3D Printing Balloons!

How do you print a rubber balloon? It’s a complex question as the volume goes UP once you start blowing into it… leave it to Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Disney Research to figure this one out!

Based out of Zurich, what these guys have done is create a program that calculates what an empty balloon would look like based on the final shape of the inflated balloon and then they 3D print a reverse to create a mold.

What’s so neat about this solution? Well, it means you can create a balloon that looks like a pony right from the get-go… no twisting needed! So far, they have 3D printed a variety of different balloon shapes – expect in a few years for clowns in carnivals to disappear as kids get a hold of this technology that puts their expertise to shame!

I’m sure the technology will be robust enough in a few years to skip the molding process and allow you to 3D print in rubber to form an actual working balloon in no time.

Source: New Scientist