FreeForm Melds Art World With 3-D ModelingFreeForm Melds Art World With 3-D Modeling
May 20, 2010

Who says 3-D CAD is just for mechanical design and engineering. SensAble Technologies’ FreeForm 3D modeling solution was the engine behind a group of artists making the leap from the physical medium to the digital world. As part of the SculptCAD Rapid Artists Project, 14 artists tapped FreeForm to create works of art ranging from a feathered French horn to a forest-scape-each using an all-digital system. The works of art were displayed at an exhibit showcasing the convergence of art and technology at the annual Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) RAPID Conference and Exposition (SME RAPID 2020). The SculptCAD Rapid Artists Project is an effort to demonstrate how advanced digital design technologies can afford artists speed and creative freedom. One artist, Heather Ezell, said of her bronze “A New Leaf” sculpture, that it would have taken two months to carve one leaf, versus around 12 hours using FreeForm.
In other news, SensAble’s FreeForm 3D modeler also found a way to help a faucet manufacturer be more creative. PFISTER Custom Faucets, a SensAble customer and a division of Price Pfister Inc., is using FreeForm to design high-quality faucets and coordinated accessories on-the-fly in seconds at trade shows to demonstrate its design expertise and ability to bring custom faucet designs to market quickly.
The designs are quickly created using FreeForm’s digital clay to create curves and organic shapes as opposed to dealing with the constraints of parametric CAD tools, PFISTER’s eight-to-nine week concept-to-final design process is now three days. The designs can then be exported to traditional CAD/CAM software for further engineering, tooling and manufacturing.
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