Week 2 Reflection

In week two, we first tried to use “tinkerlad” to model something that can be printed out on 3-D printer. Our group chose a design from Austin that contains different geometric shapes and our team name “Gold Team” on it. Later we explored different website in groups. I was focus on exploring a 3-D printing design sharing website called “shapedo.com”. This website allows people to upload and share their designs online with other people. And it allows other people to download designs from the website, and make some improvements on the original design, and share the new version with other people. On this website you can find some very cool design. My favorite one is the “Gear Clock” design.

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I like the “gear clock” a lot because this is a good example of how 3-D printing can be used to customize products and so to attract people. This “Gear Clock” is very artistic and unique. By 3-D printing, once you have the original digital model of it( as it is on the website), you are able to “print” the same clock out by yourself at home, and maybe add some modification of the design.

The website also categorizes different designs, which is user-friendly and allow you to find out what interests you easier.

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After exploring the websites, we listened to a talk from Kylie Peppler from Indiana University. She introduced to us a lot of events/ organizations that are working on promoting or developing new technologies. For example, “Make Faire” is one event where creative makers from all over the world can gather together and share their designs to other people.

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She also introduced the important idea behind DIY (Do It Yourself), which is that everyone can learn to do everything. Given the opportunities to learn and practice, people can make things come true. And she talked about some efforts on this that are focus on kids nowadays. For example, there are Make Labs all over the world, where they provide different materials to kids and encourage them to make something out of those materials. These movements were also proved to successfully encourage children to learn by making. By trying to make something out, kids are motivated to develop their knowledge and artisticity. For example, some kids who don’t have computer science background learned coding when they are doing their projects.

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At last, she mentioned the socio-cultural views of construction nowadays. An artifact is not only a representation of someone himself/herself, but also can represent a social group at some extent. Also, the gender inequality in engineering field nowadays does not exist in kids who are doing the making things projects. In my opinion, this in turn can reflect that if people are motivated to do something, they can do it well, regardless of gender. Also, it reflects how the stereotype of the society may influence and discourage some female to go onto the engineering career path.

In week two’s class, we gained some information on what’s some existing projects/events/websites designated to 3-D printing technology, and we learned about some current efforts that’s been putting into motivating people to be creative and make things by themselves, integrating with the use of technologies.

 

 

Week 2: Printing Plans and Class in Review

So far in Digital Making Seminar, we have spent most of our time learning about 3D printing (or, as we learned from Senvol in week 1, additive manufacturing). Though I have a bit of experience in this area from working on 3D modeling projects in my GE 101: Engineering Graphics and Design course and from independent work in various maker lab workshops, our first two class sessions have taught me a lot about the reasons why we would want to use 3D printing (aside from the obvious “It’s super cool!” answer) and helped me connect with tons of online resources for finding ideas of things to print. Looking more deeply into the different online resources we explored in class has made me even more excited about what things I’m going to have a chance to make this semester and has helped me come up with more ideas for what I might be able to model. Some of my favorites, along with the modifications I would make to them (because customization is what 3D printings all about) include the following:

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IPhone Stand + Speaker (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:175454)

This stand and speaker set would be great to have around to use as a stylish and power free way to amplify music on my IPhone. Instead of using the original horn (which in my opinion is a bit plain) I’d love to use something more like this (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:544525) that I could fit into the stand.

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IPad Stand (http://www.viralnova.com/crazy-3d-printing/)

Adding to my 3D printed stand collection, I’d love to have this little guy printed for my IPad to use when doing things like watching movies. Though this version looks super cool, I think I might turn the little half circle stand piece the man is holding into a longer bar to make the piece a bit more supportive.

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Cellular Lamp (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:19104)

I originally saw this lamp in the BIF Maker Lab and then ran across it again while browsing Thingiverse. I like how they use it more like a statue in the Lab, but would probably use it for its lampshade purpose in my own room. I’d customize it by printing it a lot bigger than the model they have online so I could fit a light bulb inside it and have it reflect cool shadows all around my room.

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Stria Necklace (http://www.jennywulace.com/shop/stria-necklace)

This bold 3D printed necklace would be a great piece to wear out, and I’m sure would be a great conversation starter at tech related events. I wouldn’t change much about the actual design of this one, but I think it would be really cool to use the silver leafing process described in this instructable http://www.instructables.com/id/Silver-Leaf-a-3D-Print/ to make it really stand out. I might also consider designing a pair of 3D printed earrings to go with it as well.

Week 2 Reflection!

My experience with making has gone from zero to sixty in just a matter of days. Well, maybe not from zero but darn close to it! I have always been creatively inclined so the fact that I am getting my feet wet with software and hardware that puts the power of creation in my hands is beyond awesome. Just tinkering with TinkerCad (Hah!) and following instructions to prep my creations for printing has opened so many doors. It’s crazy to think that my ideas can be turned into physical, functional objects in a short amount of time. The whole learning experience is empowering!

Not only can I bring my own ideas to life, but it is sweet to know that I have the ability to bring the designs of others into the real world with sites like Thingiverse. Here are a few products I thought were particularly cool (potential gifts for family and friends)!

1. Bat Signal for mobile phones

First off, I’m a HUGE fan of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy so this object hits close to home. It’s especially cool in that it can be used with most any smart phone that has a flashlight. A lot of items I’ve come across are phone specific (not necessarily bad) so I like the flexibility this object has. I’ve only played around with CAD slightly so I am interested to learn the process of designing and prototyping an item like this. Is it just a matter of trial and error until the desired effect is achieved?

2. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:548230

Easy birthday present for my brother. This plane is not only great for flying (according to the reviews) but also looks sleek as heck. This is one of those objects that I would that has pretty specific instructions for the thickness of the print at different points. The trial and error required for this product must’ve been quite the hassle. Then again, I’m no engineer so I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the creation process. How does the creator figure out the correct density and thickness for each portion aside from guess and check? Regardless, I may be printing this one in class as a gift.

3. Shopping Bag Handle

Gift for mom? Well, to be honest, I can’t see her using it that much. Regardless, I love the utility of this object. I’m sure everyone has experienced heavy plastic bags tugging on skin and ripping because of pressure. This is a perfect example of the current state of consumer 3d printing. That is, this is a functional, extremely simple product that members browsing Thingiverse can potentially use to improve their quality of life. It isn’t reinventing the wheel or just acting as a crappier version of something you can buy at the store. Rather, its a unique item that once printed can be put into use immediately.

4. Tower of Pi

March 14th is coming up! A good gift for that special mathematician in your life… In all seriousness, this item is incredibly cool. The comments on the item indicate it is very difficult to print. Maybe not an item I should tackle just yet. I suppose it would require certain levels of support to achieve the aesthetic. I think with my current skills I would run into problems printing a solid square so I’ll walk before I can run. Nonetheless, this object is proof that if you can think it you can make it.

Week 2 Reflection: Olzhas

I am very excited about this class and very happy that I got into it. 3D Printing is very cool and opens up so many opportunities and new ways of thinking and doing things. So, in the last class I learned that there are several different open platforms and communities that provide great readily available designs. In addition, on some of them it is possible to create your own designs, which is great! Also, it was great to work as a group with Nora and Sebastian and creating our own 3D printed design of our team name. Go, Senol!!!)))

Here are my 4 models from Thingiverse:

  1. PL1Q Vampire, the 3d printable quadcopter

This is a cool model of 3D printed quadcopter. This model interested me because currently so called drones are becoming very popular everywhere in the world. Drones are simply flying cameras that can be controlled by a human from the ground. So this might be the future of how people will take videos. It is great that it is possible to design such drones with 3D printing. One thing that I would change in the design of this model though is that I would add a special component that will hold a camera.

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  1. Bottle opener

This bottle opener is designed for people who is limited with body movements and helps them to open plastic bottles. This bottle opener requires very minimum effort and a great solution for this problem. This device can be upgraded by adding some additional functions or just simply making it as a key chain.

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  1. CardEasy Extra Wide Base

This is a cool and convenient thing that make holding cards much easier. This also eliminates the need to always hold the cards in your hand. However, I would change the design to make it more cool, instead of the current design I would create a hand with a base that will hold the cards.

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  1. Ice Scraper

This is a regular ice scraper. However, when I saw it on the picture with a person’s hand holding it, I got another idea how to use it. I thought what if people who use public transportation such as subway and buses in the highly populated cities will own personal “bus holder” (I don’t know how to word it specifically). This will allow people who stand in the public transportation to use their own clean “bus holder”. I think it will be very useful from sanitary point of view.

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To Make or Not to Make – Week 2

I found the class’ emphasis on making by adapting currently existing designs incredibly beneficial and important. Often times, makers feel like they need to create a design out of thin air, which can often result in a product or item that has no utility or benefit to others. Our discussions epitomized the significance of asking the question:

Should I make this or not?

This does not necessarily mean that every object or item produced using 3D printing or other digital making softwares need a practical or lucrative purpose, but it most have some kind of purpose. If something is made simply for the sake of utilizing the resources that are available, it does not maximize the capabilities that these resources can provide. This reminds us to engage in design thinking, which enables us to think deeply about the nature of what we want to make and how it can impact others.

The presentation from Prof. Peppler shed light upon the enormity of the maker movement and how it is revolutionizing education. Schools across the country are implementing unique kinds of materials in order to teach students by empowering them to create and innovate. This is a breakthrough that is resulting in a generation of design thinkers who approach problems tactically with a hands-on approach. This significance of this development will be seen as the students experiencing these unique curriculums go into the workforce and are able to apply these unique aptitudes. The maker movement is continuing to produce more and more of these kinds of thinkers every day and the opportunities for growth in this industry appear to be endless.

4 Products I Would ‘Make’ Slightly Differently

1. Bag Holder

The bag holder is essentially a handle with hooks that can hold grocery bags. I love this design, but I think it could be modified to address the problem people encounter with the comfort of carrying various bags. If the handle had a grip made up of flexible material, I think the product would be improved by having added comfort on the handle.

2. ZipPad

The ZipPad is a wonderful idea – often times, zippers become difficult to use due to the nature of the material it is made out of. This would enable users to functionally use the zipper regardless of what is covering their hands. I think that adding an additional rung in the middle of the zipper hole would decrease the likelihood that the zipper wouldn’t be able to be grabbed, in addition to the unique material used to make it.

3. Snow Scooter Shoe

The snow scooter shoe seems like a very practical device for areas saturated in snow. It also seems like an amusing item to have to traverse snowy areas. I personally would make the platform that touches the ground wider in order to obtain a greater sense of balance if this device was used to potentially ride down a mountain or inclined surface.

4. Ice Scraper

This Ice Scraper is great to use for smaller areas on a windshield that don’t require a longer pole to get to. I think that the actual device itself also has an interesting printed design with its grooves. However, I think adding just a little bit more distance between the handle and the ice scraper would prevent ice from getting on an individual’s hand. Additionally, making the scraper thicker could add to the force scraping the ice and seeing as this is such a small design intended to get those difficult areas, the force will be an important factor in the item’s success.

Reflecting on Week 2

I absolutely love the collision of people we have in this course. So many people have come in from different backgrounds, we’re all mixed together, and told to create. There’s nothing cooler than that. While working with designers, it’s such a different environment because we’re all trained to think the same. I feel that that can be limiting to a degree and it’s interesting to me to collaborate with people who come from such a different story.

My group, the Dream Team- JKL, is a lot of fun to work with! It was interesting to even go back to working with Tinkercad. I honestly never played with it before as I had just jumped into programs such as Solidworks or Rhino. It thrills me that they’ve simplified the concept so much because that makes 3D modeling so much more of an approachable concept. Before anyone jumps into CAD, it’s sort of a daunting idea. There’s so much to it and people are creating such amazing things and in some programs even a cube seems impossible. Tinkercad eliminates a ton of that stress. I love Thingiverse because it just keeps expanding! Some stuff I found really cool:

The Sculpture Section Under the Art Category:

Some of the creations in this section absolutely blow my mind. People are rendering some truly incredible, ridiculously detailed things. I appreciate that level of skill because knowing how long something like that takes is amazing to me. Any sort of organic shape can be a challenge to make, and make realistic. This one especially because you truly can recognize the facial features.

Father Daughter

 

Wall Mounted Utensil Holder

What even is that?! That would save me so much drawer space! Or be such a cool way to integrate into social gatherings. I think consolidating space is a certain art and why not use the walls to hold your fine dinnerware? I think this could be so practical in cafeteria situations or anywhere where large amounts of people are being served. The less room used to hold little things the more room for food!

Utensil holder

K-Cup Holder

Personally, I value my Keurig on an emotional level. I have a coffee addiction and will be the first to admit it. As much as I love my Keurig, I kind of hate the stupid carousel they make to put the cups in. Again, it comes down to space efficiency. The carousel can only hold so many and it’s sort of obtrusive. Whereas integrating a stackable K-cup holder allows the user limitless possibilities for height and amount of cups held. I personally would create a K-cup column.

K cup

Dice

So it really isn’t a novel creation, but something as simple as creating your own dice indicates something so much larger for the future. Think, if we had a 3D printer in our home, we’d never have to worry about losing those stupid dice in your Yahtzee game. Or your favorite game piece in Monopoly. I love games, and I love toys, and I think that’s a great fix for losing small parts, but it’s indicative of creation on a much larger scale. When we can just wake up and print our breakfast, or even a pen. Something everyday that the user can create as needed. Where we’re at now with mass 3D printing leaves a lot of people just creating little nik-naks (sp?) but there’s so much potential with the actual creation of practical things.

Dice

Week 2 Reflection: Arielle

So far I am really excited about this class! Just playing around on Tinkercad was really fun, and I’m anxious to learn more about the whole 3D printing process in general. I have some big goals and ideas (probably too big for one semester), but I’m very grateful that I’ll have such an open and helpful environment to explore this new world in.

Four super cool things I found on Thingiverse are as follows;

1. A Coffee Filter holder!

That may sound lame to some, but I have an unhealthy obsession with the stuff. I currently brew all my java using an aeropress, so this nifty holder would be a perfect way to simplify my mornings even more. The only change I would make would be to throw in some color! 🙂

2.  Artsy Candle holder

Another holder, I know, but this just struck me as beautiful. I don’t per say need it in my life, but making it would be pretty fun. I love having a candle burning in my apartment so this would just add to the ambiance even more.
I love the design of the trees and their branches, but I might switch out the moose for some other woodland creature if I felt so inclined.

3. GoPro Mouthpiece

So… this is super weird, but pretty intriguing. I have a GoPro 2 that I have played around with quite a bit, but pushing my wheelchair and holding the camera steady proves a challenging task. I’ve gotten pretty creative with duct tape before and made some sad looking mounts, but this is a new concept I had never thought of. I’m not so sure I would necessarily use it, but I like the idea and where it’s heading!

4. DSLR Phone Mount

Again, I’m not so sure what I would use this for, but the idea is really neat. I have a Canon and when I’m filming it would definitely be nice to have my phone out and ready in case I need to google something or use the maps feature for some reason. It may actually serve as a semi-decent secondary source for audio…I’m not sure but I think this mount has potential. If anything it could be used to document or record your recordings and make it easy to share quick clips live via Facebook, or Twitter, or something. I don’t know if there is a direct use for this product, but I’m sure there is something cool you could do with this.

 

Digital Making Log: Week 2

I walked into this class without knowing anything about modeling, and after this week, I think I can safely say I know a little more than nothing: I’ve learned how to think in a maker mindset, something not easy to come by given my area of study (journalism).

We got to play around with Tinkercad.com, a very basic platform for modeling with preset shapes that can be scaled, cut, bent, etc. I ended up piecing together a nametag for my team (gold team), and using the “box hole” feature, I was able to angle the words without having a failed print.

Well, without having more than one failed print. Ha. Below is what I made.

Gold Team rules

This was just an exercise to get us exposed to modeling; the harder stuff comes later. And I can’t wait.

Just using some free time, I modelled a sci-fi space ship with the existing Tinkercad shapes. I had to use a wheel preset, so it doesn’t look all that cool.

space ship

Notice there aren’t really any engines, or any jagged details, like a torpedo bay. No discernible bridge. The eventual goal for me is to have the modeling skills to make fleets of ships that I’ve been working on with graph paper for my entire nerdy adolescent and college life. They’re a lot more complex.

Another component of week 2’s class was an introduction to 3d modelling sharing sites, most notably, thingiverse.com.

I found four really cool things that I could use in my life and I’ll list them for you now:

Settler of Catan replacement pieces

This is something very essential in my life, as I have lost a few wheat pieces to my set. One thing I might tweak with this before I print it, and presumably learn more about modeling, is beef up the terrain. Whoever made this took care to make what is normally a 2d landscape in normal Catan, to a 3d, much cooler landscape. However, it still took on the same look as the 2d pieces, down to the location of the wheat farms. Me, I might want to add a river, or a dinosaur. The possibilities are endless!

Tri-dimensional chess set

As a trekkie, I’ve spent a large part of my life wondering how the hell people in Star Trek play 3d chess. When I looked into buying a set two years ago, the cheapest one was $300. With this print, it would come out cheaper and look a lot sleeker, with custom colors even. The only thing I would change: I would probably put Vulcan ears on the pawns, just to be cute.

Batman shelf

I’ve been deprived of a night stand for two consecutive years of my college career. To one side of my bed, there’s a book shelf, to the other, there’s a wall. I’ve had to put my alarm on the other side of the room, and let me tell you, snoozing that in the wee cold hours of the morning is pretty brutal. Having this shelf on the wall slightly above my bed would make life quite easier, though I think I would have to increase the width to make my clock fit.

Saturn V rocket

The Saturn V rocket seems pretty essential to me, maybe not so essential to most other people. As someone who wants to make a hobby out of printing spaceships, I’d be remised if I didn’t include her in my collection. The only improvement I could make would be a launch pad.

 

 

Week 2 Reflection

In this week’s class we explored the different applications of digital making and 3D printing. It was great to have an opportunity to navigate online designing with Tinkercad as well. For in-class activity my group was assigned two 3D model sharing websites being shapeways.com and myminifactory.com. The following four objects are something I would use on a daily basis that could use a little tweaking.

Pen Clip for Monitor

When I do homework I always seem to misplace my pen or pencil so this life hack would save me a lot of time spent searching for it. The product is a series of clips that are meant to store writing utensils near your laptop. The designer has only tested them on his personal laptop, so I would need to possibly change the measurements so that it would fit well on my own computer. I would also want to shorten the length of the clips so they don’t hang in front of the screen.

Acute Garden Hose Nozzle

One of my aspirations is to grow a garden so that I can have plenty of fresh vegetables and stay healthy. The Acute Nozzle would be a functional attachment for a hose with an added flair in the color and design. However, I see another use of this product on college campuses. Many students complain about the pressure in some of the dorm showers. The nozzle could be designed so that when added to the existing nozzle, it would release some of the pressure, making it more comfortable.

Eragatory Spoon

Cooking is one of my hobbies and although this spoon wouldn’t be able to purposefully sauté onions, it still caught my eye. I like the abstraction of the design, but I don’t think it is very practical for actual use. I wouldn’t change the handle, but I would fill the empty spaces that are in the bowl part of the spoon.

Maille Coaster

I have been meaning to get a decent set of coasters for a while now and have never found the right ones until I stumbled upon this design. The material, I’ve read, is absorbent and they’re aesthetically pleasing. The only thing I would change is to put a layer on the bottom in case any condensation doesn’t get absorbed into the coaster.

I thoroughly enjoyed this class because it was hands-on and engaging. It was my first experience with digital making/3D printing and I am excited to continue learning.

My first 3d printed object

I was quite excited about my first class of DigitalMaking! I’ve never been to a 3d printing lab before, so even the atmosphere with all these MakerBots around was a new for me! But why do I have missed the first class, the week before? I’m an exchange student from Austria and was not aware that this course even exist until Vishal announced it in another BADM class!

I haven’t heard about Tinkercad before. I did not expect that it is that easy to create 3d object. Within 30 minutes I created the first prototype of our team logo. Following major steps were made

  1. The cube is a predefined object in Tinkercad. Just the size must be adjusted
  2. The number 3 and the letter D were placed on the top. Angle and size were adjusted. The letters should be “outside” of the printed cube.
  3. On the five sides remaining I placed the letters of our team named SENOL. These letters should be “inside” of the printed cube.
  4. Finally, I wanted to have a “adapter” to make the cube a key fob. This was quite tricky, because of the angle of this detail. I designed it out of two cylinders. One for the printed object, and one for the hole inside.

One the printed object I recognized a few mistakes, that I’ve designed wrong.

  • There are different depths inside the cube of the letters SENOL
  • The letter L is mirrored.

3d

SE___

__NO_

____L

What’s next?

While you are sitting in front of your computer designing new objects or sitting in front of a makerbot when it is printing new objects, one can really get addicted to 3D printing! There are a bunch of sites online where you can view and download objects other users have designed and shared. I started to think, what the next object I print could look like. Here are a few ideas:

  • A wall cleat to place a cable when it is not in use! I like the idea, to replace the normal cover with a one that has a function. I think about a “function” like a mobile phone mounting while charging.
  • Eggcups are a good idea for making nice gifts for anyone. However, I think that this object would need a bigger base to stand stable and there must be different sizes for different eggs.
  • This Pen&Card Stand is a good example of useful 3d objects for daily usage on your own desk. When I was looking at similar objects I thought about making a bigger object to put in kitchen knives.
  • When you have a OnePlus One, like I do, you do might also have the problem, that there are not many accessories available to buy. You can not buy a docking station, but you can print it! This object has been published on Nov 23, 2014 but it has been modified a few times. I’m sorry to say, that there nothing I see to improve. I just want to print my own “copy”!