Africa’s Octo-Choco-Printer

We’ve heard about chocolate 3D printers before, but never one like this. Fouche Chocolates of South Africa, and specifically its engineer Hans Fouche has developed an eight-nozzle chocolate printer for producing custom delicacies. 

 

A detailed report on htxt.africa takes you through Fouche’s development process, which explains how the printer is used to create “edible name plates” and custom-lettered chocolate bars. 

 

Fouche will also produce custom designed large chocolate sculptures if asked. However, there are challenges: 

 

A lot of the designs were very ambitious. It was only through our experience with 3D printing chocolate that we were able to help the artists to realise what is actually possible. The best are always simple and not over complicated, because chocolate is difficult to work with, it does not support itself very well.

 

But here’s something even more interesting:  

 

His most impressive achievement, however, is a giant RepRap 3D printer which stands well over two meters tall and takes up most of his garage. Originally designed for making giant, one off chocolate sculptures, Fouche retired it as the economics of using it to make sweets didn’t work out.

 

And the extra calories, too, we suspect. 

 

Via htxt.africa

A 3D Printer Made From Scrap

Normally when you embark on building a DIY 3D printer you'd search online shops for the best and least expensive components. Bring them together with the right plan and you'll soon have an operating 3D printer. 

 

But that's not exactly what Kodjo Afate Gnikou did. He went to the dump. Specifically, he searched through piles of e-waste to find leftover components to find "rails and belts from old scanners, the case of a discarded desktop computer and even bits of a diskette drive". 

 

With that and USD$100 worth of new bits that could not be found in the dump, Gnikou was able to make a working 3D printer. 

 

What's hiding in your dump?

 

Via Euronews

A 3D Printing Revolution in South Africa

An event featuring several notable 3D print designers is to take place in Johannesburg on July 6th. The event, "Agents of the 3D Revolution Exhibition and Seminar", is put on by, of course, Agents of the 3D Revolution, a new group formed to promote use of 3D technology in South Africa. 

 

The group includes Dr. Michaella Janse van Vuuren, whose works we featured as our Design of the Week last December. 

 

On the speaking schedule, the event includes a number of speakers from academia focusing on digital product design and also Joshua Harker, who designed the famous Crania Anatomica skull print. The event also includes an exhibition of 3D print designers, workshops, seminars and even demonstrations of 3D print technology. 

 

While South Africa may be a bit far to travel for most, it turns out that the organizers have solved that issue. They say: 

 

The digital information generated by the Agents of the 3D revolution and the physical events will provide the media content to ensure a pervasive online presence. Those unable to attend the events will still be able to view the content online, removing the Agents from its’ geographical and temporal constraints and creating an international event that can be accessed by anyone in the world at any time.  The opening event, seminars and courses will be  recorded and uploaded onto the website. The gallery will be viewable online and the catalogue will be available in both eBook and physical format. 

 

Via Agents of the 3D Revolution

African Jumpstart With 3D Printing?

Many years ago we wondered how Africa could ever catch up to the West in telecommunications. The cost of installing cabling would have been tremendous, but something happened to change the picture. Wireless technology emerged and Africa didn't have to come up with cash to install wires. They simply leapfrogged over the old technology and began with the new. 

 

We're wondering if the same could happen in manufacturing, driven by 3D printing. Could Africa leapfrog over existing manufacturing hurdles as proposed in a report in African Business Review? They say: 

 

For Africa the introduction of 3D printing manufacturing will bring about a wave of change with unprecedented benefits unlike seen before, benefiting small rural communities socio economic standards, offering new set of business opportunities to the individual, limited only by his or hers imagination and design.

 

While this is true, we can't see this evolving into mass manufacturing as exists in the West and Asia. 3D printing is a technology for customization, not truly usable for mass manufacturing. Instead we'll likely see Africa explore new business models for customization enabled by inexpensive access to 3D printing equipment. 

 

These ideas are set to be explored this fall in an event in South Africa dedicated to clean energy investment. At Virdis Africa investors will meet entrepreneurs with new ideas. No doubt there will be 3D printing-related proposals. 

 

The creative people in Africa may soon invent the future. 

 

Via African Business Review and Virdis Africa

Pirate3D Helps Africa

As if landing nearly half a million dollars in instant crowd funding isn't sufficient, Pirate3D announced a significant charitable venture. They will provide 3D printing technology and training to "selected African institutions". 

 

The venture is within Pirate3D's corporate social responsibility program and partners with Harvard's Calestous Juma to promote sustainable development worldwide. Juma, Director of  the Science, Technology & Globalization Project in Harvard Kennedy School said: 

 

Youths should be given the opportunities to appreciate emerging technologies such as 3D technologies and apply their creativity to develop innovative products.

 

We believe this is the first 3D printing charitable venture to arrive on humanity's original continent. While there have been other very generous support projects provided by several 3D printing companies, the efforts tend to be "near home". 

 

Africa may have missed out on mass manufacturing success in the twentieth century, but perhaps they can get a head start on mass customization in the twenty-first. 

 

Via PRWeb

A 3D Printer From Togo

Yes, Togo. It's the home of Afate Gnikou of WoeLab, a technology incubator in the small African country. Gnikou has launched a crowdfunding project on Ulule to raise funds to begin building a Togo-designed personal 3D printer. 

 

The goal of the project is to design a 3D printer that can be built from commonly available scrap material, "adapted to African conditions and realities." They're particularly interested in "IT debris, namely the CPU, printer and scanners", with which such a printer could theoretically be made. 

 

We believe this is an important initiative. Producing clear documentation that permits many in Africa (and elsewhere) to transform their junk into 3D printers capable of making new useful objects could make a big change for many. 

 

The crowdfunding campaign closes on June 15th, but the project has so far raised more than half of its goal. Please consider donating to this worthy effort. 

 

Via Ulule

3D Printing In South Africa

There's a great story in Design Magazine describing how Kenneth van Rensburg came to create a 3D printing business in South Africa. After seeing the technology by accident during a Jaguar factory tour in the UK, van Rensburg created Protoform in 2008 to "bridge the gap between design and manufacture", initially focusing on boat design. Later, Protoform would reach out to other markets and now produces 3D models for a variety of industries, including medical models and artistic works.  

 

It's this kind of innovation that will build the industry of the 21st century. 

 

Via Design Magazine