CNC Milling’s Coolest Application Ever

What’s the swankiest thing you can think of?

Close, but no cigar. (No smoking jacket either.)

Picture yourself seated in a wingback leather chair in your mahogany-paneled library, wearing your finest silk smoking jacket and sipping whisky from a crystal tumbler.

That’s pretty good, but something is still missing…

Whisky Rocks! (Image courtesy of Suntory Whisky.)

How about a custom CNC-milled ice cube?

Off to the races with a horse-shaped CNC-milled ice cube. (Image courtesy of Suntory Whisky.)

Two Japanese companies, an ad agency and a distiller, have teamed up to create the world’s first CNC-milled ice cubes. The agency used Autodesk 123D Catch, a mobile app that captures and generates 3D images using a type of photogrammetry. These scans were then sent to a CNC router.

For those who enjoy free spirits. (Image courtesy of Suntory Whisky.)

The router, chilled to approximately -7° C (19° F), sculpted the images in ice in a process that took up to six hours depending on the complexity of the image. As a final step, a splash of chilled whiskey was used to “polish” the resulting sculptures.

Mr. Freeze’s drink of choice. (Image courtesy of Suntory Whisky.)

The distiller, Suntory Whisky, held a contest in which entrants submitted their own 3D images via 123D Catch. Ten winners were invited to an event in Tokyo to enjoy a drink with their CNC-milled designs.

We're going to need a bigger glass. (Image courtesy of Suntory Whisky.)

For more information and to see the rest of these amazing mini-ice sculptures, visit the official website.