Despite the title having far too many of the same letters, what we experienced was an amazing building/making experience, making the wooden Ultimaker. Such a team effort was exemplary, and we can all learn from this single experience.

To me, it felt extremely nostalgic, going back to the days of Lego and, less joyously, IKEA. But nonetheless, I must admit that making that 3d printer convinced me to get one for myself in the near future. Looking so closely at the components, you can understand that there is a lot of space for modularity when it comes to this 3d printing kit. We can potentially make this kit as large as possible, with the correct materials and measurements. I was fascinated in the coming days after we completed class as I thought about what more can be done from that kit.

It goes to show how ideas can go off on tangents and become so much larger than what we begin with. What I’m thinking now is, with the development of hybrid materials, integrated circuitry and living materials for 3d printing, how easy would it be to modify the printer-baby we’ve all conceived last week, to assimilate to, say, printers that use more advanced materials and printer heads that can make the amazing things that we see on the news?