The popularity of 3D printing is an ever-growing tale that involves wacky innovations and interesting options one can go for, for a much more sustainable future. What started with mere shapes, transformed into bones, dresses, and sculptors and before we knew it, people actually started building houses through the 3d printing technology which is not only considered a great and more viable option for future but also costs way too less than building an actual house.
But before someone went ahead with the idea of building a skyscraper through the 3d printing technology, James Burton has already cashed in the world record for the tallest 3d printed sculpture of himself.
As absurd as the entire things sounds, it indeed is very true and has gained James Burton a mass popularity. Burton is a 41-year-old British YouTuber and made a sculpture that stands tall at 3.62 metres. His creation was possible with the help of 3DFilaPrint and Lulzbot.
However, he’s not the first one to attempt making something like this, the previous record was of 3.06 m (10 ft) set by FabLab Kielce in Poland, in 2016.
James, who runs a YouTube channel called xrobots, had himself scanned using an iPad at Portsmouth University CCI faculty to get his shape and dimensions. The team then looked at his videos to fill any gaps that might have occurred during the scanning and make sure the proportions were correct. Once done, he was given the mesh which is used to actually build the 3D sculpture on.
In totality, the sculpture took a total of 500 hours for making this giant piece, with two printing machines working nearly 24/7.
The entire thing couldn’t have been made in one go, which is why it was constructed part by part. This made even storing the sculpture in James’ home more easier.
A substantial 50-kg of the filament was used in the sculpture and can be moved easily from one place to another.
James was described as the man who has always been interested in making things. His parents told Guinness, that from a very young age, James was always into constructing something from nothing, which is why when 3D printing came into limelight, he was the first among the first few ones to jump on the technology. Apart from sculptures, James is extremely interested in building robots and making them work, which with the help of 3D printing has eased out extensively.
Not only this, James Bruton is too passionate about science and making young kids interested in it too. He occasionally visits various schools and shares his innovations with the kids, in order to get them excited about science from a young age.
The record-breaking sculpture will be housed at Winchester Discovery Centre from July to September 2018, as part of the Creative Genius Exhibition.
Jyotsna Amla