3D Printed Winter Wonderland: The Snowflake Challenge

Last month for the company tree decorating ceremony the designers and architects at DIALOG DESIGN in Calgary, Alberta were given a challenge to create unique custom designed snowflakes – a Snowflake Challenge. The results were remarkable and resulted in a wide variety of spectacular designs. Some of the designs were driven by algorithms to make them look more organic and asymmetrical. In one case, a designer used an algorithm to make the design both organic and digitized, which resulted in a Techno Digitized™ snowflake. The designs were printed on Stratasys uPrint SE and Fortus 250 3D Printers using ABS materials. This resulted in an array of unique, individually magnificent snowflake Christmas tree ornaments!

Small sample of 3D printed snowflakes created by the talented designers at DIALOG DESIGN

3D Printed Snowflakes

The Fortus 250 and the uPrint SE did an amazing job of reproducing this art. Keep reading to see a few of these algorithm driven designs. Both the 3D printed and STL version are below.

Printed with 0.010” layers in white ABSplus, the uPrint SE and the Fortus 250 did a remarkable job of reproducing the snowflakes. These intricate snowflakes could have been printed using a PolyJet 3D Printer with equally beautiful results. In this case, the FDM technology made the snowflakes look even more organic.

This Snowflake Challenge once again proves that with a 3D Printer and a great imagination, the possibilities are endless! Next December consider partaking in a Snowflake Challenge with your friends and co-workers. Challenge yourselves to create the most beautiful, complex snowflakes you can imagine. We hope to see many more Snowflake Challenges in 2017!