{"id":10106,"date":"2018-11-26T01:00:23","date_gmt":"2018-11-26T01:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/?p=10106"},"modified":"2018-11-06T16:35:51","modified_gmt":"2018-11-06T16:35:51","slug":"h-earring-3d-printed-hearing-aid-jewellery-261120184","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/h-earring-3d-printed-hearing-aid-jewellery-261120184\/","title":{"rendered":"H (Earring); the 3D printed hearing aid jewellery"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to relieving the daily lives of people with disabilities,\u00a03D technologies can be useful<\/a>.\u00a0It offer the possibility of creating products adapted to each individual and sometimes to completely unpack the person concerned.\u00a0In any case, this is the feeling of Kate, a hearing-impaired photographer who has been wearing hearing aids for over 25 years.\u00a0She used two designers, Flora and Julia, to create a collection of jewellery to hang on these devices.\u00a0The audioprosthesis is then much more aesthetic and the handicap more erased.\u00a0The collection, named H (Earring) won the Swarovski accessory prize at the 33rd international festival of fashion, photography and accessories of Hy\u00e8res.\u00a0We met Kate, Flora and Julie to learn more about their common project.<\/p>\n

3DN: Can you introduce yourself and your link to 3D printing?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Hello, I’m Kate and I’m a\u00a0photographer<\/a>, with hard of hearing.\u00a0I asked Flora and Julia to make a collection of hearing aid jewellery for the hearing impaired. A project that is particularly close to my heart.<\/p>\n

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And we are Flora and Julia (F & J).\u00a0We are a Paris-based design duo,\u00a0FandD studio<\/a>.\u00a0Our practice is interdisciplinary and leads us to work on projects in product design, accessories and scenography.\u00a0When Kate offered us this collaboration, we were very excited about the social impact of such a project.\u00a0Her optimism is part of a global movement of self-acceptance and individuality that characterises our generation.\u00a0It is also the opportunity to bring together three worlds: medicine, technology and fashion.<\/p>\n

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Kate, Flora and Julia<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This collection is a real technical challenge, which involves understanding a prosthesis with miniature dimensions and complex curves.\u00a0That’s why we used 3D scanning.\u00a0This one allowed us to understand the prosthesis and to model with precision the jewellery intended to be attached to it.\u00a0Fastening systems have been the subject of special attention and vary from one jewel to another.<\/p>

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All jewellery models have been the subject of several 3D prints.\u00a0Each print allowed us to validate the positioning of the jewel on the prosthesis and around the ear, to adjust its design and finally certify that the jewel does not create any nuisance for the wearer (hissing, imbalance, alteration of the sound etc.).\u00a0We have worked extensively on the ergonomics of jewellery so that they are comfortable and do not affect the proper functioning of the prosthesis.<\/p>\n

3DN: Why did you start project H (earring)?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Kate<\/strong>\u00a0: I have been wearing hearing aids for over twenty-five years.\u00a0I think that the aspect of their contours is too similar to that of a medical prosthesis, and marks the handicap.\u00a0Prostheses are mostly offered in limited colour ranges close to the colour of the skin and hair (black, gray, beige etc.).\u00a0They are drawn in such a way as to be the least visible and the most discreet possible.\u00a0I am not partisan of hiding the disability but on the contrary to expose it with aesthetics and without aggressiveness.<\/p>\n

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F & J<\/strong>\u00a0: We have developed skins ranging from the finest to the most visible, alone, in pairs or mismatched, focusing on the contour only, amplifying its curves.\u00a0The prosthesis is underlined, prolonged, thickened, swollen, it shines and becomes remarkable.\u00a0The device is no longer hidden, it assumes and displays as an act of claim.\u00a0This is an opportunity to create a collection of jewellery with unusual formal vocabulary and whose design echoes not only the silhouette of the prosthesis but also that of the ear.<\/p>\n

This project is characterised by a duality that places technology at the service of the sensitive.\u00a0Our drawings evoke this tension and make geometric and regular silhouettes coexist with more organic and altered forms.\u00a0The choice of more or less precious materials as well as the different surface treatments also reflect this contrast.\u00a0The evocation of the water and the noticeable fluid in some pieces of the collection comes from a conversation with Kate during the project development process.\u00a0When she is not wearing her hearing aids, she imagines that her perception of the sound could be similar to ours when we are underwater.<\/p>\n

\"h<\/p>\n

3DN: Why did you use 3D printing?\u00a0What technologies and materials did you use?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

F & J<\/strong>\u00a0: We work a lot in 3D modeling, the accuracy of this tool is particularly consistent with the scale of the prosthesis.\u00a0So naturally we used 3D printing, this technique allowed us to quickly adjust the models.\u00a0By working closely with Kate we have been able to develop a product that is particularly adapted to her needs and requirements.\u00a0So every modification made on the model could quickly be tested by Kate thanks to 3D printing.<\/p>\n

We made a residence at the digital crossroads of the City of Science and Industry which has a 3D printer park.\u00a0Thanks to their machines, we quickly tested the volumes in order to propose jewels that cling perfectly to the prosthesis.\u00a0<\/span>The first 3D prints were made in PLA on\u00a0Ultimaker 2 and 3<\/a>\u00a0models.\u00a0<\/span>The white PLA prints help to better understand the silhouette of the object when worn compared to those in black PLA, by contrast.\u00a0The objects are particularly small, thin and their silhouettes curvy, it is sometimes difficult to detach the supports of Ultimaker 2 without breaking parts.\u00a0That’s why we mainly used the Ultimaker 3 for the most complex parts.\u00a0Its principle of\u00a0double extrusion<\/a>\u00a0makes it possible to distinguish perfectly the support of the part and to detach it easily.\u00a0Indeed\u00a0<\/span>the base of the print is printed with a material soluble in water.\u00a0<\/span>To accelerate the process of dissolution of the support, it is necessary to add hot water.\u00a0Be careful not to exceed 30 \u00b0 -35 \u00b0, at the risk of deforming the workpiece.\u00a0We p<\/span>ut the piece under the tap, the jet of water makes it possible to remove the most stubborn residues.\u00a0<\/span>In general, printing times ranged from 20 minutes to a few hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"h<\/p>\n

Doing the second time, prototypes were made using the technique of lost wax casting from 3D modelings;\u00a0it’s about printing the 3D model directly in wax then molding it.\u00a0The metal is then poured into this mold.\u00a0This second step was necessary to validate the behaviour of the metal parts, their comfort and the ease of their placement on the prosthesis.\u00a0As far as the resin parts are concerned, the moulder could work directly from a 3D SLS print, the prints in the thread required a finishing work in post-impression too important.<\/p>\n

The final pieces of the collection were made by a craftsman and a jeweller, based in Paris.\u00a0The set has been assembled, polished and plated in gold and rhodium.<\/p>\n

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3DN: What is the future of printing for you in the hearing aid industry?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

F & J\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0: 3D printing in the\u00a0prosthetic sector<\/a>\u00a0generally can lead to objects that are more adapted to each user since it allows everyone to adjust a drawing according to their morphology.\u00a0The Hearing project is a jewellery collection to fix on hearing aids.\u00a0In this sense neither the design nor the technology of the latter have been modified.\u00a0Nevertheless, in our process of product designer, 3D printing is an extremely useful tool: it allows us to materialise almost immediately our desires and our drawings and this, extremely accurately.\u00a0In a way, the printer makes us craftsmen of 3D.<\/p>\n

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3DN:\u00a0\u00a0A last word for our readers?<\/span><\/h3>\n

K, F & J<\/strong>\u00a0: Our jewellery is first and foremost a response to the interests and needs of users, but is also a political tool.\u00a0We want to take advantage of the incredible power of fashion on consciences to change the vision of the hearing aid, sublimate it to unravel it.<\/p>\n

What do you think about Project H (Earring)?\u00a0Let us know what you think in a comment below or on our\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0pages!\u00a0Don\u2019t forget to sign up for our free weekly\u00a0Newsletter<\/a>, with all the latest news in 3D printing delivered straight to your inbox!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When it comes to relieving the daily lives of people with disabilities,\u00a03D technologies can be useful.\u00a0It offer the possibility of creating products adapted to each individual and sometimes to completely unpack the person concerned.\u00a0In any case, this is the feeling…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6060,"featured_media":10108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-and-design","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6060"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10106"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10110,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10106\/revisions\/10110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}