The pen that lets you write in THIN AIR: 3D-printing tool creates spectacular drawings made of plastic
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Ever wanted to bring your drawings to life in three-dimensions?
Well now you can, thanks to a unique pen that 'writes' with warm thermoplastic that hardens within seconds.
The pen can used to create stunning replicas of some of the world's most famous sculptures and buildings, including the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben.
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Illinois-based Hammacher Schlemmer has revealed their 3D-printing pen (shown). It expels melted plastic which then cools to create 3D objects in mid-air. The pen has three 'writing' speeds to allow for different levels of complexity. Artists can also download blueprints to recreate famous landmarks
To create their designs, users download blueprints of world-renowned landmarks, trace them on paper to create plastic lines, and then mend them together with the special 3D pen.
BATTLE OF THE 3D-PRINTING PENS
Another pen on the market comes from London-based Lix (shown above).
Their pen is 6.45in (16.3 cm) long, 0.55in (1.4 cm) in diameter and weighs 1.23 ounces (34.9 grams).
It is made of aluminium and comes in black or grey.
Inside the pen it heats plastic to 150°C (300°F), which is then pushed out through the nib as a hot liquid at the touch of a button.
The plastic used is a plant-based filament, although it can also use stronger forms of plastic.
When the liquid is exposed to air it solidifies into shapes.
It will retail for £85 ($139.95) when it goes on sale in September.
The pen itself is powered by an AC cord and it heats up in less than a minute.
Users can then choose from two 'writing' speeds and five colours - black, red, yellow, green and blue - to create their designs.
At 7.5 inches (19cm) long, 1.5 inches (3.8cm) in diameter, the £60 ($100) pen is portable and designs take around two hours to complete.
The pen is plugged in to a power source via its cable to be recharged.
It can melt two types of plastic, ABS and PLA, with the former being heated to 230°C (445°F) and the latter 210°C (410°F).
A spokeswoman from Hammacher Schlemmer said: 'Instead of releasing ink, this pen extrudes warm thermoplastic that hardens within seconds, allowing you to create three-dimensional freehand drawings.
'Artists can download blueprints of a 6-inch (15cm) tall Eiffel Tower, a napkin holder, or even Istanbul's Sultan Ahmed Mosque.
'They can then trace the designs and mend them together with the 3D pen, creating hand-drawn three-dimensional objects.
'Since the plastic hardens quickly, users can draw in the air to create a bird's outstretched wing or connect two faces of a cube.'
The pen heats plastic to temperatures of up to 230°C (445°F) to create the structures and also has a fan (seen above) to make sure that it doesn't overheat when it is being held. The expelled thermoplastic hardens within seconds to form objects in mid-air
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