More than a picture
Danhe Medical, a medical device company based
in Hangzhou, China, has seen expectant parents’
desire to see their child as soon as possible. Yet
the scan, which parents still treasure, does not
really show the baby clearly. At this point, Mr. Sun,
the marketing manager at Danhe Medical, started
wondering whether realistic models can be created
based on the scans.
But doing is harder than thinking. Making the baby
models raises several difficulties. The first involves
customization. The uniqueness of each baby
means that every model needs to be customized,
and creating a model for each case would
be extremely time-consuming and expensive,
depending on the technology used. Second, the
models must be very accurate and realistic, so
that the baby’s facial features can be reproduced.
Third, they need to be very durable. Finding a
technology that would solve these problems
became the focus, and 3D printing quickly
emerged as the best option.
“I have heard about
how people are using 3D printing technologies to
make customized figurines,” remarked Mr. Sun,
“So I know this is something that I have to try.”
Enter the 3D printer designed for designers: the
Stratasys J850™. The models printed by the J850
are defined by their high-fidelity. It can create a
multitude of textures including simulated leather,
soft-touch materials, and wood grain. Its highspeed mode allows fast iteration, which means
that multiple prototypes in different materials can
be printed at one go. In addition, the J850 is also
PANTONE® Validated and can print over 500,000
colors, which means designers can choose exactly
the colors they want. Furthermore, the J850 can
print multiple materials that are rigid and flexible,
transparent and opaque.
When Mr. Sun found out that LAIKA, the Oscarwinning stop-motion animation studio, has been
using J-Series printers to make their hyperrealistic
puppets, he had no doubt the system would
deliver exactly what he was looking for.
