Rapid Prototyping Hits The Big Screen

Over the past 20 years we have seen how Rapid Prototyping has reshaped industry. Designers and engineers have seen a reduction in product development lead times with prototype models produced and delivered within days not weeks. Production teams can find costly production errors before they arise by examining a highly accurate model of the final product, while customers benefit from a shift towards mass customisation of consumer goods.

Rapid Prototyping has stretched far beyond the world of manufacturing and has in recent years appeared on the big screen through movies such as Coraline, Iron Man 2 and Avatar.

Coraline - Rapid Prototyping may unlock revival of Stop Motion Technology.

Animations had begun to shift away from traditional stop motion technology towards CG animations, as hand-on medium struggled to match the smooth transitions of CG animation within budget and project timelines. Henry Selick's 2009 animation Coraline has changed all that, setting the bar high for all future stop motion animations. The use of traditional model making techniques would have proven costly and time-consuming, with Selick requiring 15,300 different faces for the 21 characters. Traditional production techniques would have taken roughly four years; however the use of 3D printing allows design teams to produce models within a lead time of just eighteen months. Thanks to the level of detail achieved with 3D printing, Coraline received a nomination for Best Animated Feature, in a market dominated by CG animations.

Iron Man 2 - 3D printing allows increased camera time on set.

Not confined to the world of animation, 3D printing has also been used to produce costume elements for films such as Iron Man 2 and X-Men: First Class. By using 3D scanning technology it was possible for costume designers to produce custom- fitted pieces designed to fit like a second skin. Greater flexibility allowed for increased wear times along which in turn resulted in increased camera time on set, helping keep production costs down. The model making team designed and built the armour for Iron Man 2 based on such scans, with the Repulsor 3-in-1 glove as worn by Robert Downey Jr. produced using scans of the actors' hand.

While 3D printers have proven the most popular there is an emerging trend for Rapid Prototyping of costume elements, as producers need ever more functional props. In the case of X-Men: First Class, producers turned to a Belfast based Rapid Prototyping bureau to help produce a clear helmet which would form a central element of Magnetos costume. The Rapid Prototyping bureau built the helmet layer by layer in a Stereolithography machine using the Watershed XC11122 resin. Once built the helmet could then be polished to the required water clear finish.

It's not just the big screen, and on the crime drama CSI:NY a 3D printing machine played a central role in helping crack the case of Officer Blue!

Roisin B McLaughlin is Marketing Executive for Laser Prototypes, a Belfast based prototyping company offring a wide range of services from Stereolithography to Selective Laser Sintering and Low Volume Production. Further information and stories on Rapid Prototyping can be seen at 3D Printing News

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