3D Scanning Technology from Shining 3D Used to Offer Customized 3D Printed Fingernails

I’m really, really bad at doing my own nails. I always manage to get nail polish all over my hands, and I’m usually too impatient to let my nails dry fully before going about my business, so I end up smearing or chipping the polish right away. I recently got my first manicure (I know, I’m behind) and I had the technician use a gel polish. I have friends who have gotten gel manicures, and they’ve remained in perfect shape for weeks, so I was excited to finally have pretty, polished fingernails that stayed nice-looking for more than a day at most.

Fat chance. It was gorgeous outside the next day, so I decided to do some gardening, and promptly chipped the allegedly indestructible polish on both of my thumbnails. On the bright side, I’m going to have lots of vegetables this summer, as long as my new garden decides to honor the sparkly gel polish sacrifice I left in its soil. I can’t say I’m surprised, based on my luck with nail polish in the past.

That’s why I won’t even touch acrylic nails. I can’t stand when my nails get even a little bit long, and I’ve already demonstrated that I can’t have nice things, so acrylics are out of the question for me. For those of you who are into acrylic nails, though, how about some 3D printed ones? Yes, those are now a thing – courtesy of a major Japanese electronics company, believe it or not, in partnership with 3D scanner manufacturer Shining 3D.

Again, I can’t speak from personal experience, but I’m told that acrylics have a way of falling off, and I’ve definitely seen women with nine elegant, long, polished nails and one short, non-manicured one. While there may be any number of reasons for losing a nail (see: aggressive gardening), one cause is that acrylic nails don’t always fit perfectly. Like everything else about us, our nail beds differ in shape and size, and fake nails aren’t custom-made to fit them – until now.

Using Shining 3D’s EinScan-Pro 3D scanner, the Japanese company is scanning the hands of clients and using the scan data to 3D print customized artificial fingernails using stereolithography. Once the customer’s scans have been taken, it takes about a month for the final product to be delivered via mail, but the wait is worth it, allegedly, as the perfectly custom-fit nails are much better at actually staying on the customer’s fingers. Manicurists who use the system can even save the nail scans of their clients for easy order in the future.

“This service offers attractive nails to women who have no time to visit the nail salon,” said a spokesperson from the Japanese electronics company.

The electronics company is offering the service free of charge to customers in Tokyo shopping malls this month, and expects to market it fully sometime this year. In the future, The company also plans to embed IC chips into the nails so that wearers can use them for entry to concerts and amusement parks.

Did you ever imagine that you might one day be sporting an intelligent manicure? Neither did I. I may not be a fan of fake nails, but I would definitely try these – if only so I can tell people that I’m able to get into concerts just by waving my hand. Discuss in the 3D Printed Manicure forum at 3DPB.com.