Remember our Metal 3D printing in titanium contest? We finally are shipping Yanying's titanium 3D printed Spiral Cage today and wanted to share some photographs of her model. We hope that you enjoy your prize Yanying!

What do you guys think of the titanium model? I think that Yanying's design is beautiful as well as very illustrative of all the future possibilities in 3D printing.  

This jewel measures 2.6 by 2.5 by 4.9cm. It is made of titanium an this coupled with the process makes it rare and expensive. It costs about as much as an entry level MacBook. There is a lot of titanium in the world but very little 3D printed titanium. A lot of jewelery has already been made out of titanium so it should be a viable material. The process should add value since I would assume that rare=good in the jewelry business. I also personally believe that customized jewelery is a huge potential opportunity.

But..do you see yourself buying a 3D printed titanium jewel? Do you see yourself making your wedding ring on Shapeways? Or would you be more likely to buy/make a less expensive jewelery item?

In short: is there are market for high end custom made 3D printed jewelery? And is this market dependent on the material (ie titanium is good because it is a recognized jewelery material) or dependent on the process (ie I've always wanted to make something nice and affordable for my wife)?

And the winner of our Moving Part contest is....Jdavidbush with his excellent Roll Back Racer. He wins $300 in 3D printing and our applause. You can see the little car in action on the forum.

In second place is Frankbuss with his Balance Weighing Scale.

In third place is Whystler with his Orrerey. This by the way is a, "full functional model of the 4 terrestrial planets: mercury, venus, earth, and mars. Ideal for planning your next interplanetary voyage on your star-galleon, the planets can be moved to show their orbital placement around the sun."

Once again the contestants really raised the bar for 3D printing and what is possible with 3D printing. The other entrants to the contest were also all excellent and you should definitely check them out. Not a lot of moving 3D printed parts have ever been designed or made apart from basic hinges and things. And here we can see that a community of talented individuals can create wonderful things. We really think that this is the future and hope that through this contest everyone got a glimpse of that future.