We’ve all wondered what 3D printers can do. We were even shocked – some called for controls on what you can and can’t make after a Texan 3D printed a handgun. It’s as if we can’t escape a future that has already come.
But one area of the 3D printing revolution is still in its infancy: 3D pens.
These are pens that “write” on a surface or even in the air using melted plastic instead of ink.
Those of us who spent hours gluing together plastic model airplanes or racing cars as kids, with more glue on our fingers than on the models, will be glad there’s an alternative.
Why not just draw your model in the air?
“If you want to have some fun, if you want to draw a model for fun, for pleasure, then 3Dsimo is for you,” says David Paskevic, a young Czech electronics student who developed the first 3D pen in Europe.
“The only limit is your imagination,” he told DW.
David Paskevic, a fourth-year electronics student, could soon become the first in Europe. Image: Rob Cameron
So there are no limits – and a certain level of artistic ability and talent, as this reporter soon found out.
Attempts to “draw” a frog out of green plastic were less than impressive, but let’s just chalk that up to experience.
It’s called 3Dsimo and is only the third 3D pen ever developed.
So how does it work?
The size and weight of a small handheld fan, 3Dsimo pulls in what looks like thin pieces of raw, colorful spaghetti. It melts them into a liquid “ink” that dries on contact with air. This is how you can draw plastic models – easiest on a flat surface, but also in the air.
An industry that is still in its infancy
David Paskevic says there are currently three 3D pens.
The world’s first – 3Doodler – developed by US developers in Boston, a spin-off made in China, and now its 3Dsimo, which it claims is the most versatile 3D pen ever.
“The big advantage of our pen is that it writes with both bioplastics such as PLA (polylactic acid) and thermoplastics such as ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) and any other plastic material in the air.”
“The other 3D pens that are being developed can only handle ABS plastics,” says Paskevic, “because they work at a fixed temperature and a fixed speed. With our pen you can set the temperature between 0 and 260 degrees Celsius, and that is important because every plastic has a different melting point.”
The portrait of reporter Rob Cameron drawn with the 3Dsimo. Image: Rob Cameron
The pens are rarely available commercially, so the technology is new.
The American 3Doodler is sold through the main crowdfunding site Kickstarter, while 3Dsimo is available through the smaller site Indiegogo.
In any case, there’s a four-month wait for the pens to arrive, so they won’t quite be available in stores this Christmas.
However, both pens have attracted a lot of media interest, such is their fascinating potential.
In a stark white room of Prague’s high-tech National Technical Library, Paskevic unpacks a series of models stored in a very simple shoebox – a pair of glasses, a small tree, a dinosaur, a poppy, a monoplane, a copy of the Eiffel Tower and of the resistance – this reporter portrait with the DW logo.
All of them, he says, were “drawn” by hand.
Not protected by patent
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of this story is that 3Dsimo is not protected by a patent, as patenting an industrial design means freezing all development and promotional activities for seven months while the patent can be filed.
In the fast-paced world of 3D printing, Paskevic says such waiting could be fatal.
“3D printing is developing incredibly quickly. Every month you wait can cost you your idea,” says Paskevic.
David Paskevic says waiting for a patent in Europe can destroy your design. Image: Rob Cameron
“If we had to wait another seven months, another product similar to this one could come onto the market. And then it would be impossible to get this in stores.”
More pens may come onto the market in the future, so the technology is still in its infancy.
Currently they are primarily toys for aspiring artists and children.
But in the future, as the “ink” stabilizes and technology improves, it is not difficult to imagine designers “drawing” a new car in front of company bosses, or an architect “drawing” the outlines of a new house.
The future, it seems, is made of plastic. And fantastic.
