All of the Lights: 100-Light Installation Illuminates Unified Individuality of 3D Printing

Budmen Industries founders Stephanie Keefe and Isaac Budmen.

In many different projects, 3D printing has been behind the creation of varying types of illumination. 3D designers around the world have created lights and lamps, along with a variety of different accents, and even spectacular installations. The general idea though is that utilitarian objects can be made efficiently and affordably, allowing the user to create a wide range of choices in different materials and colors so they may have light where it is necessary.

Budmen Industries is an innovative company and post-digital workshop in Pennsylvania, with a team focused on the development and manufacturing of their latest project: the Budmen BUILDER 3D printer. This new hardware, with a patent pending, will be available to the public soon for commercial, large-scale 3D printing. In the meantime, the founders, Stephanie Keefe and Isaac Budmen, have created an installation called ‘All of the Lights.’

While they were able to show off what their 3D printer can do with creating progressive and functional lighting, Keefe and Budmen also had a higher purpose in making and sharing ‘All of the Lights’ with the world. The collection of lights is meant to symbolize unified individuality.

“We live in a world where battle lines are being drawn: Nationalist vs Immigrant, Conservative vs Liberal, 1% vs 99%, etc. All of these ideological fights represent something bigger — a society stuck in a groupthink mentality where the unique thought and complexity of the individual is lost in the fray. Throughout history, humanity’s darkest hours have been defined by ‘us versus them’,” Budmen told 3DPrint.com.

The idea is for diversity and beauty to shine from every part of the world.

“All of the Lights represents a bright future where individuality is celebrated and reflected in environments that are as unique and complex as we are. All of the Lights redefines craft for the 21st century, combining sculpture and digital fabrication to create an immersive glimpse into the future,” Budmen told us.

The team 3D printed each of the 100 unique lamps on the BUILDER, demonstrating its versatility. Both Budmen and Keefe are artists, and their design talents shine through in this substantial project. Lamps vary from symmetrical to ‘rooted in pure geometry.’ Others have swirled, spiral designs, while others are more abstract.

Budman and Keefe have also created a book, over 140 pages, featuring the designs. This includes photos and a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at the project, as well as a full explanation of the process.

“While it might seem like we are focused on the future, we are actually far more interested in discovering what is possible right now – we call this the Possible Present. All of our projects explore the creative possibilities of the latest technology,” stated Keefe and Budmen.

All of the Lights project stats:

• 100 lamps
• 453 hours of printing time
• Shortest print at 3.25 hours; Longest lamp print at 8.8 hours
• Total electrical cord – 1704 feet
• Filament used – 4.5 miles!

Find out more about the Budmen BUILDER 3D printer here, and the ‘All of the Lights’ installation here.

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