“I’m excited because I think I’ve finally come up with a design that is both simpler and more robust, yet still achieves what I was originally aiming for: a piece of mechanical art that you can articulate in your hands to imitate the flapping motion of a bird,” Le Page tells 3DPrint.com.
The B3RD is a small, delicate creature that flaps its wings when manipulated. It 3D prints in one piece, fully assembled except for a pair of orthodontic elastic bands that attach between the wings.
“On a technical level, I also wanted to show the type of object you can create simply with SLS 3D printing that is near-impossible to achieve with conventional methods,” Le Page continues. “I didn’t want to use 3D printing as the prototyping method in this case: I wanted the print to *be* the final product so people could actually touch it, something with multiple, organically-shaped, interlocking parts that come out of the machine in a single print job.”
The B3RD is also far less expensive than its predecessors, at only $30 on Shapeways. With its curving lines, it’s a beautiful piece of art, in addition to being fun to play with – for both kids and adults. It’s more than just a sculpture that sits on a shelf or a desk; it’s interactive and a demonstration of the complex structures that 3D printing can create.
“In order to do that, we’re currently patenting a new ‘space origami’ design which helps solve the issue of how you pack a large diameter, donut-shaped torus into a long, narrow, rocket payload bay. Unfortunately because we’re in the process of writing the patent I can’t talk about specifics, but I do want to point out the link with the B3RD,” he tells us. “In this case, I am using 3D-printing as a prototyping platform, but *because* of the experience I’ve gained with the B3RD (and all my other previous models), I’ve been able to iterate on our ‘space origami’ concept in the same way I have with the B3RD. They are both 3D printed, multi-part, single-print models with complex geometries. And having those physical models definitely helped us to reach our first seed funding agreement with investors just last weekend!”
Those who buy a B3RD are helping to support the startup – a good reason to do so if you needed one. Personally, I think the cool design and fidget spinner-like entertainment possibilities are reason enough.
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[Images: Daniche Creative]