it for any design flaws and making sure it is the correct size? What if you could send it off to print with the confidence and insurance of knowing that you were going to get what you aimed for (with the exception of a machine malfunction)? Thanks to Create it REAL and the gift of augmented reality as a feature in their updated REALvision slicing software, now you should be able to look forward to a good experience—and reliability—with every print with REALview.

The power is in your hands, literally, as many event goers saw today at the Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo in Paris. The event has been running from May 24-26, giving visitors a glimpse into all the latest 3D printing technology and services, along with two days of conferences. Those checking out the Create it REAL exhibit were able to see exactly how the new technology works, using a marker to communicate with the webcam, thus allowing users to reach in and preview any model from top to bottom and side to side.

“Once you click on the camera button, REALvision start your webcam and look for a special marker you have prepared before and that’s it – no other setting,” says Jeremie Pierre Gay, CEO of Create it REAL. “We decided to implement this function after several feedbacks from different customers. People wanted to be able to have a better idea of their object size before launching the print, and looking only at the workspace was clearly not enough.”

Create it REAL centers their platform, functions and features, and updates, completely around the user experience whether it’s in 3D printer manufacturing or new software updates such as this. We’ve seen this continually, following the unique Danish company as they’ve offered more expanded 3D printing production options to the entrepreneurial and development community over time, as well as forming new partnerships that resulted in wonderful new features for users to explore.

This latest innovation to their slicing software exemplifies how augmented reality can actually be relevant in real-world uses, allowing for improvement in our 3D design and printing projects with the option of being able to improve where needed before we press go.

“These kinds of new features, targeting specific needs or issues, are directly supporting our new strategy to address vertical markets and develop 3D printers on-demand,” said Gray. “We’ve been contacted by different pioneers in their industries and they were not satisfied with current 3D printers because it was always missing something special for them. So if they could not find the right printer, we would then make it for them and develop all features they need to become leaders in their own markets.”

Not surprisingly, REALview will continue to expand for uses in different applications meant for jewelry and accessories, supporting different markers for items like bracelets, necklaces, and specialty eyewear. What if you could try jewelry or glasses on before sending them to print? The Create it REAL team sees many great uses ahead for this platform with the use of augmented reality as they launch us into the future of creating in 3D.

Will you be attending Inside 3D Printing in Paris? If so, be sure to stop by their booth to catch a glimpse of the new REALview features in action.

Based in Aalborg, which the team explains is known as the old Danish ‘Silicon Valley,’ the Create it REAL team is made up of a group of experts in 3D printing technologies, electronics, software and mechanics. Not just a software provider, they also make premium, on-demand 3D printers for other progressive companies. Discuss this new update further in the Create it REAL Offers Augmented Reality Feature for Better 3D Printing forum over at 3DPB.com.