XYZ-RGB's new ScannerKiller service takes two ordinary digital pictures of CEO Helmut Kungl, and merges them together using proprietary technology to create a 3-D data file, which can be used by animators or video-game developers in their products.
Photograph by: Supplied by, XYZ-RGB
OTTAWA — For one Ottawa entrepreneur, creating a hot new product was as simple as pressing a button.
With a special 3D printer at his disposal, Helmut Kungl, chief executive of XYZ-RGB Inc., was able to prototype, refine, patent and create working versions of a sleeve for an iPhone 4 without ever leaving the office.
"It's like a Star Trek replicator," said Kungl. "File goes in, physical part comes out."
3D printing offers a glimpse into the future of manufacturing - something that will change everything from medicine to how we make automobiles. Companies are using 3D printers to make components for space shuttles, produce car parts and even print human tissue.
The devices use cutting-edge plastics, metals and other materials to create an object based on a computer-created model.
The creator draws an object or device using a computer program, then hits "print." From there the machine goes to work, slowly spraying a thin layer based on the shape of the object. Layer after layer is applied until the desired object has been produced.
Printing times vary, but, in Kungl's case, one of his iPhone accessories takes up to three hours to complete.
The technology is quickly being adopted by the world's design community, which is using 3D printing technology to speed product development times. The technology means companies will no longer have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to make tools and dies for prototypes.
One company that is taking full advantage of 3D printers is Manitoba's Kor Ecologic. The company has designed a new gas/electric hybrid vehicle called the Urbee, the car's body (glass panels included) were made using a 3D printing technology called Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM).
"FDM lets us eliminate tooling, machining and handwork, and it brings incredible efficiency when a design change is needed. If you can get a pilot run without any tooling, you have advantages," said Jim Kor, chief executive of Kor Ecologic, in a release.
The Urbee was on display at the 2010 SEMA Show, a trade show dedicated to specialty automobiles, in Las Vegas last month.
The car, which is not yet ready for full-scale production, gave companies a glimpse at the massive change in manufacturing processes that are coming over the next decade.
The technology touches more than just manufacturing. Organovo, a company from San Diego, California, is using it to build human tissue and organs that can be used to help save a person's life when donor organs or tissue cannot be found.
Earlier this month, the company announced it had used a variation of a 3D printer, called the NovoGen MMX Bioprinter, to print blood vessels.
"Scientists and engineers can use the 3D bio printers to enable placing cells of almost any type into a desired pattern," said Keith Murphy, chief executive of Organovo, in a release. "Researchers can place liver cells on a preformed scaffold, support kidney cells with a co-printed scaffold ... ultimately the idea would be for surgeons to have tissue on demand for various uses."
The company's printer was recently named as one of the Best Innovations of 2010 by Time magazine.
Even in the home, 3D printing is making inroads. Manufacturers are pushing to get 3D printers into the hands of average consumers in hopes they will spark a boom in desktop manufacturing.
The idea is people will be able to print their own toys, tools or replacement parts at home, thanks to a 3D printing device. If a person needs a wrench, he or she can simply download the plans off the Internet and make one at home. If the battery cover on a cellphone breaks, the consumer can simply print another.
While prices for industrial 3D printers range from $50,000 to well over $200,000, models geared to consumers are already available starting at around $500.
The idea of being able to manufacture his own replacement parts for camera gear is what sparked Ottawa's Kungl to spend around $50,000 on a 3D printer about a year ago.
Kungl's company, XYZ-RGB, is in the business of capturing and processing 3D images. The company's 3D image files have been used in movies such as G.I. Joe, Public Enemies, Lord of the Rings and King Kong.
His company designs much of its own gear and is always losing or breaking various components, which is why the 3D printer was a coveted asset for his business.
He stumbled upon the design for the iPhone sleeve while trying to figure out a way to use the camera in the iPhone 4 to capture 3D photos.
Kungl's iPhone sleeve, which is already in demand at Ottawa area retailers, has been designed to incorporate a mount for a tripod, so that iPhone owners can take pictures and video with no need to hold the device.
Kungl explained that holding a phone isn't a good way to capture high quality images required for 3D purposes. So, pulling on his background as an industrial design graduate from Carleton University, he created a bumper case for the iPhone 4 that incorporates a slot to allow for the tripod mount.
He then used the company's 3D printer to make the case. As soon as his staff members saw it, they all wanted one of their own.
"The guys started asking for it. Then they showed a friend and they showed some friends. I have run out of materials," he said, adding that he has already sold more than 150 of the cases at a price of $23 each.
Camera stores have offered to stock the bumper and a supplier of camera parts from Toronto has even offered to represent Kungl in order to take his cases global.
"I wish I could have had it out in time for Christmas," said Kungl, adding now that he has been through six revisions of the sleeve, thanks to his 3D printer, he is working with a manufacturer to make plastic moulds of the device so he can begin full-scale manufacturing. Kungl hopes to have the sleeves on store shelves by February.
With a special 3D printer at his disposal, Helmut Kungl, chief executive of XYZ-RGB Inc., was able to prototype, refine, patent and create working versions of a sleeve for an iPhone 4 without ever leaving the office.
"It's like a Star Trek replicator," said Kungl. "File goes in, physical part comes out."
3D printing offers a glimpse into the future of manufacturing - something that will change everything from medicine to how we make automobiles. Companies are using 3D printers to make components for space shuttles, produce car parts and even print human tissue.
The devices use cutting-edge plastics, metals and other materials to create an object based on a computer-created model.
The creator draws an object or device using a computer program, then hits "print." From there the machine goes to work, slowly spraying a thin layer based on the shape of the object. Layer after layer is applied until the desired object has been produced.
Printing times vary, but, in Kungl's case, one of his iPhone accessories takes up to three hours to complete.
The technology is quickly being adopted by the world's design community, which is using 3D printing technology to speed product development times. The technology means companies will no longer have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to make tools and dies for prototypes.
One company that is taking full advantage of 3D printers is Manitoba's Kor Ecologic. The company has designed a new gas/electric hybrid vehicle called the Urbee, the car's body (glass panels included) were made using a 3D printing technology called Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM).
"FDM lets us eliminate tooling, machining and handwork, and it brings incredible efficiency when a design change is needed. If you can get a pilot run without any tooling, you have advantages," said Jim Kor, chief executive of Kor Ecologic, in a release.
The Urbee was on display at the 2010 SEMA Show, a trade show dedicated to specialty automobiles, in Las Vegas last month.
The car, which is not yet ready for full-scale production, gave companies a glimpse at the massive change in manufacturing processes that are coming over the next decade.
The technology touches more than just manufacturing. Organovo, a company from San Diego, California, is using it to build human tissue and organs that can be used to help save a person's life when donor organs or tissue cannot be found.
Earlier this month, the company announced it had used a variation of a 3D printer, called the NovoGen MMX Bioprinter, to print blood vessels.
"Scientists and engineers can use the 3D bio printers to enable placing cells of almost any type into a desired pattern," said Keith Murphy, chief executive of Organovo, in a release. "Researchers can place liver cells on a preformed scaffold, support kidney cells with a co-printed scaffold ... ultimately the idea would be for surgeons to have tissue on demand for various uses."
The company's printer was recently named as one of the Best Innovations of 2010 by Time magazine.
Even in the home, 3D printing is making inroads. Manufacturers are pushing to get 3D printers into the hands of average consumers in hopes they will spark a boom in desktop manufacturing.
The idea is people will be able to print their own toys, tools or replacement parts at home, thanks to a 3D printing device. If a person needs a wrench, he or she can simply download the plans off the Internet and make one at home. If the battery cover on a cellphone breaks, the consumer can simply print another.
While prices for industrial 3D printers range from $50,000 to well over $200,000, models geared to consumers are already available starting at around $500.
The idea of being able to manufacture his own replacement parts for camera gear is what sparked Ottawa's Kungl to spend around $50,000 on a 3D printer about a year ago.
Kungl's company, XYZ-RGB, is in the business of capturing and processing 3D images. The company's 3D image files have been used in movies such as G.I. Joe, Public Enemies, Lord of the Rings and King Kong.
His company designs much of its own gear and is always losing or breaking various components, which is why the 3D printer was a coveted asset for his business.
He stumbled upon the design for the iPhone sleeve while trying to figure out a way to use the camera in the iPhone 4 to capture 3D photos.
Kungl's iPhone sleeve, which is already in demand at Ottawa area retailers, has been designed to incorporate a mount for a tripod, so that iPhone owners can take pictures and video with no need to hold the device.
Kungl explained that holding a phone isn't a good way to capture high quality images required for 3D purposes. So, pulling on his background as an industrial design graduate from Carleton University, he created a bumper case for the iPhone 4 that incorporates a slot to allow for the tripod mount.
He then used the company's 3D printer to make the case. As soon as his staff members saw it, they all wanted one of their own.
"The guys started asking for it. Then they showed a friend and they showed some friends. I have run out of materials," he said, adding that he has already sold more than 150 of the cases at a price of $23 each.
Camera stores have offered to stock the bumper and a supplier of camera parts from Toronto has even offered to represent Kungl in order to take his cases global.
"I wish I could have had it out in time for Christmas," said Kungl, adding now that he has been through six revisions of the sleeve, thanks to his 3D printer, he is working with a manufacturer to make plastic moulds of the device so he can begin full-scale manufacturing. Kungl hopes to have the sleeves on store shelves by February.
Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/printing+offers+glimpse+into+future+manufacturing/4001563/story.html#ixzz18g9Izdy2
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