Printer thumbnail 1
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Printer

Artist/Maker
Formlabs (manufacturer)

The 2018 ECAL Digital Market saw the creation of 45 objects printed on a Formlab 3D printer by Product Design master’s students from ECAL and ECAL-related designers (faculty members and alumni). A range of innovative everyday objects were presented at Milan Design Week at the Spazio Orso 16, a 17th century Milanese palazzo, which had been turned into a production site and retail shop. The project investigated the possibilities of production on demand, emphasising how fast turnover within the design industry could become, and experimenting with new design details that are too intricate to achieve with traditional manufacturing techniques.

Object details

Object type
Printer
Brief description
Form Lab Printer
Physical description
3D printer with a transparent orange plastic cover and a silver plastic base.
Gallery label
(2021)
Individuality in serial production

Although mass-manufacture requires easily-produced uniform parts, designers have found ways to introduce elements of individual expression to their products. In the 1990s, Dutch designer Hella Jongerius experimented with firing porcelain at very high temperatures to create a dinner service of infinitely irregular plates, bowls and beakers. More recently, the retail concept ECAL Digital Market has exploited the possibilities of 3D printing for serial production. There are over 40 designs that feature details that cannot be achieved in a single step in more conventional manufacture. The designs are available to buy on demand, or customers can purchase a digital file to print the products themselves.

Porcelain beakers, plates and bowl
B-set, 1997 (manufactured 1999–2009)
Designed by Hella Jongerius
Manufactured by Koninklijke Tichelaar Makkum, Netherlands
Porcelain Museum nos. C.142, 148, 149, 152-2009
Museum nos. C.134, 137, 139-2009: Given by Reino Liefkes

3D printer
Form 2, 2018
Designed and manufactured for Formlabs, USA
Plastic, metal and electronic components
Museum no. CD.63.1-2020

3D-printed objects
2018
Designed by Thilo Alex Brunner and Jörg Mettler (flint), Chelsea Park (comb), Miji Noh (scissors), Mu-Hau Kao and Oscar Estrada (trinket tray), Carolien Niebling and Olli Hirvonen (bracelet), Alexis Georgacopoulos (candle holder), ECAL/Ignacio Merino (shoehorn), Big-Game (Whistle) for ECAL, Switzerland
Printed resin
Museum nos. CD.26, 27, 32, 36, 49, 50, 53, 54-2020

The object sits in the 'Automation and Labour' section of the Design 1900-Now gallery opened in June 2021.
Summary
The 2018 ECAL Digital Market saw the creation of 45 objects printed on a Formlab 3D printer by Product Design master’s students from ECAL and ECAL-related designers (faculty members and alumni). A range of innovative everyday objects were presented at Milan Design Week at the Spazio Orso 16, a 17th century Milanese palazzo, which had been turned into a production site and retail shop. The project investigated the possibilities of production on demand, emphasising how fast turnover within the design industry could become, and experimenting with new design details that are too intricate to achieve with traditional manufacturing techniques.
Collection
Design, Architecture and Digital Department
Accession number
CD.63-2020

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Record createdJune 24, 2021
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1638010/printer-formlabs/
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