Giant Foam 3D Printer

An innovative 3D printing project from Canada takes a new look at both hardware and materials, as Eric Barnett and Clément Gosselin from the Robotics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering at Laval University in Quebec City created a 7-foot-tall statue using foams and a unique 3D printer. After having a statue of Canada's 7th Prime Minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, scanned using a Creaform Go!Scan 3D device, they produced a 3D model to allow for the plans to be made to scale it up on a 3 to 1 ratio. Their 3D printing system looks like a floating extruder, attached only to wires and cables, and able to switch between polyurethane and shaving foams (with the shaving foam used to prevent sticking between the print and support sections, which were both polyurethane foam). Read more about this unique project in the full article: http://3dprint.com/61171/3d-print-polyurethane-foam/


Below is a look at the statue of Sir Wilfrid Laurier:
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/a43.png

That is downright impressive for being so early on in development.

Next time, they should make a hollow mold to cast a concrete statue.