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.