Editor's note: A newly developed 3D printing pen has strengthened the ability of more people, even those with no knowledge of the technology, to "democratize" 3D creations. The inventors see the device becoming as common as a paint brush within a decade.

Walking into WobbleWorks' office in Sheung Wan is like entering an animated universe. The space is filled with textured and bright-colored ornaments - dragons, boats and Eiffel Towers to name a few.

These works of arts are all "drawn" with 3Doodler, which is a 3D printing pen developed by Hong Kong-based company WobbleWorks.

Similar to a regular 3D printer, the pen works as a built-in heater melts the plastic, which flows through the nozzle and cools down, to produce various kinds of three-dimensional shapes. By drawing in the air, people have been using the pen to create 3D models, jewelry, decorative art, toys and many more.

3Doodler works are not just for display but can also be useful, as Maxwell Bogue, co-founder and chief executive officer of WobbleWorks, shows a printed wallet and smartphone case he's actually using every day.

His favorite 3Doodler project, he tells China Daily, is a one-meter tall rocket built by co-founder Pete Dilworth, which was successfully launched to an estimated height of 150 meters.

Some are using 3Doodler more than for fun, but in all sorts of ways that the company has never expected in the first place. Some of the visually impaired, for instance, write Braille with the pen, and professional artists use it to make fine art.

The idea of the 3D printing pen came to Bogue and Dilworth in 2012 when their 3D printer malfunctioned near the end of a 14-hour print. The machine missed a layer, made two separate parts, and had to start over.

It struck them - what if they can take down the nozzle of the 3D printer and fill in the space by hand? They got down to the idea the next day and made the first 3Doodler, in Bogue's words, "a massive, ugly looking thing", but it worked.

After a year and seven prototypes, 3Doodler went into production and became a crowdfunding success with $2.3 million raised through Kickstarter in 2013. Subsequently, the company moved to Hong Kong for its proximity to production.

In early 2015, WobbleWorks released the 3Doodler 2.0, which is significantly lighter and slimmer than the first generation's, and scored another $1.5 million on the crowdfunding platform.

To date, WobbleWorks has sold more than 400,000 pens around the world, amassing a committed community that actively shares their doodling projects with each other and the brand. "In 10 years, it will be as common as the paint brush," co-founder Daniel Cowen envisages.

Contrary to popular perception, the technology and industry behind 3D printing, which first emerged in the 1980s, is hardly nascent. Its limited capability and high cost confined the use of the technology to industries such as automotive, airspace and healthcare, according to UK-based market research firm CCS Insight.

However, technology advancement in the industry has made 3D printers faster and affordable over the years, and expanded its adoption gradually to homes and small businesses.

As a creative tool, 3Doodler is not necessarily an alternative for a 3D printer in terms of making prototypes, but allows users to sketch an idea in 3D quickly and easily, which Cowen sees as the most radical difference between a 3Doodler and a 3D printer.

And, as a simpler and more affordable tool, 3Doodler democratizes 3D creation. "It's like we've fast forwarded the ability for more people to create in 3D," Cowen remarks.

"3D printers allow people with knowledge and with money to make things in 3D, but 3Doodler allows anybody - with no knowledge and a very low budget - to create anything in 3D," he further explains.

Since the release of 3Doodler in 2013, which claims to be the world's first 3D printing pen, a number of similar products have emerged in this space. Bogue and Cowen believe that having a head start and, more importantly, a large and active community behind 3Doodler, keeps them ahead of their competitors.

"It's a whole package. When you buy a 3Doodler, you buy into a creative world, and I don't think that's easy for anyone to replicate," Cowen says.

iris@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 01/07/2016 page8)