Glass V0
Initially untitled — referred to by the team as “version zero” — the world's first molten glass 3D printer was prototyped by an interdisciplinary student team in a machine design course at MIT in 2014. Michael brought additive-manufacturing training and a decade of glassblowing; together with architect John Klein, product designer Markus Kayser, and materials scientist Shreya Dave, the team produced the first system using molten feedstock for freeform 3D printing.
Rough geometric renderings showed just a glimpse of the power of digital tools combined with the elegant materiality of glass.
A crucible of molten glass above a heated nozzle, hand-built around a course deadline — enough to prove that molten feedstock could be steered into freeform prints, and enough to start everything that followed.
