The road of 3D printing of ceramic clay for entrepreneurs born in the 1990s-Interview with Ms. Xie Haijiao, deputy general manager of Anhui Dabang 3D Technology Co., Ltd.

In the picturesque coastal city of Xiamen, there is a 3D Printing company-Xiamen Smart Group that “does not go the usual way”. Xiamen Smart was established in 2005. After 13 years of careful cultivation and development, the company currently has many branches.

In 2008, Smart Enterprise invested 20 million yuan to settle in Xiamen Huandonghai Siming Industrial Park. It has a standard factory building covering an area of ​​10,000 square meters and a full set of production equipment. It has established a professional R&D center and an industrial finished product operation system to showcase creativity Design, 3D precision manufacturing brand-new business philosophy. Anhui Dabang 3D Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Dabang 3D”) is a subsidiary of Xiamen Smart Group.

It settled in Anhui Chungu 3D Printing Industrial Park in 2016. It mainly develops and produces clay 3D printing equipment. Various arts and crafts companies, art colleges, and the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences conduct research and development cooperation, integrate 3D industrial art resources, and jointly create a platform for China’s 3D art innovation application. In this issue, we have the honor to interview Ms. Xie Haijiao, deputy general manager of Anhui Dabang 3D Technology Co., Ltd., to see how this post-90s entrepreneur embarked on the road of 3D printing with clay.

Entrepreneurs born in the 90s choose 3D printing of clay as their “feelings”

As the co-founder of the post-90s generation of Dabang Sanwei, Ms. Xie Haijiao originally studied business administration and worked in tobacco-related systems for two years after graduation. Behind the ease is a Hokkien person who “will win only if you love hard work”. Rush into the heart. She accidentally discovered 3D printing at a work meeting and has been paying attention since then. At that time, she thought that 3D printing was not so magical, but it was definitely a supplement to traditional manufacturing and a powerful supplement. At the same time, her keen market sense told her that the explosion period of 3D printing is coming. Everything is the best arrangement. In the WeChat exchange group of Xiamen University, she paid attention to Smart’s recruitment announcement. Through industry analysis and corporate research, she officially joined Smart in August 2015. Crossing industry and industry is a difficult journey for most people. However, she who has both liberal arts and sciences, entered the industry very quickly. Not only can she efficiently learn from the practical experience of her predecessors, and save the disadvantages, she also has a delicate mind and knows how Consider for each customer, such as using WeChat to transmit data, in order to prevent image distortion, format conversion and other issues, she will prepare a copy of editable word and pdf versions to facilitate the specific needs of customers. Such details are very important in her view, “Interpersonal interaction, cooperation, and experience are very important. If even you feel uncomfortable, you must not pass this uncomfortable to your customers and bosses. , Colleagues.” Mr. Xie emphasized. Pottery is the traditional ancient culture of China. The English name of China is China, which means ceramics. China is an ancient country of ceramics. When it comes to ceramics, foreigners think of China. The basic materials of ceramic form are soil, water and fire. Only when people have mastered the plasticity, rheology, forming method and sintering law of the water-soil kneading, can they promote the generation and evolution of ceramic art, and make ceramics produce beautiful forms.

When it comes to pottery, we all know that this process probably requires a number of processes such as drawing, drying, painting, glazing, and kilning, and many processes require manual operations by professional masters. When using traditional techniques to make ceramic products, the entire pottery process takes about 8-12 weeks. This process is not only time-consuming, but also difficult to achieve some complex geometric shapes, such as hollows, threads, etc., due to technological factors. Nowadays, the research and development of Dabang 3D ceramic clay 3D printer has successfully solved the complex modeling problem of fixed shape drawing. At the same time, the clay 3D printer replaces part of the labor force, not only alleviating the labor shortage problem, but also greatly reducing labor costs. The 3D printing of ceramic clay, through the additive manufacturing method of superimposed layers, follows the process of ceramic production of clay sticks, breaks through the limitations of traditional ceramic art in the form of freedom, and brings the possibility of a new artistic language to ceramic art sex. In the author’s opinion, the choice of 3D printing of clay clay is not only to optimize the pottery making process, but also because of Mr. Xie’s “feelings” for traditional Chinese culture.

Exclusively pioneering raw materials to transform traditional cultural and creative industries

Dabang Sanwei’s exclusive and first special raw material for 3D printing of ceramic clay overcomes the viscosity of the material. Based on the Fujian Dehua white porcelain clay, it has undergone multiple grinding, processing, proportioning and other special processes, in addition to the basic characteristics of the original ecological clay. In addition, the material has excellent comprehensive properties, excellent stability, and plasticity, which greatly improves the firing quality of ceramic 3D printed products, and the raw materials have no chemical additives, which are suitable for creative productions such as daily-use porcelain and space decorations. The successful research and development of the ceramic clay 3D printer allows artists to devote limited time to unlimited creativity and realize the digitization and refinement of ceramic products.

This will bring revolutionary changes to the future ceramic industry and become a boost to the transformation and transformation of the traditional ceramic industry. An important force in the protection of cultural heritage. First of all, combined with 3D modeling, this technology can create a true, accurate and complete 3D digital archive for unique cultural relics and artworks. With 3D printing technology, this digital model can be reproduced as a real object anytime, anywhere and with high fidelity. Second, the ceramic clay 3D printing technology has replaced the traditional manual molding process, and has brought great improvements and enhancements in the fineness of the work and the manufacturing efficiency.

For the works with physical samples, it is edited, enlarged, reduced, and original. Copying and other aspects can be more direct, accurate, and efficient to achieve small batch production, and promote cultural dissemination and exchange. Third, ceramic clay 3D printing technology has brought a lot of opportunities for cross-border integration and creation, especially for artists in the art field, bringing a broader creative space, in the reproduction and restoration of cultural relics and high-end artworks, The role of derivatives development is very obvious. 

Leading peers help pottery clay 3D printing into thousands of households

At present, ceramic clay 3D printing equipment has been maturely used in major arts and crafts academies across the country, middle and higher vocational design schools, and mud embryo factories. The finished product of the clay 3D printer can realize a hollow design, which not only reduces the weight of the finished product but also saves costs. In addition, the post-processing of 3D printed clay modeling is also very convenient. For example, you can print threads inside the ceramic and then assemble two parts. The important thing is that the printed ceramics have the same performance as products made by traditional techniques and can be used in the same application scenarios.

Ceramic clay 3D printing has changed the traditional processing technology with innovative thinking and advanced technology, which is a historic breakthrough. In the next few years, ceramic clay 3D printing will dig deeper into the maker education and training market, publish ceramic 3D popular science training materials, build independent brand 3D ceramic art courses, establish a global 3D ceramic graphics database, etc., and strive to enter the thousands of ceramic clay 3D printing Ten thousand households. Although most of the ceramic clay 3D printing equipment at home and abroad is still in the DIY stage, the scale of mass production has not yet formed.

However, Dabang 3D has taken the lead, using the means of industrial design and the concept of digitalization, and has taken the lead in realizing the industrialized mass production of ceramic clay 3D equipment. The innovative application of its equipment is even ahead of the international level. At present, there is a great demand for ceramic clay 3D printing technology in the field of cultural and creative industries, but this requires a strong professionalism. Therefore, those who do 3D printing technology must have the corresponding cultural and creative common sense, understand the charm and value of art, and they It does not have to be an art-related major, but it must have the ability of cross-border thinking. Such as: 3D printing of clay for large sculptures. Traditional sculpture rough embryos need to be nailed into a wooden frame. Traditional craftsmen call it “bone erection”. The rough mud is used to press the mud while pressing it. This process is the most time-consuming and labor-intensive. If it is not done well, it may be refurbished. Redo, and the sculpture shape cannot be copied in batches, and the sculpture data cannot be saved for a long time. The 3D printing of pottery clay, with three-dimensional sculpture data and honeycomb support, directly prints the rough sculptures. Craftsmen only need to sculpt and polish in later stages to realize the mass production of sculptures. The data is saved and printed, saving Time, worry and effort.

With the continuous promotion of the application of 3D printing technology by Smart & Dabang 3D team in the industry, the digital sculpture revolution has begun in Fujian, the most concentrated area of ​​the national sculpture industry. Various industry associations and enterprises in the cultural and creative circles came to the company for inspection and exchanges. In the words of Professor Zhang Shouzhi, Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts, a leading ceramics industry, “I have traveled all over the world and have not seen a company like yours. Professional art and design team, complete industrial-grade printing equipment, and innovative R&D capabilities. You are the partners I have been looking for for so many years!” In the early stage of the 2017 BRICS meeting, Professor Zhang Shouzhi led the Smart & Dabang 3D design team around the clock , Used 3D printing technology to develop a variety of state banquet porcelains for the BRICS meeting, and technological innovation has achieved great success! This is a historical milestone in the transformation of ceramic production technology, marking that China’s ceramic industry is about to enter the ranks of digital intelligent manufacturing. Under the vigorous promotion of Prof. Zhang Shouzhi, an authority in the industry, the governments and enterprises of various large ceramic producing areas across the country began to take action to develop close cooperation with the Smart & Dabang 3D team.

As a new technology and new tool, ceramic clay 3D printing can stimulate the creativity of traditional crafts and innovate the process, but in the final analysis, the new tool is just a tool, no matter how it is applied, it is ultimately to achieve the purpose of creation. From this perspective, clay 3D printing and traditional crafts are complementary. Designers, artists, craftsmen and other creators don’t have to explore the boundaries and meanings of the new tools themselves. They only need to use the performance of the new tools to create their creations. Service is fine. Mr. Xie believes that instead of saying that new technology will “replace” traditional craftsmanship, it is better to say that new technology is expanding the definition of the concept of craftsmanship itself.

As a 3D application company integrating design, research and development, and production, the understanding of this new technology of 3D printing may be more accurate. Under this understanding, Dabang 3D has been actively helping the traditional cultural and creative fields to expand into a broader territory. Whether it is to promote the digitalization of artworks or the promotion of clay 3D printing technology, Dabang 3D is always using “boosters”. Identity is participating in this unprecedented technological revolution.