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3D printing applied to Cultural Heritage: sculpture from Sergei Merkurov

Sergei Merkurov (26.10.1881 – 8.06.1952), was a prominent Soviet sculptor-monumentalist of Greek-Armenian descent (Wikipedia).

In 1930 he created a massive bas-relief sculpture in a typical soviet-style for the Dynamo football stadium in Moscow.

Stadium of the Dynamo Moscow
Stadium of the Dynamo Moscow

Due to climate and outside display, over time the condition of the sculpture deteriorated.

The remainder of the sculpture is planned to be moved to the new Dynamo stadium which is currently under construction (for the World Cup 2018 in Russia).
However, moving the bas-relief is a hazardous task and possible damage cannot be excluded.

Thanks to the additive manufacturing technology, our customer Krost (via Terem our Russian reseller), one of the most prominent Russian developers and construction companies, was able to replicate a 100 x 70 x 27 cm section of the Merkurov monument. Printed with premium PLA 2,85 mm, on the BigRep ONE.2. We are proud at BigRep to participate to the celebration and preservation of Russian cultural heritage.

3D Printed replicate of a section of the Merkurov monument.
Replicate of a section of the Merkurov monument.

Seven Questions With BigRep CEO René Gurka

Source: Fabbaloo

We spoke with BigRep CEO René Gurka, whose company produces the gigantic BigRep ONE 3D printer, to find out how the company has changed and where it’s headed.

Fabbaloo: BigRep was just a small startup only a few years ago. Now things are a bit different. What happened?

René Gurka: We definitely started at the right time with the right idea. We were THE pioneer for large scale affordable printing at the beginning of 2014 and still are the segment leader in this market today.

Since our launch, we have gone a long way. Six weeks after building the first prototype in January 2014, we took the prototype to the 3D Print Show in New York and people went crazy: We got hundreds of inquiries both from resellers as well as media from all over the world after the show which helped a lot to make BigRep known in the 3D printing community.

But of course, this alone does not make a company successful. After getting all the attention, we had to start building the company. We recruited great people and great investors – all with a background and knowledge in hardware start ups, so we could grow from 3 to 50 people in only 15 months.

I have to say that at BigRep, the execution of creating a prosperous company went very well and I am convinced that the right execution is sometimes more important than the idea itself. Making the right decision is definitely not easy and it will always take a few bad ones to find the right path for you. My tip for founders is: Get help before making too many mistakes in the early days.

Keep reading… (on fabbaloo.com)

 

BigRep teams up with Autodesk’s Spark

For us, the New Year started in Las Vegas. There, on 6 January, the Consumer Electronics Show CES in Las Vegas opened the doors. CES is not only a showcase for gadgets of every kind, from autonomous vehicles to wearable electronics. It´s also increasingly important for 3D printing. We took the opportunity to announce our next important step: BigRep is teaming up with Autodesk´s Spark, an open 3D-printing platform.

Spark is a complete, open and free platform for 3D printing that will connect digital information to 3D printers in a new way. It´s objectives are improving information exchange between design software and the printer, optimizing design before production begins and providing open APIs for a broad group of users to access and innovate the 3D printing pipeline.

We at BigRep are absolutely convinced, that simple 3D-printing just won´t be enough in the near future. Instead, we´ll need a complete ecosystem consisting of full scale printers and a cloud-printing service. Not for much longer, BigRep will be connecting thousands of printers globally enabling truly distributed manufacturing and innovative printable materials for industrial and professional use. Adopting Spark is a first but important step for us to realize this vision.

Production ramping up

The production started for the BigRep ONE

This summer we moved to our new premises in Berlin-Kreuzberg. At the beginning the spacey loft was empty but quickly it filled up with our fast growing team, and now it is packed with printers, because the production of our brand new model BigRep ONE.2 is in full swing. These days transport boxes are lining up in our premises in Kreuzberg, waiting to be packed with printers and then shipped to our customers all over the world. At this very moment, we are shipping printers to universities, world known software companies, mold makers, foundries, service providers, designers, artists and diverse users in the field of rapid prototyping in Europe, the USA and Asia.

On the road again … to EuroMold2014

At EuroMold2014 from 25-28 November in Frankfurt we presented our updated serial model, the BigRep ONE.2. Prototypes, models or molds as well as products for end users like designer furniture can be printed out directly due to the giant printing volume of 1,3m³. As a proof of our concept we brought a real case study for manufacturing with us to Frankfurt: BigRep ONE.2 printed full-scale molds for glass blowing in a size of 40 x 60 cm. With these molds, a glassmaking factory produced full-size glass cups.

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The sale is on

What´s the use of the best 3D printer in the world, if you can´t buy it? At BigRep we have been literally overwhelmed by the huge interest in our giant printers from the beginning. Now, the first printers have been shipped, production is ramping up and we have established a worldwide resellers network which is growing every month. In September, we hosted our first BigRep global resellers meeting. Here´s the list of our partners (in alphabetical order): China, Czech Republic, France, Israel, Italy, India, Jordan, Lithuania, UK, United Arab Emirates and Russia. This only for the time being, our resellers is growing by every month. So, if you are interested in buying one of our printers (sure you are!), you should have a look here from time to time. You´ll find all the updated contact details by contacting us here. Or send us an e-mail and we will route you to the next BigRep dealer.

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The man who prints houses visits BigRep

René Gurka meets the guy who 3D printed houses

We at BigRep are used to think in large scales. Our printers have a printing volume of up to 1,5 cubic meters (53 cubic feet) and they are the largest serial 3D printers on the market at the moment. But this Italian Gentleman, who popped in at our booth at 3D Printshow in London today is a real giant. He was the first to build a working 3D printer for printing buildings and became world famous as “The Man Who Prints Houses’.

Dini spent a fortune on the development of his machine and the promotion of his ideas. He even ruined his privat life, but he is still going on. Two years ago, Dini developed the “Moebius House”. The house has the shape of a Moebius strip and is made up of printed elements. And Dini is even printing houses for fish! He printed an artificial coral reef, which is being tested in Bahrain. The elements serve as breakwaters, but their complex organic shapes also offers protection to fish and other sea creatures.

Dini´s visit was a great inspiration for us. We can learn a whole lot from this brilliant visionary. And on thing is for sure: Think big and never give up!

Resellers from all over the world at BigRep HQ

BigRep's reseller

The pace is high at BigRep. We barely had unpacked our stuff from moving into our new, 1000 square meters loft in Berlin-Kreuzberg, when last week our Resellers from all over the world flew in for the first BigRep global resellers meeting. Our partners come from UK, France, Israel, Russia, Lithuania, China and India. During two Days we discussed technical features, customer´s support, trade shows and pricing. And had fun eating giant Wiener Schnitzels at “Austria”, a famous Austrian Restaurant two blocks from our premises. We are looking forward to working with you guys and building a strong network for seamless customer support.

Now we pack again and head for 3D Printshow in London from September 4th to 6th. We are nominated there as “Business Newcomer of the Year”. You can vote for us here: http://3dprintshow.com/global-awards/best-business-newcomer/

BigRep on Tech Open Air

Logo of the Tech Open Air in July 2014 in Berlin

Meet us and BigRep ONE at TOA Berlin.

Tech Open Air Berlin is Europe’s leading interdisciplinary technology festival: this year we expect 2,500+ visitors, 100+ international speakers (including Indiegogo’s Danae Ringelmann, SXSW’s James Minor, SKULLY's Marcus Weller, AKQA’s James Hilton and many others) from 30+ countries as well as 75+ satellite events (incl. Twitter, Spotify, Apple, Ableton, Soundcloud, Indiegogo, TechCrunch) and 100+ international media outlets including CNN, BBC, WSJ, ARD, ZDF, RTL, TechCrunch, TNW, Bild, Vice and Welt.

TOA14 will be presented in cooperation with MINI (BMW) and will take place from July 16-17 at Alte Teppichfabrik, a formerly abandoned factory in Berlin’s city centre. On the first day will curate an "unconference” which also features live music and art installations, while on the second day the community takes over with satellite events all over town.

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