3D Systems announced today that it is featured in inaugural exhibitions at the newly reopened Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, beginning December 12. Innovative examples of 3D printing empowering novel design are featured in Cooper Hewitt’s new Process Lab and Beautiful Users exhibitions in the recently renovated Carnegie Mansion. The installations showcase 3D printing as a fundamental and transformative element in the ideation, design and fabrication process.
The groundbreaking exhibitions include 3DS’ products and technologies which augment our body, extend our capabilities and expand our senses. Beautiful Users, an exhibition that explores the ways in which designers over the past half-century have worked to suit their creations to human anatomy and behavior, features a hybrid robotic exoskeleton 3DS developed in collaboration with Ekso Bionics which enabled a paralyzed woman to walk.
In the new hands-on Process Lab visitors can see a production-grade stereolithography 3D printer, the ProJet® 6000, as well as 3D-printed products and prototypes that show a cross section of how 3D printing is changing the way designers prototype and produce their work. Pieces from 3DS on view include a custom-made prosthetic limb, a stunning 3D printed acoustic guitar, and a complex skateboard design that demonstrates topology optimization. Visitors can also view a see-through TouchTM 3D haptic stylus, which allows designers to physically feel their designs on-screen as if working with digital clay.
“As both a member of the company that invented 3D printing and a trustee of the Museum, it is truly an honor and a privilege to be part of these groundbreaking exhibitions at Cooper Hewitt, our national design museum,” said Avi Reichental, President and CEO, 3DS. “We believe in Cooper Hewitt’s mission to preserve the history of design and to communicate its evolution and are humbled to be part of showcasing how 3D printing is shifting the entire design-to-manufacturing paradigm.”
To kick off support of the Cooper Hewitt’s education programs, 3DS will lead two workshops on 3D printing and design thinking with its Cube® 3D printers and SenseTM handheld 3D scanners during the opening Kids and Family Day weekend. Kids will be able to build their own 3D printable cityscapes and prototype their own astronaut tool for space using a combination of 3DS’ apps on its Cubify platform and the design thinking-based curriculum City X.
The ribbon cutting ceremony at Cooper Hewitt’s opening this Friday, December 12, will feature a pair of scissors 3D printed by 3DS, reinforcing the critical and evolving role that 3D printing has in the design to manufacturing process. For more information on the inaugural exhibitions, visit http://www.cooperhewitt.org.
