AMR Software
AMR Data Centers

Korean Artist Proves 3D Pens Have a Place in Your Product Design Workflow

Share this Article

Functional prints with a 3D printing pen? It’s not as impossible as you might think. In a world where 3D pens can be used to make gingerbread houses and runway accessories, why can’t they be used for custom product design? Korean artist and YouTuber 3D Sanago first went viral a few years ago with his video demonstrating how to “repair” a wall with a 3D printing pen. Several million views later, Sanago’s fans still tune in to see what new creations he’ll turn out. They range from figurines of his cat to Porsche replicas.

Sanago’s latest video caught my eye: he used his design skills and 3D pen to create a custom functional housing for his home security camera. Originally intending to create a casing that resembled Wall-E, Sanago changed course after getting a look at the internal guts of the camera. Instead he went with a new housing designed to mimic “Truck Man,” an otherwise nameless background character from a Crayon Shin-Chan film. The character captured Sanago’s imagination enough for the artist to painstakingly recreate it by hand. The artist built out a scaffolding of the character’s face based on a tracing.

Once the scaffold was in place around the camera’s lenses and circuit board, he fit it back onto its servo, which allows the camera to turn and serves as Truck Man’s neck. This step also included delicately removing some excess plastic housing that was apart of the camera’s original makeup.

Next came the intensive process of completing the scaffolding around the head and providing infill to be sanded and painted.

After ironing, sanding, painting and creating a base for the neck joint to rest in, here are the final results:

While it goes without saying that many of the steps depicted in the video could have been accomplished more quickly with traditional 3D printing, this project demonstrates the continued promise and potential of 3D pens as design tools rather than just novelties. While computer assisted design allows for easy duplication and iterating, it still requires personnel trained to use it. 3D pens allow anyone who can doodle to design an object. Allowing team members who aren’t trained in CAD have access to 3D pens increases the number of team members who can effectively contribute design work towards a product. Furthermore, 3D pens can be utilized in environments where computing might be disruptive or inaccessible. Want to take the team on a device-less retreat but still keep the ideas flowing? Consider the 3D pen. It might just create your team’s next breakout product.



Share this Article


Recent News

3D Printing Financials: Stratasys Kicks Off 2025 with Fresh Cash and a Tight Grip on Strategy

Ohio Ordnance Works Partners With Velo3D on Metal 3D Printing for Defense Initiative



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

3D Printing News Briefs, May 3, 2025: Executives, Awards, & a 3D Printing Factory

We’re focusing on additive manufacturing business news today, as both Velo3D and PostProcess Technologies announced changes to their Boards of Directors. Sandvik Metal Powder has a new president, and Klas...

EOS Releases Medical Device Master File for M290 3D Printer

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) firm EOS has released a Medical Device Master File that will make it easier for customers to achieve regulatory success. The file will essentially be...

Velo3D Secures $22M Metal 3D Printing Powder Supply Deal with Amaero

Velo3D (OTCMKTS: VLDX) has signed a major new agreement with metal 3D printing powder manufacturer Amaero (ASX: 3DA). The five-year deal is valued at USD $22 million and centers around...

Push Button Metal 3D Printing for $50,000?

In 2021 we wrote an article about “Push Button Metal, the low cost metal 3D printing evolution we are not talking about.” In it, we talked about One Click Metal,...