3D Printable Organic Lamp

grabcad

This is a submission for Cannon Kissane, age 15.School: Bellarmine College Preparatory, 9th gradePersonal Story:For as long as I can remember I have been obsessed with design. Whenever I walk into a room I examine and attempt to take in all the design elements and ask myself: How could I remake this, but better? In sixth grade one of my close friends got a 3D printer. Right before my eyes he was able to create a physical object that I could hold within my hands. From that day onward I was hooked on 3D printing. I jumped into using Blender, and began my design adventure. Someday I hope to pursue a career in design, and share my designs with the world.Inspiration and Impression:This printable organic lamp is inspired from the curves and twists in nature. More specifically, I tried to mimic the look of the skeleton of a jumping cholla cactus (Image above by Sheila Sund) that I came across while hiking in Arizona. My goal for the lamp was to have an interesting shape and look, that is compatible with today's modern design trends. I also tried to evoke feelings of peace and connection with nature. I designed the model in Blender, which is my current favorite software.Manufacturing:With such a unique shape and many curves, this design utilizes the capabilities of 3D printing to its limits. While this could be printed on many different types of printers, the one that I believe is most suitable is Polyjet printing. With Polyjet printing, I could use a transparent material to allow light to peek through the solid parts of the design. This design was scaled to fit within the 120mm*120mm*120mm size requirement, but could work at any size.End Note:Making this design was loads of fun, and I hope everyone else who is participating had just as much fun. Good luck to everyone!