beautiful failures | accidental 3D Prints

A photographic collection of discarded pieces made with a domestic 3D Printer. 

Back in 2011 I got my first DIY 3DPrinter, an Ultimaker, a very nice piece of hardware that builds whatever I command.

Mastering a 3DPrinter is a craft; it is earning a set of skills coupled with a set of tools.
In the process of domesticating my 3D Printer I had to figtht with hundreds of variables, thousands of settings and millions of lines of GCode.

I can’t describe well enough the joy of getting your first object 3D printed as intended, but it is a huge success.

But, on the path to get the perfect 3D-Print, many meters of filament get piled up as discarded disappointments,
as bastard objects that never were,
as unborn half-things…

… and they are beautiful.

Ever since I first saw a 3D-printed object, I’ve been fascinated by the layered look & feel.
As a designer I call for honesty on product's aesthetics, I tend to like things that don’t hide their nature. Same with 3DPrinted objects, I like the texture and finishing of additive manufacturing, specially FDM (Fused-Deposition-Modeling).

nice? I also made a book.

 
 

Beautiful Failures - serendipity & the art of 3d printing

A video by Adam Proctor 

What is it about failed 3d prints that piques our curiosity? Whilst ruined 2d prints are often just discarded, failed 3d prints may often be kept as aesthetically pleasing artefacts, with designers sharing their 'rejects' on forums and image galleries. Product designers are even manipulating code to force prints to 'fail' in the hope of discovering new printing methods and engineering solutions.
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