Disney’s New 3D Printing Endeavor Creates a Softer Product Instead

In a new collaborative study between researchers with Carnegie Mellon University and Cornell University, Disney is taking the next step of endeavoring into the industry of 3D printing-and they're planning to land with a soft fall.

Disney may be known to venture out into new endeavors of tech and digital production, but the mega-power in the entertainment industry hasn't gotten to where it is by making rash decisions or investments in something they can't tangibly know is a winner. And when it comes to 3D printing, the case is no different. The company could simply enter the game with current tech, producing toys and products much like their current "Vinylmation" collections, but instead they're opting for a new view of what this new-age technology can do-making softer, plush products instead.

"We present a new type of 3D printer that can form precise, but soft and deformable 3D objects from layers of off-the shelf fabric" coauthor of the new study from Disney's Research Program, James McCann says. "Our printer employs an approach where a sheet of fabric forms each layer of a 3D object."

The new product that Disney is developing may not have the same aesthetic feel of a traditional 3D-printed product that is solid polymers, but it is a lot softer instead. At the end of the printing process the consumer is left with a solid block, or so it seems. But once the support is removed, by peeling the layers away one-by-one, you will reveal a brilliantly devised cuddly creature, or something far more complex. 

Though the product may seem simple, rest assured that Disney has a lot in store for its new 3D printing process. And with ability to use several types of fabric types, the possibilities seem endless to exactly what the printer can create.

"Our printer is capable of automatically feeding two separate fabric types into a single print. This allows specially cut layers of conductive fabric to be embedded in our soft prints" McCann says. "Using this capability we demonstration 3D models with touch sensing capability built into a soft print in one complete printing process, and a simply LED display making use of a conductive fabric coil for wireless power reception."