Author Archives: Egg Syntax

Japanese firm offers expectant parents 3D-printed fetus from MRI scan

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Japanese firm offers expectant parents 3D-printed fetus from MRI scan

Tomohiro Kinoshita with 3D model of 9-month fetus in acrylic resin, and small phone charm. Photo: AFP.

A firm in Japan is offering expectant moms and dads the ability to purchase a 3D-printed model of their unborn child, for about $1200 USD. The “Shape of an Angel” is about 9cm, in white resin, encased in a transparent block that forms the shape of the mother’s body. The modeling data comes from an MRI scan.

“As it is only once in a lifetime that you are pregnant with that child, we received requests for these kind of models from pregnant women who… do not want to forget the feelings and experience of that time,” said Tomohiro Kinoshita of FASOTEC, the company offering the service.

It comes with a tiny little version version that can be used as a mobile phone trinket (young women in Japan often dress up their phones with little dangly adornments). More in the Australian paper The Age. (HT: @Gromit01)


Interactive laser-cutter

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Interactive laser-cutter

Interactive laser-cutter

Constructable is an experimental laser-cutter from the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam. It uses a light-pen to direct the cutting beam, so that you can draw the cuts freehand, in realtime, rather than designing a pattern that is fed to the cutter. Basically, it transforms the cutter into a hand tool, rather than a programmable plotter.

Personal fabrication tools, such as laser cutters and 3D printers allow users to create precise objects quickly. However, working through a CAD system removes users from the workpiece. Recent interactive fabrication tools reintroduce this directness, but at the expense of precision.

Constructable is an interactive drafting table that produces precise physical output in every step. Users interact by drafting directly on the workpiece using a hand-held laser pointer. The system tracks the pointer, beautifies its path, and implements its effect by cutting the workpiece using a fast high-powered laser cutter.

Hasso-Plattner-Institut: constructable

(via Kottke)


Videos of people playing bass flutes

Videos of people playing bass flutes:

Back when I was a junior-high flute player, I once heard somebody mention the existence of bass flutes. I was instantly intrigued. But, in the days before readily available Internet access, I wasn’t able to track down examples of what they looked or sounded like.

Today, YouTube is filled with examples of deep-voiced, husky flutes — ranging from the simply extra-long alto flute to the gigantic subcontrabass flute, which is basically a percussion instrument with some woodwind features.

It’s fascinating stuff, and a handy reminder that flutes can do really interesting things … like improvisational jazz, and beatboxing. I’ve put together a small playlist of videos. Enjoy!


Exclusive excerpt from Creative Illustration, by Andrew Loomis

Exclusive excerpt from Creative Illustration, by Andrew Loomis:

Titan books has just released the fourth book in mid-century illustrator Andrew Loomis’ multi volume instructional art library, Creative Illustration.

Here’s what I’ve previously written about Loomis:

Andrew Loomis was an American illustrator whose work appeared in many magazines in the mid-20th century. In addition to his beautiful editorial work for magazines, Loomis also wrote and illustrated a half dozen or so instructional drawing books, and for the last 30 years or so they’ve been in great demand, even though they’ve been out of print.

But recently Titan Books has been republishing high-quality and very affordable facsimiles of Loomis’ books: Figure Drawing for All It’s Worth, Drawing the Heads and Hands, and Successful Drawing.

Creative Illustration


Mine Kafon; a bamboo tumbleweed that clears landmines

Mine Kafon; a bamboo tumbleweed that clears landmines:

The “Mine Kafon” is Massoud Hassani’s artificial tumbleweed, made from lightweight materials like bamboo. It is designed to be blown across uncleared minefields, detonating forgotten mines. It was Hassani’s grad design project for Design Academy Eindhoven. It continuously broadcasts its location, captured via GPS, plotting out safe, mine-free paths through the fields.

Mine Kafon

(via Make)