Happy Chinese New Year 新年快乐
3D Printworks would like to wish everyone a wonderful Chinese New Year. This article will celebrate the occasion with an overview of 3D Printing in China, the celebrations taking place and a look at a fantastic 3D Model we created.
The Chinese New Year is celebrated on the First Moon of the lunar calendar. This year the new moon appeared on Saturday the 25th of January. Billions of people worldwide recognise and celebrate this New Year. This cycle of the Chinese calendar welcomes the Year of The Rat, an auspicious and respected Chinese Zodiac with symbolic ties to concepts of wealth and wisdom. These are promising omens to start the new decade.
The lantern festival (元宵节) is an important aspect of the Chinese holiday period. It is celebrated on the 15th day following the 1st lunar month, during the year's first full moon. This year the lantern festival falls on 8th of February. The Lantern festival marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebration.
The iconography of the Chinese Dragon is present during the Chinese New Year festivals. Traditional Dragon and lion dancing is common during street parties. It is believed that the drum beats and the cymbals combined with the face of the Dragon or lion can ward off evil spirits.
3D Printing and China
Let us look at how 3D Printing is being paired with other emerging technologies to help China reach their goals and face emerging challenges.
China's “two centennial goals” were introduced two decades ago by then party chief Jiang Zemin. The first goal is to build a “moderately prosperous society” by 2021, the centenary of the founding of the party. The second is to become a “fully developed nation” by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic.
A major opportunity and challenge centres around China's manufacturing industry which account for 40% of China’s GDP. In order to stay ahead of the curve China has embraced additive manufacturing to improve their work flow processes and create lighter and cheaper automobile parts.
“3-D printing is entering a golden period in China, after years of development, it has turned from an innovative concept to something quite helpful in upgrading manufacturing plants.” -Wang Peng, secretary-general of the Additive Manufacturing Alliance of China.
China is using 3D Printing in unique and exciting ways, take this example from the town of Suzhou in the Jiangsu region. Here the government have rejuvenated the town with various projects including this particularly impressive project of the very first 3D printed river revetment wall. over 500 meters long, is the largest 3D printed structure ever built (pictured to the right).
Chinese Dragon 3D Printed Model
To celebrate the Chinese New Year in the 3D Printworks office we decided to print something for the occasion. We found this incredibly detailed “Chinese New Year Dragon Incense Holder” on MyMiniFactory from user ajerb123. The Dragon and its stand come in two pieces and despite the intricacy, the model was largely support free. The dimensions of the model were 253 x 83 x 102mm and used 256 grams of our Flame Red PLA 3D Printer Filament which worked amazingly for this print. Red is an important colour for Chinese New Year and Chinese culture, red symbolises luck, happiness and is often affiliated with China by the Government. We are very proud of how this print turned out and look forward to displaying it in the office.
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