A small product design team based in Australia are using their ingenuity and a line of core 3D printable objects to combine older “useless” technologies and products with 3D printing to create something new and useful.
The latest from Avooq is a line of objects they call CDBits, and it’s aimed at taking old-school compact discs and turning them into “a construction power house.”
CDBits are 3D printed clips that let a user connect CDs in a series of different shapes and designs. Using the clips, it’s possible to make boxes and storage with old compact disks to build modular units that are both decorative and functional.
The clips enable upcycling, and design files can be downloaded from MyMiniFactory for printing at home or purchase online.
The ingenious, small, and tough ‘bits’ connect to used or new CDs and DVDs to build what Avooq says are expandable modular arrays for racking and storage systems, lighting displays, decorative features, or even sculptures.
It’s an interesting idea, and Avooq says that the materials, while nearing the end of their useful life as data storage devices, can be in a sense reborn for a digital age.
“Blank media disks retail for about 3-4 cents each and can be purchased from most electrical amd computer outlets including most supermarkets – making them one of the cheapest, readily available building blocks money can buy,” they say of the CDBits clips.
Avooq also created the SplashLIGHT, which makes an empty wine bottle into a piece of ambient lighting. They used their 3D printed piece, and parts from an old halogen desk lamp, to make an interesting new lamp.
Their PS1 Wall Clock converts a PlayStation 1 console into a retro-inspired wall clock with just a pair of 3D printed parts, clock hands, and a DVD or CD.
Another of their creations, the Manholster, is a tiny figurine of a bearded man they’ve named “Fotios” who was “created to hold your beer bottles, act as a very masculine looking night light or hold your mobile phone.”
All the necessary files to create these projects can be found at My Mini Factory, available for download.
Will you download and print CDBits? What do you think of Avooq’s efforts to upcycle old technology? Let us know in the Avooq Upcycles CDs forum thread on 3DPB.com.
