Budget seat: Designer makes low-price 3D-printed chair

The chairs were created using what the designer calls the Endless Process, a new 3D printing technique that creates objects from digital files in a single long coil of extruded plastic. The process is much faster and cheaper than typical 3D printing, in part because the resolution of the printing is relatively low – the layers of coiled plastic are easily visible to the eye.

But Vander Kooij is not trying to erase traces of his process from the finished Chubby chairs, which come in a variety of bright colours. The finished product takes about half an hour to make, he told the New York Times, and sell for about $400. The relatively low price point brings 3D-printed furniture closer to having a place in the average home. For more on trends in 3D printing, see our Show review of the Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo.