Have you ever wanted to 3D print yourself? When I visited Kansas City, my family gifted me a doob: a 3D printed figure of myself. I couldn’t be in Kansas City for the revealing, so I watched it via Facetime with my sister-in-law!
While I was getting my doob pics taken in the doob-licator, I found out that the mayor’s son worked at the KC shop, so he hooked me up with a meet-and-greet with his dad, mayor Sly James (who also has a doob).
What is doob?
Started in 2013, doob provides full service 3D printing services. Currently, they offer printed figures of customers ranging from six to 14 inches tall (the figures, not the customers). They’re great gifts for families living far apart, ornaments for Christmas trees, or even wedding cake toppers!
But they see a bigger future for their services in 3D printing. In an interview with Forbes, they said they want their custom figures to encourage a more customized shopping experience for everyone. From clothes that perfectly fit your figure to coffee cups customized to your hand shape, people will have a variety of uses for realistic avatars.
How does doob work?
The Dooblicator is a 3D scanner with 54 cameras that capture your figure from a full 360 degrees. Once you approve of the pictures, they send them to a production center in Brooklyn.
There, the 3D printers build your figure piece by little piece from tiny bits of powder. Because it’s a constructed figure instead of a carved figure, there’s no waste involved! Once complete, technicians will then clean up the avatar and finalize the seal on the powder.
It takes about two weeks to complete a 3D print of yourself, and you can choose from a variety of sizes. You can find doob centers all over the world – check out their website to learn more!
