“I raced Amazon Prime, and won.” – The fast-print wonder that is the ‘Kinky Korb’

There are few phenomena quite like the online shopping empire Amazon. The giant online shop offers same-day delivery in Germany and other countries, which many would agree cannot be beaten. Until its delivery time was unofficially beaten – by an in-house BigRep design and The ONE large-scale 3D printer.

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It all began with garbage – well, specifically a lack of desk-side recycling receptacles in the BigRep office, that is. Mirek Claßen, industrial designer and architect at BigRep, was on the hunt for more wastepaper bins in BigRep’s Berlin office, and when he saw a few more were needed, he did what many of us would do: he looked online to find some, and saw Amazon’s range available for same-day delivery. But simply ordering some for delivery wouldn’t have been as fun as Claßen’s next idea. “I thought, why not print one, but make it more beautiful, customizable and very print-friendly,” he said. “The idea for the Kinky Korb was born – a recycle bin that fulfils your office needs.”

Named for its quirky shape and the German word for ‘basket’, Claßen designed the Kinky Korb to be sturdy, aesthetically interesting and a fast-print object. “The recycle bin can be printed in vase mode and is tandem machine ready,” explained Claßen. “So, it has a print time of 2.5 hours per item and I bet that’s even better than Amazon’s same day delivery service!”

Waste paper on the way into a Kinky Korb paper bin
The Kinky Korb paper bin receives its first delivery...

The design works in every color – in fact, the louder the color, the better! BigRep’s PLA filament comes in a range of funky colors, and the Korb is strong and shiny in the Black PRO HT filament as well. Because it is fast to print, incredibly useful and uses a relatively small amount of filament, the Kinky Korb is the ideal project to test out the BigRep range of colors.

When BigRep was asked to bring a little give away furniture piece printed on the BigRep ONE at the ‘Mobility Goes Additive’ event in Frankfurt in November 2017, it created more hype than would usually be reserved for a humble paper basket. Passers-by asked to buy one on the spot. This is how the Kinky Korb made its way to the headquarters of German rail service Deutsche Bahn. BigRep has been partnering with Deutsche Bahn on several research and development projects, including one to print headrests as end-use parts. The company put in an order for some colorful Kinky Korbs for their newly refitted office in Berlin.

So, for a quick side project, there are some lively, colorful results when there is a BigRep printer around. Needless to say, all BigRep staff with the standard-issue wastepaper baskets are vying for a funky new yellow, orange, black or green Kinky Korb!

Man holding Kinky Korb paper bin
Investigating the Kinky Korb

Mirek Claßen is currently the UX Manager at BigRep, responsible for making software interfaces easy to use and informative. Trained as an architect and working in various roles at BigRep, from innovation design to digital solutions, Mirek applies a creative spirit to all things 3D printing.

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