This week was all about sharing. But not just sharing the way you would split up a pizza between all of your friends. We explored the world of sharing ideas.
We first learned how to do a basic design on tinkercad.com. With this new knowledge we all went into design-mode to create the best nameplate for our assigned group. This was a chance to share ideas of how to take advantage of the 3D printers to make a unique design.
After finally agreeing on a design and color, we were then given a new task that was a chance to dive into the many different sharing websites. My group was assigned grabcad.com, gitfab.org, and pinshape.com to start off.
My favorite of these three sharing sites was by far pinshape.com for many reasons. The biggest factor was the design of the website. It looked exactly like etsy.com and had some of the same features.
Pinshape.com is a place to buy 3D design downloads or pre-printed 3D objects. There is a huge range of products from toys and gadgets to jewelry and art. But any category you looked at had creative designs.
Here are a few of my favorites and how I would use or change them:
This simple butterfly pendant is an original work of art. It would normally be tedious to make by hand or to create a mold for such a small item, but 3D printing allows for such a intricate design to come to life.
I would most likely buy this design to be able to acquire all the different colors possible. It is simple enough to not be limited to just a black, plastic butterfly. I could potentially print enough to turn it into a decoration in my room or just have a different colored necklace for any outfit. The possibilities are endless.
These paper towel holders are an extremely practical design. They would add something to any kitchen and be a great conversation starter. It is quite simple in terms of the idea, but it would be so easy to produce with a 3D printer.
I will unfortunately not be purchasing this item anytime soon because the design is not available for download and the printed object price is too high for me.
This product is unusual and I would never even think to make this. However, imagine you were in charge of a birthday party for a little boy that loves dinosaurs, but you don’t want to buy the cheap cupcakes at the store with unpersonalized toppers. This is the best solution to make a homemade dessert decoration for that party.
Of course the dinosaur part is not important, but the concept of creating a personalized cake topper can lead to much more. Maybe your local bakery would be interested in having you design a variety of cake toppers to sell at their store.
This charging and amplifying dock has potential to be sold in Apple stores across the nation. I’m not sure why Apple hasn’t already started producing 3D printed docks. It’s genius!
Not only is it a great product that would be easy to market, but it’s cheap to produce. Right now it is free to download the design, so here’s your chance to create a useful product before Apple realizes what it’s missing
-Amanda Kowalski