Shapeways community member Kevin Cook is in the Guinness Book of World Records as having the worlds largest dice collection. He is also quickly amassing a collection of 3D printed exemplars from Shapeways. Want an initial impression of how big exactly the world’s largest dice collection is? Take a gander at this page.
Joris Peels: How many dice do you have?
Kevin Cook: Dice counting towards the Guinness record as of receipt of my latest Shapeways shipment yesterday evening (not added to inventory yet) 29,423. Including my duplicates for trade I think I have about 35,000.
Joris Peels: When did you start collecting them?
Kevin Cook: 1977 (There are more details on the history of Kevin’s collection here)
Joris Peels: What is it about them that you like so much?
Kevin Cook: Interesting, I have conducted a lot of interviews and I do not recall anyone ever asking me this before. It is really hard to put into words. I look at them as small pieces of art. They are compact and each has its one purpose, whether general (normal pipped or numbered dice) or specific (dice made for a specific game or task).
Joris Peels: Do you have a favorite pair?
Kevin Cook: Not really … but there are several that mean a lot to me.
Joris Peels: Why are dice six sided?
Kevin Cook: Only some dice are 6 sided there have been dice with 4, 12 and 20 sides for over 2000 years.
Joris Peels: What were your first 3D printed dice?
Kevin Cook: My 20,000th die, Dice and Games in the UK printed it for me I had it laser engraved then I polished it myself.
Joris Peels: What does 3D printing mean for your die collecting hobby?
Kevin Cook: I have known of rapid prototyping / 3d printing for several years and I have been waiting for someone to do something like what Shapeways has done. It opens up a new market to me and I have given permission to several artists to use my on original creations. I look forward to the future.
Joris Peels: So you’re in the Guinness Book of Records?
Kevin Cook:Yes, unfortunately the record must be ‘refreshed’ in order for the current count to be raised. This is a lot of work so I have not gone to the trouble of refreshing the record. This is why the current official record is only 11,097.
I was very pleased to read this article because I just ordered today my own custom dice with 6 different designs. But I am afraid I won’t break the record though (well, not today at least :))
I looked Kevin’s own creations and I really like the way he arranged the dots’ position when their number is bigger than 6. I had to face the same situation in one of my designs (from 7 to 12 dots) and this is a very interesting subject that mixes both art and maths…
Congratulations for this collection!
Thanks … I am glad you like the dice I created … One of the reasons I did many of my creations was to make them ‘public domain’ so that anyone who cared to … can create them without fear of infringing a patent
I would like to understand better this patent issue: what you are saying is that if one of your fans reuse – say – the way you arranged 9 dots on a triangular face in a die, he cannot be sued for patent infrigement by anybody, because you already used that in your own designs and you made them public, right?
But this works only if you were *the first one* to propose such an arrangement: if someone can prove that he did the same design before you (anteriority), then he can sue your fan (and yourself). Or am i wrong?
These intelectual properties stuff are so complex… 🙁
I agree .. IP is complex … and I am not an IP attorney … just a layperson with a fair amount of experience ( I was the expert witness in the Crystal Caste vs Hasbro trial)
It is my understanding … that if I produce and publicly display a die … one year after displaying that die … it can no longer be patented as it is now public domain … and any attempts to do so (patent) would likely be denied under ‘prior art’
Now … if you also try to patent it … when at the same time … I dont know what the USPTO will do