We’ve noticed Grossman before and been very impressed with her work. Now we find a full-length interview with the sculptor from Desktop Engineering Online, in which she explains how she came to use 3D print tech. Highlights we observed:
- Grossman feels that she was “backed into” working with 3D printing as a way to accomplish her sculptures, because her designs aren’t moldable.
- I needed a production method that’s able to produce quantities of unmoldable designs, and there really is only this one
- Grossman uses ProMetal, an Ex One LLC company and service bureau, to execute her 3D models. The material used is a composite metal (not an alloy) of about 60 percent steel, 40 percent bronze
- Once she has a model whether it’s actually physical or mental, she designs it in CAD software, usually Rhinoceros software, or other software and freeware
- For Grossman, the learning curve for 3D modeling was initially steep, and it still remains a time consuming, technical process
- scanning technology can’t (yet) handle the undercutting and interlacing found in her pieces
- It’s easier to do this in metal than in plastic; art buyers like metal
- Grossman feels she has demonstrated that a broad-based consumer market exists for 3D printed products
We can’t agree more; with the emergence of numerous popular consumer-oriented 3D services, the field of 3D printing is now growing rapidly.
