New York-based designers Barbara Busatta and Dario Buzzini have created a range of tableware that can be printed out at home on a desktop 3D-printer and used straight away.
The Machine Series is made on a MakerBot Replicator printer, a machine aimed at the consumer market that melts plastic filament and extrudes it layer-on-layer to build up objects in a process called fused deposition modelling (FDM).
The set by Italian designers Busatta and Buzzini of ICOSAEDRO is specifically designed so there is no scaffolding, seams or flash to remove in order to finish the objects, and they become fully-finished products the very moment they are removed from the 3D printer.
"Normally, in order to hide imperfections and seams, objects created with this classic FDM technique require an extra treatment," explained the designers. "These products have been designed to minimise the finishing touches needed to make a 3D-printed product look acceptable."
The geometry and cross-sections of the vessels reduce the risk of flaws and deformations while giving the collection a distinctive aesthetic.
Busatta and Buzzini wanted to challenge an assumption that 3D printing only produced poor results and had little application in the home.
"The focus of this exploration has been to elevate 3D printing - a technology that is very much talked about but is relegated to either cumbersome amateurish results or overly expensive artistic applications,” they said.
The range features 12-by-8-centimetre containers in straight or tapered versions, available in black, red or yellow, with a variety of different colour combinations for the lid and base.
The designs for the Machine Series are all open source and available to download online. Busatta and Buzzini want anyone to be able to modify, improve and alter the designs using different materials or other types of additive printing.
Alternatively, the entire collection can be purchased from the Machine Series website, and will be presented at the Makerbot store in New York.
Photography is by Alberto Parise.