3D Printing

From Monochromatic to Photorealism

Innodesign, a Korean-based design firm was chosen by Nikkei BP in 2009 as one of the world’s top 10 design groups. Founded by innovator Kim Young-se, Innodesign is known for adding winsome touches to the designs of many sought-after consumer products across the globe. A number of their past projects are LG’s double-door refrigerator, Samsung’s clamshell cellphones and Laneige’s Foundation Sliding Pact.

Innodesign constantly looks for ways to improve and innovate their designs during the concept and rendering process. By implementing the Stratasys J750 3D printer into their workflow, the design company sought to undergo a digital transformation in order to achieve new innovations.

3D Printing Photorealistic Prototypes

Kim himself was surprised by the realism achievable by the J750. The system’s multi-material and multi-colour capabilities helped bring new products to life as these features added great value to his team in addition to the aesthetic benefits of prototypes. What used to be a monochromatic model could now be printed to be photorealistic with the 360,000 colour options and an unmatched range of materials.

“Digital technology has become the backbone to support a person’s wildest ideas and concepts, making things happen in the design world while keeping the concept as original as a model can be, regardless of its design complexity and fabrication technicality” — Kim Young-se, Innodesign

To test the capability of the Stratasys J750, Kim and his team used one of their headphone designs and mapped different patterns according to customer’s original request. The result? “It was unexpectedly successful and everybody was happy about the fine details and the original color the 3D printer was able to reproduce,” said Kim

At the Stratasys J750 launch event at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, a hub famous for its cultivation in modern design coupled with cutting-edge technology, the audience was able to witness the multi-color, multi-material 3D printed headphones will full photorealism firsthand.

Streamlined Post-Processing

Innodesign is proud to claim that the Stratasys J750 3D printer is the first system that answers all of their needs in texture and colour mapping, easily saving them time and money in their initial design and prototyping stages. 3D printing enables Innodesign to reproduce product-matching prototypes at a fraction of the original cost through traditional fabrication methods. Before 3D printing, creating a concept model cost the team $900 to $1,300 while producing a high-fidelity functional prototype cost $2,700 to $4,500. The Stratasys J750 3D Printer, however, blurs the line between concept mockups and high-fidelity prototypes. Now, creating a functional prototype with full photorealistic patterns
costs less than $100. The time used in prototyping has also been reduced from two weeks to 8 hours, making the product development cycle more efficient and streamlining go-to-market plans for Innodesign and its partners.