Stunning 3D Ice Cube Sculptures Carved Using High-Tech Machinery

Most of us use warm water to make clear ice cubes and think that it is the peak of fanciness. But these intricate ice cubes blow ours out of the, ahem, water. They are featured in ads for Suntory, a Japanese brand of whiskey, and come in various shapes, from Batman and deadmau5, to high heels and astronauts. The ad campaign made a splash in AdFest 2015 by getting an award for “Best in Experimental”. And is it ever experimental! The ice cubes were first designed via the Autodesk 123D app, useful for turning images of things into blueprints for 3D printers, CNC machines, and so forth. The plans were then sent to a CNC router. CNC stands for “computer numerical controlled“ and a router is machine used to cut shapes from hard materials. The CNC router, cooled to -7 degrees Celsius (19 Fahrenheit) then cuts the shapes out of ice. Miwako Fujiwara of TWBA/Hakuhodo, the ad company who made the project, added that sculptures are finished when “a touch of chilled whiskey polishes the surface of the ice and gives a beautiful shine to the sculpture.” Now that’s a seriously futuristic level of fanciness. More info: 3drocks.jp | tbwahakuhodo.co.jp (h/t: mashable)