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3D printing also enables a surprising variety of decoration and gift ideas at Christmas
Christmas and 3D printing – this combination of terms may still seem very foreign to many people. It has been apparent for a number of years that the festival of love also offers plenty of opportunities to use the possibilities of 3D printing technologies for the innovative design of jewelery and gifts.
After 2011, the first providers already individually designed Christmas tree ornament from the 3D printer, the 3D printing range for Christmas 2012 already included accessories such as cookie cutters or advent calendars. Since then, the range of Christmas 3D printers has grown year by year.
2014: The 3D Printed Ornament Design Challenge at the White House
In 2014, US President Barack Obama popularized the topic even further by hosting an Ornament Design Challenge for 3D printed Christmas ornaments at the White House. The winners of this Christmas 3D printing challenge, namely designers Gil Rivera, Vicky Somma, Antar Gamble Hall, Roy Eid, David Moore and Brandy Badami, were invited to the White House in early December 2014 to present their designs to over 65,000 visitors could.
In the same year, commercial 3D printing providers offered products made with this technology on a larger scale for the first time for targeted marketing as Christmas gifts.
2015: 3D printing Christmas at the Pope’s
At Christmas time 2015, Christmas decorations from the 3D printer even made it to the Vatican. This special gift is made possible by the CARMEN network based in Straubing, Bavaria, which Pope Francis donated to a 32-metre-high Christmas tree that was cut in the Upper Palatinate and whose patronage was taken over by the Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU). A company belonging to the network donated the tree decorations, which it made using 3D printing renewable raw materials had produced, so that at Christmas 2015 the Pope could look at Christmas tree decorations produced by 3D printing.
The festive illumination of this unusual Christmas tree took place on December 18, 2015 by Pope Francis himself.
And 2016?
After the White House and the Vatican, we are now curious to see whether 2016 will again have an exciting Christmas story about 3D printing designs in store. In any case, it is foreseeable that Christmas accessories and Christmas gifts from the 3D printer will also play an important role this season.
Whether for Christmas or the rest of the year, at 3D Activation you will find the right solution for your 3D printing project. Visit our website and learn about our comprehensive range of materials and services.
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