Joe Micallef - Beginning Design for 3D Printing

Los Angeles, USA

The motivation to be creativethe spark of ingenuity that motivates us to design, craft, construct, and manufactureis a basic human desire. Like Leonardo da Vinci, many of us have, in the back of our minds, a blueprint for an amazing idea, a working machine, or a beautiful piece of art. (In fact, many modern-day designers have 3D printed some of da Vincis original illustrations, as shown in Figure .) Our desire to build and create is no different from the motivation that inspired great artists and engineers to bring the marvels of civilization into existence. Every day, a new concept is born in countless imaginationsideas for products and things that would make the world a better place. Yet, we often cast such plans aside with the perception that they would be too complex, costly, and time-consuming to build. Self-doubt often sets in, and our most practical plans get thrown into the bin of abandoned dreams.

But now 3D printing has made the inconceivable possible: the transformation of our digitally dreamt-up ideas into multidimensional reality. Through this growing 3D-printing phenomena, many barriers of production can be overcome, enabling the artist, designer, and manufacturer in all of us to bring our ideas into fruition. With this remarkable digital technology, a new world of fabrication awaits where anybody can turn computer-generated models into real-world objects. In schools, libraries, community spaces, local businesses, and online, many da Vinci dreams are now becoming 3D-printed reality.

As someone reading this book, youve probably developed an interest in 3D printing and are eager to take advantage of this incredible technology. But a 3D-printed product or work of art is only as good as the design put into it, and poorly conceived designs cost time and money. To harness 3D printings true potential, a proficiency in design is extremely important. The excitement of 3D printing quickly fades when the final output fails to live up to its initial promise. Having the design skills to model objects for 3D printing is no trivial matter, and unfortunately, with the many software tools available, there is no single design solution to create a 3D-printable product. New, eager designers are faced with an overwhelming number of techniques to learn, which include spline-based modeling, polygonal box modeling, digital organic sculpting, parametric workflows, high-precision solid modeling, and even a bit of computer programming. Thankfully, many free 3D modeling programs are available that will allow a new designer to gradually learn the 3D modeling process. Open source applications and easy-to-learn software tools such as FreeCad, OpenScad, Tinkercad, 123D apps, Microsoft Builder, Blender, and Sculptris (Figure ) allow eager designers to become familiar with the necessary basics (such as navigating 3D space and combining geometric shapes) to build simple objects that will enable them to start printing their own customized 3D objects.