This is what happens when towers fall and the printer keeps extruding! It’s a hairy building … Or art-chitecture ;) #3dprinting #lambchop
Excited to go to Maker Faire in San Mateo this weekend! It’ll be part of a two week work/pleasure road trip that will include doing some grassroots promo at Telluride Mountain Film Festival for Xpedition.tv.
But first, I’m going to see this famed PCH, Big Sur, and explore, talk to, meet and mind meld with many, many Makers!!! Can’t wait!
Pieces of another print #lambchop is working on! It’s been a busy weekend!! #architecture #3dprinting #makerbot (at A-Team HQ)
Awesome YHWH customs!! #vinyl_toy #markryden (at TAG (Toy Art Gallery))
Guess what City this is going to be? Hint: it’s in Asia #3dprinting #lambchop
[video]
Spring Arts Collective on this monthly Art Walk night DTLA (at Spring Arts Tower)
Finished and painted print courtesy of #lambchop #3dprinting #sciarc
Mark Ryden’s YHWH Group Custom Show -
So far I’ve learned that by the time the 3D printer is actually plugging away at creating objects, you’ve reached 3rd base and are running for the home plate (still fraught with anxiety, anticipation and the very real chance you won’t make it – to finished print).
Before you can physically print your lovely object, it must exist in a printable 3D file (usually .stl or .obj), which means it must be designed in a 3D modeling program. Not a 3D designer or don’t feel like learning a new skill? You can still play with 3D printing.
A lot of people are accessing free and paid downloadable files to print from sites - repositories they are called – such as www.thingiverse.com, http://www.cgtrader.com, http://www.turbosquid.com/Search/3D-Models/free, and of course, http://www.shapeways.com.
But that’s not nearly as much fun as designing your own right? Right! So what program are you going to use? Rhino, Z-Brush, Maya, Mudbox? Hands up if you know how to use Photoshop?! Well, that won’t help.
So if you’re a 3D modeling whiz or want to try your hand, you can design the file yourself but please, for everyone’s sake, make sure the files are actually printable! That goes for what is on those repositories too! No holes in the geometry (make it watertight), no double surfaces, no floating objects (no we cannot print something in mid-air), check the surface normal direction and use lots and lots of solid meshes.
Word of warning: the files you pull down from the online repositories aren’t going to be perfect – or even printable for that matter. In fact, many have all the problems I’ve listed above. I know a few pro 3Dsculptors/designers who tried to use these as base files to then modify and customize their own objects, but there was so much fixing to do they were better off starting from scratch.
This is a rampant problem with free 3D files online – you get what you (don’t) pay for. Designers and modelers who are proficient with 3D modeling and software are reading this nodding their heads violently. They spend most of their time fixing clients’ files (and that’s a heck of a lot of time spent – it’s tedious, highly detailed work). They are providing a professional service. They also know that designing for 3D printing is different from designing for other manufacturing or finishing processes. Therefore if you want to print something for additive manufacturing (3D printing) make sure that your file is built solidly for that specific output.