Mother Nature’s own 3D printing – Designed, Engineered and Developed

3D printing – Creations by Mother Nature!

As Industrial Designers and Product Developers, we all know the advantages of 3D printing.  Here at MAKO Invent,  it is a big part of our design process and is an excellent tool used to improve and validate design features as well as reduce client cost by cutting down development time.  In fact our new MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printing machine should be coming into the office any day now, so looking forward to that!!

Figure 1) 3D printed Shoes for NewBalance

With the specs of the new 3D printer still fresh on my mind,  I was watching one of my favorite Youtube channels the other day called Smarter Everyday (subscribe and check out the link here http://www.youtube.com/user/destinws2?feature=watch).  The host Destin, had a really cool episode about his own run in with Nature’s own 3D printers.  Check out the images below, simply amazing!

Images taken from Youtubes’ Smarter Everyday – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOLpSPEA72U

Other natural 3D printers in the animal kingdom include the Cliff Dwelling Swifts of Southern China whose siliva built nests are a highly sought after delicacy used in Bird’s Nest Soup.

More amazing are the cooling and protective properties of the Giant termite mounds in Africa.  All of the above share similar additive 3D technology – just add siliva, building compound and start building!!

For more information on 3D printing, please read Nick Heath’s article “Here are 600 ways 3D printing is changing the world”  http://www.zdnet.com/here-are-600-ways-that-3d-printing-is-changing-the-world-7000021703/

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!