How This Semester Made Me Into a Maker

I remember when I first saw the Digital Making Seminar course flyer, I imagined this course would be radically different than courses I had taken in the past. Now that I am writing my semester’s reflection, I can safely say that this course greatly surpassed my expectations. I did not simply learn in this course; this course transformed the way that I think.

The Maker Movement and Learning to Become a Maker

When I first heard about the Maker Movement, I was fascinated because I have always had great interest in exploring ways that people can learn most optimally. Professor Kylie Peppler from Indiana University spoke to us at the beginning of the semester in great detail regarding the Maker Movement and I was inspired to truly understand what ‘making’ could mean in my own learning experience. This course gave me the opportunity to experience firsthand what it means to learn by making and how tangibly creating something can challenge your mind in ways that traditional teaching methods simply can’t. By getting to experience a workshop put on by Design for AmericaI saw just how significant this movement was and that I was sitting at the forefront of it. Not every student gets the change to take a course like this, so being able to witness testimonies from many guest speakers throughout the semester showed me just how significant this whole ‘making’ ordeal really is.

Moving forward, the importance of the Maker Movement and everything I’ve learned about making digitally has motivated me to be involved with this community and continue expanding my knowledge in the areas of disruptive making technology. I have most formally pursued this by taking on employment at the MakerLab! I began working here very recently and I could not be more excited to continue being immersed in a place where I’ve learned that creativity and innovation are the fuel to the continuing technological development of society.

Technology and All The Ways I Learned to Make

This semester, our class was exposed to a myriad of different tools and technologies that become our instruments for making. From our sessions at the Champaign Fab Lab to our field trip to the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology, I feel like I discovered so many different ways to create things that I did not even know existed. Some of my personal favorites were learning how to digitally embroider and create objects in Fusion 360I think what I enjoyed most about creating through these mediums was my ability to allow my thoughts to flow freely from one to the next. One of the biggest takeaways I have from learning how to tinker with things like arduinos and different softwares is that the digital making space is not a confining one. I am able to create something digitally and do 1 million+ things to it on a variety of different platforms. Digital making allows us to bring ideas to fruition in ways that were not possible before and simply because of that, I can see that this course brought me immense value.

LampMy patch!

One of the aspects that I loved about this course was also learning that the technologies we used can be leveraged for so many different uses, including ones that many people may never even have thought about. For example, I am involved in different religious communities and I was so pleased to find that I could leverage our digital making platforms to create things that I could use in the realm of my faith. A religious application is probably one of the last things people would think of when talking about things like 3D printers or digital embroidery, but the endless possibilities of digital making are what makes it so incredible! 

Digital Making is Whimsical, Unpredictable, and an Unending Exploration

I also have to note that while I intentionally made some pretty cool stuff, I also ended up accidentally creating things. I tried to print a grocery-bag hanger that was formulated from the base of a bolt and I also tried to print a digital scan of myself as a shot glass. Neither print accomplished the purposes of what I had for them individually, but together I created an interesting art piece! The grocery-bag-bolt-hanger spins in the hole I created in the digital scan of myself. This to me, represents the beauty of digital making: even when you think you’re done, you’re probably not! 

This course has taught me that a singular object can be viewed from multiple perspectives, which consequently derive multiple purposes for the object. I firmly believe that this is an important way of thinking that our generation needs to develop in order to become leaders within the global economy. By exploring concepts in something like Digital Making, we learn how to be empathetic, dynamic, and technically capable leaders capable of succeeding on any terrain. For this reason alone, I could not be more grateful to have taken this class and I am extremely excited for all the ways that my experiences in this class will enable me to help others see the value in creating digitally.

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Me in 3D

Learning Pathways Final Project: Our Learning Becomes Yours

Our semester project revolved around creating Learning Pathways in Digital Making. While most projects focused on the “Make” aspect of the MakerLab credo, we decided to focus on the other aspects of learning and sharing.

Our project objective was to create a variety of learning pathways consisting of content segmented by interests & needs. These modules would in turn be available to a wide range of audiences via an online platform, currently Instructure. We hope that our project will be used in the future to enable the MakerLab to be not just a printing resource for Illinois Students, but to become an education leader in the digital making space.

SUBJECT PATHWAYS

3D Printing

The 3D printing subject pathway will introduce the fundamental concepts of 3D printing. This module will focus on helping others understand the process of 3D printing, the various materials that are available to print with, as well as the different printers being used around the world. Additionally, this module will uniquely contain content dedicated to exploring how 3D printing is changing the business environment. Rather than keeping this business environment content as a separate module, this content will be beneficial to a wide range of individuals who may work in different industries.

3D Scanning

3D Scanning will expose readers to the idea of turning physical objects into the digital space and back again into the physical space. This module will focus on describing various commercial scanners and uses as well as delve into ways that the average person can dip their toes into the 3D scanning space through free apps and fun projects.

3D Design

The 3D Design module will explore all of the different aspects of digitally creating objects and modeling techniques. The content within this area will pertain to the different making softwares available, the range of technologies available for users of varying skill levels, and the resources that are available for individuals interested in sharpening their skills in 3D design.

DISCIPLINE PATHWAYS

After a basic understanding of the different making technologies: 3D printing, scanning and design, we found it appropriate to look at what 3D printing and these related technologies look like in the many different industries and communities around the world. We’ve broken this down by exploring different types of 3D printing used in industry, applications of the technology, and career opportunities that exist and that may be relevant to technologically and artistically inclined students.

By diving into the different forms of additive manufacturing and how the different processes have their own advantages and disadvantages in use, readers will receive a strong background with the jargon and technological understanding professionals use when dealing with these tools.

Next, exploring industry applications will show the massive scope that digital making technologies have in terms of where they are being used. We dive into medical technology, aerospace & defense and automotive technology and describe how these industries have been revolutionized (and continue to evolve) by additive manufacturing.

Finishing off with the business side of things, we explore the implications that additive manufacturing and digital making will have on the career paths of those who are technologically and artistically inclined (AKA those taking courses through the MakerLab)!

TYPES OF DISCIPLINE PATHWAYS

Entrepreneurship: Individuals looking to start their own businesses or leverage technology like 3D printing to innovate on existing products will be able to access links, individuals, and learning resources to use a place like the MakerLab to explore new ideas. This area will also explore the concept of rapid prototyping that  will aid the new product development process.

Product Development: While a subset of entrepreneurship, will focus on taking a product from ideation to prototyping. 3D printing vastly changes the prototyping process, and this module will provide guidance into this process as well as designing products for additive manufacturing.

Education: Individuals seeking to learn more about how the maker movement is transforming education at various levels and wanting to acquire resources to help introduce themselves and others will find this learning path very beneficial. We hope to craft some great connections to communities around the United States that are talking about ways to integrate the ‘making’ process into our school curricula. This module will also discuss the Maker Movement and how this movement is radically transforming the education landscape.

Architecture: The architecture pathway will provide learners with a solid understanding of how 3D printing is having a great impact on the architecture industry. From revolutionizing the ways that architects present their proposals to clients to enabling architects to rapidly prototype models in ways never seen before, 3D printing is profoundly changing the ways that architects design buildings and structures. The resources in this area will focus on providing community pages, links to architecture groups, and tips on designing for individuals wanting to learn more about how to integrate 3D printing technology into their workflows for architecture.

Business Management: This path of resources will help individuals in management or other business process-related roles learn how to leverage areas like 3D printing, scanning, and design to improve their supply chains, enhance product development, or help their employees become literate in emerging technologies. We feel that this resource will also be very useful to students interested in business that want to learn more about how 3D printing is changing the business landscape and how additive manufacturing processes are impacting the value chain of a business.

PATHWAY CONSTRUCTION

While our discipline pathways will be more free flowing following the nature of each module, all the subject pathways follow the same basic format. Each module starts off with a high – level overview of each subject to provide the reader with enough background to understand the technologies at work as well as some of the ways they are applied. Then, the module is split into industry applications, discussing how businesses today currently use the technology, and end-user applications, providing insight into how a casual home user would use these technologies. Each module also contains a “For Kids” section, showing how kids or parents of kids, could use this technology to both play and learn. Finally, the reader is invited to try this technology out for themselves, and we provide low cost ways that people could get involved with each technology.

CONCLUSION

This project has given us all a great perspective into what it looks like to be on the forefront of a large technological movement. By creating content for our modules and thinking of how we could facilitate learning in the digital making space by leveraging an online platform, we’ve seen firsthand the great significance that 3D printing and digital making is having on the world around us. The breadth of all the different things we wanted to include within these modules speaks to the growing need for educational resources for this kind of content. We’ve learned that while it can be difficult moving from the student point of view to the educator’s, it is very exciting to be so young, but still be able to not only learn about concepts like digital making, but share our knowledge to help others across the globe learn as well.

Post written by Gian Luis Delgado, Anthony Matar, and Noah Baird.

Learning Pathways in #DigitalMaking

Importance of Creating Learning Pathways

This past week, we spent time in class working on our individual projects and getting our progress caught up to speed with our group members. My particular project is focused on creating online learning resources to help individuals interested in learning more about 3D printing, 3D scanning, and 3D design. Additionally, our team is tasked with creating these resources in a way that enables users to access these resources through somewhat of a ‘profiled’ gateway that would help users understand what resources they want. To elaborate, our plan is to construct a compilation of many different learning pathways that users could go through based upon their interests and background. For example, if you are a supply chain manager interested in learning more about how additive manufacturing is decreasing product lead times, our resources would direct you to a sequence of links and information pages that would help you to navigate your own path of learning. We are excited to leverage a platform like the MakerLab to help outpour these resources to much greater communities that expand beyond Champaign-Urbana borders.

africa-technology

What Kinds of Learning Pathways Are We Creating?

Below are some examples of the different learning pathways we are creating for the MakerLab that we feel will benefit individuals wanting to learn more about making from any background or skill level:

Entrepreneurship: Individuals looking to start their own businesses or leverage technology like 3D printing to innovate on existing products will be able to access links, individuals, and learning resources to use a place like the MakerLab to explore new ideas. This area will also explore the concept of rapid prototyping that  will aid the new product development process.

Education: Individuals seeking to learn more about how the maker movement is transforming education at various levels and wanting to acquire resources to help introduce themselves and others will find this learning path very beneficial. We hope to craft some great connections to communities around the United States that are talking about ways to integrate the ‘making’ process into our school curriculums.

Management: This path of resources will help individuals in management or other business process-related roles learn how to leverage areas like 3D printing, scanning, and design to improve their supply chains, enhance product development, or help their employees become literate in emerging technologies. We feel that this resource will also be very useful to students interested in business that want to learn more about how 3D printing is changing the business landscape and how additive manufacturing processes are impacting the value chain of a business.

Digital Making SP’ 15: What Have We Been Up To?

Ideation and Product Development

This entire semester, our class has been learning a great deal about the process of making and what it means to take an idea from early beginning thoughts to full execution. We had the privilege of having Professor Kylie Peppler from Indiana University speak with us about the Maker Movement. We’ve learned about the inherent value of thinking like a ‘maker’ and learning about the different ways that we can take a problem and transform into a tangible solution that can benefit others. Additionally, we’ve discuss the ideation process and learned how to approach the sequence of steps that it takes to actually develop a product. Design for America put on a workshop for us that helped us to see the different stages of innovation and how to ultimately get to your final product using principles like human-centered design.

3D Printing: Learning Platforms

Illinois MakerLab

Illinois MakerLab

Digital Making focuses on creating and making digitally through the medium of 3D printing. We have learned about a variety of different softwares that we can use to develop 3D models that can ultimately be printed at the Illinois MakerLab on MakerBot printers. The first platform we learned about was Tinkercad. This web-based tool allows users to easily create a model by providing pre-created geometries and basic tools to do things like create holes, construct letters and numbers, and modify the size/shape of the objects users work with. We then progressed to learn about Autodesk Fusion 360. This software is more sophisticated and allows for users to manipulate objects on many more measurements than a platform like Tinkercad and with greater amounts of precision. We also learned about a high-end software called Geomagic which essentially renders 3D scans, refines the scans with various tools, and parameterizes scans into models to ultimately be used in softwares like Fusion 360 or Autodesk Inventor. Gaining exposure to all of these different tools has been invaluable.

3D Printing & The Business Environment

In addition to learning about all the different methods and tools for #digitalmaking (also our class hashtag!), we took time to understand the implications that digital making has had and is continuing to have on today’s dynamic business environment. 3D printing is becoming the disruptive technology of the future that has great implications for production processes, procurement, supply chains, and much more. Additive manufacturing, a corporate extension of 3D printing processes, is helping to lower product lead times and helping to optimize product manufacturing by lower costs and enabling customization. One of the first things you learn in this class is that complexity is not an obstacle when it comes to 3D printing and many digital making methods. This enables the production of objects with complex geometries that may have not been possibly on a larger scale before.

Technology Immersion and Exposure

Champaign-Fab-Lab

Champaign Fab Lab

 

In addition to 3D printing and scanning methods, our class has learned many different techniques to make digitally. We’ve learned about arduinos and the use of e-textiles to create some very interesting things that require the use of circuitry and computer programming. Additionally, our class has been visiting the Champaign Fab Lab to learn and play around with other technologies. We’ve furthered our knowledge of how to use arduinos at the lab and we have also been playing around with digital embroidery and laser cutting technologies. Participating in sessions at the Fab Lab has enabled us to become makers with a myriad of new tools. As the course continues, we will continue to learn about technologies that are disrupting different making spaces and become more skilled in using these technologies.

 

Digital Embroidery: My New Favorite Hobby

Welcome to the FAB Lab

This past week, our class had the extraordinary privilege of visiting the Champaign Fab Lab for our weekly session. As the campus’ 3rd oldest building, you would never guess the place is such a hub for innovation and creativity! What once housed horses and manure is now a platform for making and makers in many different ways.

Upon walking into the FAB Lab, the essence of raw ideas waiting to be transformed into tangible creations was exceedingly evident through the ways the staff interacted with you and the whimsical designs on the walls. My group and I were led back into a room where we saw dozens of patches and three very cool looking sewing machines, but they looked just a bit different from the normal ones!

Champaign Fab Lab

Champaign Fab Lab

Blast from the Past

One of the themes I’ve noticed throughout my experience in this course is that different techniques digital making often tend to be something we’re capable of doing without these softwares, but on a much more basic, rudimentary scale. For example, I could likely create a model for a house using sketches, plastic or wood, and some adhesive. However, the beauty of digital making is the capability of the different platforms to expedite, optimize, and perfect these making processes using technology and computing. Digital embroidery is no different! As I saw the various sewing machines with their fancy screens, I was reminded of a sewing class I took in 8th grade. I marveled at the precision and speed that the machine was able to produce an embroidered masterpiece.

My Turn: Time to Sew

Not quite, though! While I could have shown off some of my middle school sewing skills with my knowledge of how to thread the machine and get the bobbin ready and what-not, I had to let the experts show us how it’s done. We learned how the digital pattern from the computer would be transferred into the sewing machine via a USB cable and then how the machine actually carried out the sewing. The machine would segment the image (and eventual patch) into its various areas of color and create the patch by focusing on one color at a time. The way that the machine began the digital embroidery began sewing reminded me a ton of how the MakerBot 3D printers laid out their bases for printing objects and then built off from there. Within the few seconds or so, you were able to see somewhat of an outline of the colored area that the machine would stitch over.

For my patch, I couldn’t decide on something but then decided to make a Holy Cross to use as a bookmark or patch in light being in the middle of Holy Week (a religious week observed by Christians). I got pretty excited when I found a cross that I liked and chose a color combination that I thought would turn out pretty neat – and it did! You can see the cross printed out below. Myself and my friends all ended up digitally embroidering different kinds of patches with different symbols and designs. I’m still AMAZED with the precision and accuracy by which the patch was stitched. I’m excited to learn more about how technology is automatic actions like sewing to create even more things like this!

My patch!

My patch!

Week 9: Astounded by Arduinos

Arduino Technology: WOW!

This past week, our class had the privilege of learning how to use Arduino technology and how to program an Arduino for a variety of different purposes. As a student currently learning about digital making, I was very impressed by the ease and incredible capabilities that the Arduino has to create in digital ways. We programmed in an interface that directly loads programs we coded into the computing board. Having coded in Java and Python a little bit before, I found the process of writing the program fairly natural. I’m definitely not a developer, but creating the framework and instructions for the digital creation was not incredibly difficult. The challenge came when we had to create the circuits that would enable the program to carry out its various functions and operations. With other forms of digital making, we typically do not have the ability to interact with computer hardware. However, this past week we had the responsibility to enable the hardware to work in order to ensure the work we were doing in software performed the way we intended. My friend and I were able to write a program that made a light flicker on and off at various intervals. While this program may be fairly rudimentary and not necessarily something ground-breaking, it was my first Arduino program!

Arduino Uno

Arduino Uno

Moving Forward Using Arduino Technology

In addition to learning about Arduinos, we also had the Champaign Fab Lab give us a brief presentation about the different projects they have. As we move forward learning more about the various forms of digital making that are available, I believe that we will be able to see the many ways that Arduinos and smaller computers are being used to create inventions that can become a useful product or platform for learning. For our class, I believe that Arduinos and similar pieces of technology will be an excellent way for us to learn about how computers running programs that manifest themselves on delivery platforms other than typical computers. Whether it’s an e-textile or using an Arduino to help turn an every day purse into a solar powered bag that can charge personal electronic devices, the applications of Arduino technology are infinite. I’m excited to learn more about how to program these unique platforms and discover ways that organizations like the Fab Lab can help me find beneficial uses of the technology to create new products or excellent learning opportunities for ourselves and other students.

Magic, Virtual Alma Maters, & More

Beckman Institute: Digital Scanning and Beyond

Two weeks ago, our class had the incredible privilege of visiting UIUC’s Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology to take a look at some of their high powered digital scanning devices. I had never been to the facility before and was astounded by the dense variety of research transpiring behind each room within the building, safely guarded by electronic key entry. After making this observation, I was very pleased to find that we would actually be granted entry to some of these areas! We first visited a room where we were able to see a smaller digital scanner at work. It was incredibly interesting to be able to see the different generations of technology and how digital scanning has evolved throughout time. One of the key aspects I’ve learned about making is that digital making is driving product innovation.

As we checked out a much larger digital scanner, I learned that this larger digital scanner had actually been the one used to scan our Alma MaterThis project was pretty incredible and inspired me to think about the creative uses of digital scanning. Because of the meticulous efforts of the Beckman Institute’s Visualization Laboratory, graduates in the years that the Alma Mater was absent were able to take photos in front of it with a 3D model of the Alma Mater in place of the real one! Pretty amazing application of this technology and I’m excited to learn about other interesting uses of it.

3D Model of Alma Mater Projected Over Base

3D Model of Alma Mater Projected Over Base

Oh Ho Ho It’s Magic! (Geomagic, that is)

Using Geomagic software was a very unique opportunity presented to our class that not many students have the chance to say they worked with. Granted the particular version of the software we used can cost upwards of $5000 (yikes!), it’s also very atypically used by beginning users because harnessing the power of the software to truly render objects correctly requires a decent amount of knowledge and expertise. After some great tutorials from our instructor, we saw that the software was actually very user-friendly and we were able to navigate it with some degree of ease. I say some, because some of us got a bit carried away with some of the sculpting tools and and hole creation features of the software. Put plainly, the file we uploaded went from a racing glove to a slice of swiss cheese attacked by a knife.

Anyhow, the rich aspects of the software that enabled users to powerfully render and modify 3D objects were very impressive. One of the most interesting characteristics I found of the software was its ability to parameterize different geometries of objects. From a mathematical perspective, the process of parameterization can become incredibly complex depending on the different curves and surfaces that are being transformed into mathematical functions. However, the huge benefit of parameterizing the object is that this enables the object to be used in other CAD softwares and easily manipulated due to the fact that the surface can now be described in exact dimensions/geometries. The process was fascinating to look at and I’m interested in investigating more as to what is possible through the parameterization of objects. For now, I will download interesting files like hedgehogs and use tools like the scuplting knife in Geomagic to turn an ordinary animal into something fun.

Hedge

Fusion + 2 Hours = Grocery Bag Carrier?

Week 6: My First Invention

This past week, we had the opportunity to use Fusion 360 software to print our first creation. We had spent the past week playing around with different tutorials and exploring the different aspects of the software. After messing around for a few hours, many of us were able to produce metal bolts, headphones, and other practical devices. During class, I took the principle of building upon what already exists and decided it may be most feasible for me to build off the metal built I had made in my tutorial. I spent about 30 minutes thinking about all the different modifications I could make for the object and then as I played around, I remembered a design I had seen on Thingiverse. I thought about extending the different walls on the bolt to create a makeshift grocery bag carrier!

Making the Thing

Going through the different aspects of the software, I was thinking about the different ways I could make this product. I finally decided to use the ‘modify’ tool to expand the walls of each side of the bolt to become beams of greater length. By making these beams, I figured they could support the weight of grocery bags hung onto them. However, as I began making the various aspects of the grocery bag carrier, I found that I also needed something additional as a ‘hook’ like aspect. One of the assistants in our 3D lab provided me with some great insight (collaboration is ALWAYS welcome) and I ended up adding some protruding ends to the beams. With some consideration of the actual strength of the object and a little recollection of physics-force diagrams from high school, I came up with this thing!

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What Will I Make Now?

I feel MUCH more comfortable with the  Fusion 360 software now and I feel much more capable of creating an object from scratch. I’m still learning about the different nuances of the software, but I feel confident in my ability to create a relatively simple object and modify it to meet certain specifications. I have thought of some interesting product ideas, but I think the greatest challenge will be scaling the object in this software to ensure that what I think of in my head actually fits the needs I see in reality. Knowing how dimensions in a software translate into dimensions in real-life and then taking into consideration the potential error of the actual 3D printer itself is a very iterative and integrated process. I’m learning now that product development using additive manufacturing processes may require patience and dealing with frustration at times, but I’m excited to see all of the different ideas I may come up with!

Week 5: A Fusion of Knowledge

Fusion 360: In Awe of Capability

This past week, our class had the pleasure of taking part in a Fusion 360 learning tutorial. Led by an industrial design professor, we got great insight into the software and all of the REMARKABLE capabilities it had to manifest an idea into a ‘tangible’ digital design. I was in awe at the unique attributes the software had to create such innovative objects or products. We began our venture into the software by learning how to design a lamp. The lamp I designed was…rather interesting, to say the least? It was safe to say that during my first test-drive of Fusion 360 software, I ran into a few speed bumps that definitely needed addressing (after every step of the tutorial…I may add). I’ve included an ‘in-process’ moment of designing my lamp.

Lamp

Digital Making IS Learning by DOING

This past week’s tutorial reminded me that learning how to become a digital creator is definitely a process that requires a great deal of patience and focus. Without the help of my kind instructor who assisted me with every problem I encountered, I would have become VERY frustrated and discouraged from continuing with the design. Complicated software like Fusion 360 requires practice and project-based learning efforts. One of the things I’m noticing about digital making is that the learning comes through practical use of the tools and applications used to create objects. Learning how to create digitally is NOT like learning many other subjects; it’s difficult to put the nuances of how to craft a beautifully tailored product into words and consequently, we need to learn how to do it by creating ourselves.

Creating Forward

As I progress with my aptitudes in Fusion 360, I will be focusing on how to alter existing objects and learning how to manipulate designs that exist to craft new functionalities and features to current products. I think the possibilities are endless with regards to what alterations can be made to an object. The incredible multi-dimensionality of how you can alter an object in the x, y, and z planes inspires me to let my creativity flow when playing around with objects. Additionally, learning more about this software has sparked my interest in exploring all the other softwares that exist to digitally craft objects. In looking at the world around me, I can see that so many objects are intricately designed to meet certain specifications. This tells me there must be a wealth of design softwares out there to help create these objects with incredible specificity.

Week 4: Complexity is NOT an Obstacle

Coping with Viewing Myself in 3D

This past week, our class had the privilege of digitally scanning our upper torsos to create OBJ & STL files that could be edited in softwares like Tinkercad and Fusion. The digital scanners captured our profiles with an incredible amount of precision; I was astounded by just how accurately the scanners captured us. Learning how this occurred and how the scanners aggregated the millions of points in space to create thousands of surfaces that eventually round out to shape the desired object was remarkable and frankly mathematically intriguing. Thinking of how a plane is formed and the parametrization that can form it provoked me to think about how exactly these surfaces are forming; are these points creating a multitude of vectors that help to create a plane? After my OBJ file was generated, I spent a great deal of time simply playing around with the file in MakerBot and marveling at the accuracy by which I was recreated on a computer.

Me in 3D

Digital Making: Moving Forward with Digital Scanners

As I continue to to develop more ideas for objects and things to make, using digital scanners will definitely become a routine part of my making process. Letting ideas grow off an object that already exists will be a great way to create not only practical things, but also to get an idea of how different dimensions look in softwares like MakerBot and Fusion. I’m still learning how to get a relative idea of size and how computer design can translate into something tangible that’s printed. I’m very excited to be able to scan other objects, because this also enables you to create AROUND them, which can lead to the development of useful accessories and companion items.

Precision and Complexity in the Future

The fact that a digital scanner was able to accurately produce a 3D file of myself really gave me a solid understanding of just exactly our professor meant on the first day when he continued to reiterate that complexity was not a concern for 3D printing. The 3D printer’s ability to produce objects with intricate structures and unique frameworks gives another reason for manufacturers to adopt additive manufacturing as a process. The product possibilities are infinitely expanded by being able to create something positively (adding material) as opposed to negatively (removing material). I am positive that as additive manufacturing begins to scale and become more of an influential force with suppliers, companies will begin to capture segments of markets in ways that were previously not feasible. Customization and personalization, a growing need for consumers, is at the crux of the maker movement in the realm of enterprise and will continue to be a huge selling point for why manufacturers should adopt additive practices.