Schiner 3D Repro da vida a globos de nieve ultrarrealistas, impresos en 3D con Stratasys® J750™.

Real Challenge

Schiner 3D Repro fabrica globos de nieve para diversos sectores y clientes: desde el lanzamiento de nuevos productos para marcas de renombre hasta promoción comercial y eventos. Con pedidos que oscilan entre 1 y 3000 unidades, el personal experto de la empresa debe ser lo suficientemente flexible como para realizar pedidos personalizados y garantizar unos plazos de producción rápidos, independientemente del tamaño del trabajo.

Real Challenge

Una gran parte de las figuras de globo de nieve impresas en 3D por Schiner 3D Repro son de personas y productos que necesitan un aspecto realista y reflejar el tamaño real de la persona u objeto. El acceso al espectro de colores completo de la J750 de hasta 500 000 colores y a una amplia gama de materiales permite una asignación avanzada de las texturas, incluidos patrones como madera, cuero y telas, y degradados de color, por lo que las figuras tienen características realistas, incluso a tamaño pequeño.

Detail at high speeds.

Schiner 3D Repro manufactures snow globes for various industries and customers — from new product launches for well-known industry brands, to merchandising and events. With orders that range from between 1 to 3,000, the company’s expert staff need to be flexible enough to undertake custom orders and ensure fast turnaround times, regardless of the job site.
“We work on a lot of different jobs simultaneously— specifically since the snow globes only make up one aspect of our business offering,” says Stein.“The J750 3D printer is an important asset to our business operation as it delivers ultra-quality 3D printing at speeds we could not achieve otherwise. 

Due to its large build tray, we can produce around 200 snow globe figurines that can all be different, in one go, and in under 24 hours. With other manufacturing methods, this can take much longer. We estimate that the time savings using the J750 can equate to almost 85%.”Adding to the time savings is the company’s use of the intuitive GrabCAD Print software, enabling a much more streamlined design-to-part workflow. Simplifying the path from CAD or scan data to additive manufacturing, GrabCAD Print allows Schiner 3D Repro to get professional-quality 3D printed figures for snow globes much faster and simpler, independent of order size. 

Material & color possibilities.

Snow globes are comprised of a water solution enclosed in a glass ball that also houses a figure glued to the base of the structure. For the figure’s manufacture, several elements need to be addressed to ensure a high-end product that looks and feels well-made.“The challenge for snow globe figures is not only that they are very small, but they are also encased in a glass sphere — magnifying the small figures and showing every detail as if under a microscope,” says Stein. “The precise edges, vivid color definition and smooth surface finish achievable with the J750 are therefore vital to ensuring the high-end standard our customers are looking for.”

A large proportion of the snow globe figures 3D printed by Schiner 3D Repro are of people and products which need to look realistic and mirror the real-sized person or object. Having access to the J750’s full-color spectrum of up to 500,000 colors and diverse range of materials allows advanced texture mapping — including patterns such as wood, fur and fabric — and color gradients, so the figures have lifelike features, even in small sizes.
“As the figures are encased in a water solution, we had to run several tests to ensure the color and material of the 3D printed figures would not wear or fade after a short period,” continues Stein. “We have been using the J750 for over four years now, and the colors and materials look as good as the day they were produced.”

Realism that comes to life.

Invented in 1900 by Austrian Erwin Perzy, the snow globe is now known across the world as a beloved souvenir and gift for adults and children alike. Bought by customers from all over the world, Schiner 3D Repro snow globes are unique products that marry old traditional craftsmanship with disruptive new technologies. Specializing in 3D modeling, construction, scanning, and printing, the company turned to additive manufacturing to produce the figures inside the traditionally crafted spheres — creating the first-of-their-kind 3D printed snow globes.