3D Printing + Entreprenuer = Sketchbot

3D printing is still years away from use in the home, but it is being used widely by major corporations to speed product development cycles and increasingly by entrepreneurs to get their businesses off the ground. One example of this is character artist and animator Steve Talkowski’s project Sketchbot. His blog chronicles the development of his character Sketchbot, from original pencil sketch to a “Designer Toy“. What follows is a step-by-step breakdown of how mass customization technology can let a lone designer turn an idea from bits to atoms.

Professional Design

The biggest impediment to widespread adoption of 3D printing will be the tools required to make something look good with little Formal training. Talkowski is a skilled animator, doesn’t have this problem, and is easily able to conceptualize an interesting character and execute it with 3D modeling tools.

Initial Fabrication

Using an Objet Eden 260 3D printer Talkowski turned his rendering into a prototype.

Small Scale Manufacturing

Is made possible by casting multiples of the 3D printout. You may wonder why he didn’t just print out more characters on the 3D printer? As he notes in his blog, even parts from a high quality 3D printer like the Eden require a fair amount of finishing. That plus the cost of 3D printer consumables makes casting a more affordable option.

Kitchen Table Production

Speed is another benefit of casting. a 3D printer would take 8-12 hours to print something that size. Quick cast resins made by SmoothOn can produce a small army of toys in minutes.

Final Product

Finally the models have to be painted and detailed.

Homebrew action figures aren’t going to threaten GI Joe anytime soon, but the Sketchbot project shows how an entreprenurially minded artist can turn his illustrations into good with increasing ease. Definitely check out the Sketchbot blog to follow this project and the rest of the cool stuff covered there.

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Tagged as: 3D modeling, Action figure, Publishing and Printing, Toy