Stratasys 3D prints 14-foot tall giant creature for comic conference
Canadian Plastics
Research & Development Plastics: Design Plastics: Technology Advances3D printing and additive manufacturing machines maker Stratasys Ltd. has created a 14-foot tall giant creature which will be showcased at the Comic-Con International 2014 conference in San Diego, Calif.
3D printing and additive manufacturing machines maker Stratasys Ltd. has created a 14-foot tall giant creature which will be showcased at the Comic-Con International 2014 conference in San Diego, Calif.
The giant creature was designed by artists at the Stan Winston School. Engineers and technicians at Legacy Effects – the studio that brought to life Iron Man, Avatar, Pacific Rim and RoboCop characters – worked closely with Stratasys to build dozens of 3D-printed parts to create the character.
“Everything about the giant creature project was ambitious, including size, weight, delivery schedule and performance requirements,” said Matt Winston, co-founder of the Stan Winston School. “Without the close involvement of our partners at Stratasys, whose 3D printing technologies are, in our view, revolutionizing not only the manufacturing industry but the entertainment industry as well, none of it would have been possible.”
More than one third of the giant creature was 3D printed, including the chest armor, shoulders, arms and fingers. A variety of Stratasys 3D printers were employed in the build process, including the Fortus 900mc which uses FDM 3D printing technology to build durable parts as large as 36 x 24 x 36 inches.
The parts were created using ABS-M30 thermoplastic material, which Stratasys described as having the mechanical properties suitable for functional prototypes, jigs and fixtures and production parts.
“The main advantage to 3D printing was going directly from a concept design to an end use, physical part, helping avoid any interpretation by hand or casting in a different material,” said Jason Lopes, lead systems engineer at Legacy Effects.
Visit Stratasys’ Facebook page for updates on the Giant Creature’s schedule of events during Comic-Con. In addition, WIRED magazine recently premiered the new digital season of How to Make a Giant Creature on thescene.com/WIRED. The series provides an insider’s look into the making of the nearly 14-foot-tall creature, leading into Comic-Con where it will be unveiled to the public.
Stratasys has corporate headquarters in Minneaspolis, Minn., and Rehovot, Israel.
