Twin Familie
www.twin-familie.de
The ‘Selfie’s’ Next Frontier
Challenge
Using Mcor 3D printing, Twin Familie sends longstanding
trend in a fresh new direction
Turning the selfie trend into
a thriving business.
Strategy
Create selfies in three
dimensions using affordable,
safe and photorealistic colour
3D printing technology.
Results
•
3D printed selfies present a
new twist on the traditional selfie
trend, a third dimension that
makes a bigger impact and has
more potential than a 2D photo.
•
Twin-Familie is growing rapidly
through word of mouth.
•
The company’s 3D printed selfies
give people a way to present
themselves at their very best
and capture their loved ones at a
moment that will one day be lost
forever.
•
•
Mcor’s superior colour capability
and low material costs make 3D
selfies lifelike and keep costs
down.
Mcor’s unique environmental
friendliness – using recyclable
paper and emitting no toxic dust,
fumes or chemicals – is ideal for
a consumer-facing business like
Twin-Familie. .
The selfie is an evolving “art” form. First, there was the hashtag (#selfie),
which originated in 2011. Then came the duck face, the selfie stick,
and then the drone shot. What could possibly be left? Is the selfie over?
Absolutely not, says Dieter Bielert, owner of Twin Familie, a 3D portrait
service. It’s actually entering an exciting new dimension.
If you live in or around Hamburg, Germany, you can visit Bielert’s
website, www.twin-familie.de, make an appointment, pose for your
“picture,” and voilà – in a day or two, you have a three-dimensional
selfie to present to the world.
Here’s how it works. You arrive for your appointment at the TwinFamilie studio, either alone or with your BFF. You step onto an
electrically driven turntable that revolves very slowly, at 2.5 times
per minute. Bielert, the studio owner, uses a handheld 3D scanner
to capture your contours in full colour down to .1 mm resolution.
“You need to sit still,” says Beilert, “and it helps if you wear bright
happy colours, but nothing shiny.”
The Simple Process
After three minutes, he has captured 3D data representing your
surface contours. The 3D scanning software turns the data into
printable polygons. Meanwhile, Bielert digitally erases the turntable
and other random images, and makes minor adjustments along
“Although we call them
‘selfies,’ there’s a lot of
substance in 3D portraiture.
You capture yourself
or people you love at
meaningful times in their
lives and in ways that a 2D
portrait can’t match.”
-Dieter Bielert, Owner, Twin Familie
the way – for example, your shiny
Mcor IRIS,” recalls Bielert. “It’s
3D-Picture.net, also uses a drone
black hair may register as white
extremely cost-effective, and no
to capture the shapes of buildings,
instead of black. He can also
3D printer can exceed the range
which are printed at scale for
manipulate clothing textures.
of colours and colourful detail
architects and planners, again
it can produce. The 3D models
using the Mcor IRIS.
Next, the file goes to Bielert’s
are very durable – effectively solid
3D printer, the Mcor IRIS from
wood – and have a pleasant
Although Twin-Familie is still
Mcor Technologies, the industry’s
surface to touch. There is nothing
a side business for Bielert at this
most colour-capable 3D printer.
like it on the market, and all without
stage, he has plans to expand.
The IRIS produces full, photorealistic
the use of harmful chemicals.”
Based only on word of mouth,
colour. With the ability to apply
Business Poised to Grow
per week, but he says, “When
any colour anywhere, the Mcor
Bielert entered the 3D selfie
we start advertising, the business
IRIS is the only 3D printer to
business a year ago having used
will increase exponentially.” He
include the ICC (International
scanners for years to capture the
plans to hire more staff to meet
Colour Consortium) Colour Map.
shapes of auto parts and objects
this demand.
5760 x 1440 x 508 dpi bitmap
he’s producing about six 3D selfies
The map ensures that the colour
in local museums. Auto part
in your file or on your screen
scan data is used to 3D print
“Although we call them ‘selfies,’
is what you get on your 3D
prototypes that precisely replicate
there’s a lot of substance in
printed model. The IRIS’s use
obsolete parts for aftermarket
3D portraiture,” says Bielert. “You
of ordinary paper as the build
and custom manufacturing.
capture yourself or people you
material enables Bielert to create
Museums use 3D scanning and
love at meaningful times in their
durable figurine models up to
3D printing to overcome the
lives and in ways that a 2D
10 inches (25 cm) tall for one-fifth
challenge of providing effective,
portrait can’t match. It could be
hands-on education about ancient
your child, your parents, your
artefacts without damaging
pets or yourself at your very best.
the cost of competing systems.
“When I was looking for the right
those priceless items, and to
For a lot of people, though, it’s
3D printer for this business, I was
produce replicas for museum gift
just a new kind of selfie and it’s
immediately impressed with the
shops. Bielert’s primary business,
kind of cool.”
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