A ZBrush Expert Tests the Cube

One of the smartest things I've ever done in my life was to use my nephew, Peyton Duncan, in the early 1980's to test our video games for Astrocade's Bally Professional Arcade.  Not only was he terrific at finding issues with the games; but, he was also terrific at suggesting game play improvements.

But, it has also paid off for him, leading him to become an accomplished digital artist and game designer.  He is now an art director with Electronic Arts Sports.  He is an incredible artist and photographer.

One of the 3D modeling products that he has used, over the years, is ZBrush.  Two events provided an opportunity for him to test the latest release of ZBrush with the Cube 3D Printer. Last week, to test the new Dynamesh technology, Peyton created this high poly model in just 4 hours.  And, then he came to visit his family in nearby Virginia, giving him access to my Cube 3D printer.

Peyton Duncan - Old Man

According to Peyton, ZBrush with Dynamesh is amazing, allowing him to go way beyond the point where the mesh would become a mess in other applications.  I'm no great 3D artist so I don't even know enough to comment on it.  But, knowing his experience, I'm going to take his word for it.

For me, the fun part was having the privilege of being able to loan Peyton my Cube while he and his family are visiting his parents.  This gave him the opportunity to print his "Old Man" on the Cube.

Here is the result.

Cube Print - Old Man 01

Cube Print - Old Man 02

Cube Print - Old Man 03

The bust is 4.5" tall and took 24 hours to print.  It did require support materials.  The great news is that Peyton is very impressed by the quality of the print, given the fact that "Old Man" was not designed to be printed.  It was designed to push the capabilities of Dynamesh,  So, the surface being sent to the Cube is incredibly detailed. 

What was amazing to me, once I had a chance to see it, is that Peyton had chosen to set up the Cube printer in an area that undergoes big swings in temperature.  There was some bottom warping, which one would expect from such temperature swings.  But, over all, the filament binding was very nice in spite of the temperature swings over the 24 hour print cycle.

Obviously, the children were fascinated by the printing process and went to check on it dozens of times.  Peyton was highly impressed that the Cube could go for 24 hours while maintaining precise alignment even in the face of the children shaking the table on which it sat.

I plan to reprint "Old Man" in my studio where I can control the temperature more precisely... and, without the table shaking!  In the meantime, count Peyton in as a Cube fan.

Note:  "Old Man" is a work in progress.  When he gets back home he will finish it and send me a better STL file to print.  So, look for an update in the near future.