Nissan Creates World’s Largest 3D Pen Sculpture

3D printing pens have largely been used by artists or as novelties for at-home use. Nissan, however, has pushed the envelope on the technology by commissioning the world’s largest sculpture created with the 3Doodler 3D pen—a full-sized replica of the company’s Qashqai Black Edition. 

The sculpture was unveiled as part of the vehicle’s official launch this summer. A team of artists led by Grace Du Prez spent 800 man-hours building the sculpture over three weeks. It is 14x5.2 ft (LxH), and required 13.8 km (45,275 ft) of plastic strands. The 3Doodler operates by forcing heated plastic through a 0.7mm-wide nozzle at a temperature of 446ºF (230ºC).

“I’ve been drawing with 3Doodler’s pens for a few years now, but this is by far and away my most ambitious commission to date,” Du Prez said. “It demonstrates how far 3D printing technology has come and how it can be used by anyone.”

Du Prez has created a number of interesting 3Doodler-generated items, including lamps, jewelry, vases and hats.

“At Nissan we always encourage initiatives where design can be expressed through new and innovative technologies,” said Koji Nagano, vice president of Nissan Design Europe. “This artistic team have certainly pushed the boundaries of 3D pen technology in creating an impressive sculpture of our premium Qashqai Black Edition.”

Source: Nissan