Vauen 3D printed pipe has the flavor of the XXI century

ChatGPT while rushing through Euromold last November, my attention was caught by an object that unmistakably resembled a 3D-printed tobacco pipe. What intrigued me wasn’t so much that it was 3D-printed (clearly sintered), but that it came in retail packaging—indicating it was already on the market. After some research, I discovered that it was indeed available for purchase: it’s called the Diamond Pipe, produced by Vauen, a German company that has been making pipes since 1850.

While rushing through Euromold last November, my attention was caught by an object that unmistakably resembled a 3D-printed tobacco pipe. What intrigued me wasn’t so much that it was 3D-printed (clearly sintered), but that it came in retail packaging—indicating it was already on the market. After some research, I discovered that it was indeed available for purchase: it’s called the Diamond Pipe, produced by Vauen, a German company that has been making pipes since 1850.

A futuristic, geometrically complex pipe, laser-sintered using heat-resistant technopolymers, might seem counterintuitive in the seemingly traditional world of tobacco pipe enthusiasts. Tobacco pipes trace their origins to the discovery of the Americas (tobacco was unknown in Europe), where Indigenous peoples had been using them for centuries. Meanwhile, in Europe and Asia, pipes were used to smoke other substances. Yet the 3D-printed Diamond Pipe, designed by Markus Bruckner, has been embraced by pipe smokers worldwide.

“At its first presentation at the Inter-tabac event in 2014 in Dortmund, the pipe was very well received by everyone,” said Alexander Eckert, managing director of Vauen & Co. “It even won a special award as the most exciting innovation in the tobacco pipe segment.” Apparently, traditions are meant to be broken—or replaced with new ones. However, while reshaping a product can be an attainable goal, experimenting with new materials and production methods poses a more complex challenge.

“At first, we didn’t intend to produce the Diamond Pipe using 3D printing,” admitted Mr. Eckert. “But during development, it became clear that a pipe with this shape couldn’t be handcrafted in wood due to its geometrically complex and multi-faceted design. So, we decided to try working with a 3D printing service.”

Designer Markus Bruckner has been collaborating with Vauen since 2005 and uses 3D printing—via external services—as a development tool to better understand the forms he creates. “Currently, the prism shape is very popular,” he explained. “You often see it in graphic design, industrial design, and fashion design. So, I decided to use it as inspiration to translate the familiar form of a pipe into a diamond shape.”

There is consensus among tobacco smokers that the shape of a pipe can strongly influence the flavor and enjoyment of a particular tobacco blend. Many pipe enthusiasts enjoy exploring new possibilities to find the ideal combination of shape, size, and tobacco blend for each occasion. The possibilities are endless, but 3D printing has literally introduced a new dimension—allowing for polygonal geometric shapes rather than traditional rounded forms. Vauen is already working on new models and colors, bringing a tradition of nearly two centuries into the 21st century. Isn’t that exactly what 3D printing is all about?