3D printing and additive solutions developer Stratasys recently partnered with the design team at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minn. to bring Prince’s shoe collection to life. The exhibit titled “The Beautiful Collection: Prince’s Custom Shoes” features a custom set of 3D-printed display pieces that includes 300 pairs of shoes worn by Prince throughout his music career. Besides the shoes, the event also highlights multiple 3D-printed pieces, showcasing Stratasys’ 3D printing technologies.
“The level of 3D printing innovation on display at Paisley Park is incredible,” said Stratasys Senior Vice President of Strategic Growth Pat Carey. “In everything we created for this exhibit we pushed the boundaries of our technology. In addition to being able to showcase and complement Prince’s shoes through the creation of these amazing 3D-printed pieces, we can also highlight how 3D printing can be utilized beyond its typical use cases.”
The center of the exhibit is a baby grand piano that was designed to hold and display 11 pairs of shoes. According to the company, it is the first-ever 3D-printed baby grand piano. The piano is made up of 45 individual parts that were fused together. Each piece was printed using Stratasys’ FDM and PolyJet 3D printing systems, which utilized Nylon 12 Carbon Fiber. Structural parts were printed using the Stratasys F900 3D printer and the Stratasys 450 3D printer. Meanwhile, the non-load-bearing covers were produced with ASA Black material.
In contrast, the keys of the piano were printed using VeroUltra White and VeroUltra Black materials, eliminating the need for paint to finish the keys. This was achieved via the company’s PolyJet technology on the Stratasys J850 3D printer.
Duff Eisenschenk, one of Paisley Park’s designers, stressed the importance of incorporating distinct Prince elements into the exhibit. This is why the team decided to integrate the design of Prince’s iconic Cloud Guitar onto the legs of the baby grand piano. To successfully replicate the guitar’s shape and appearance, Stratasys took over 250 3D scans of Prince’s Cloud Guitar, which were then processed into 3D-print-ready design files. The guitars were printed on the Stratasys F900 3D printer using Nylon 12 Carbon Fiber, with each guitar taking more than 60 hours to produce.
To complete the details of the guitars, the company also included an exact replica “cloud” label, which was printed using VeroVivid materials via the Stratasys J850 3D printer. Stratasys also added real guitar tuning nuts, bridges and strings onto the pieces, making them fully functional music instruments.
To top off the exhibit’s lineup, the company also created a large 9-foot by 9-foot 3D-printed polymer image of the late musician on fabric. The image consists of approximately 347,130 clear spherical cells, which include layers of color inside. To develop a high-quality replica of the image, the company used the Stratasys J850 3D printer, which can print over 640,000 combinations of color, textures, gradients and transparencies down to the micron level.
The canvas was printed in 56 sections on white cotton denim, which were then hand sewn together to form the complete image.
Paisley Park is Prince’s private estate and production compound located in Chanhassen, Minn. The site is open for public tours, providing fans with the opportunity to see the 65,000-square-foot complex. The Beautiful Collection: Prince’s Custom Shoes exhibit is included in all tours at the Paisley Park Museum and will be open until 2022. To purchase tickets, visit Paisley Park’s website.
For more information on Stratasys, visit the company’s website.