It was great to be back in the MakerLab this week. Sat in the corner was our incomplete 3D printer from the Build a Printer event, which brought about a twinge of regret because I wished I had more time to spend on it. But it was still refreshing to be back in the lab, learning about new software again. This week, we were working with MeshMixer and a 3D scanner. There were two types of scanning. One utilized a more commercial type apparatus dedicated to scanning 3d objects, and the other was a peripheral for an iPad. Both seemed to work reasonably well, however the commercial 3D scanner seemed to pick up too much noise from the surrounding room and people. It was particularly interesting to see how the scanners needed to be finessed a certain way to work. Of course, the technology isn’t like the sci-fi devices we see in films that can quickly model or analyze a 3d object in seconds, but the technology still has cutting edge applications in the health industry.

It was also briefly touched on in class how Gwen, a fellow classmate had been using similar technology and the MeshMixer software to try to model the cardiovascular system, particularly the heart. Ariella Rausin was also on-site to teach us the ins and outs of MeshMixer, and gave us on a rundown on how to simplify a mesh and other functionalities.

The software was amazingly versatile and powerful, and could definitely be used for a lot of different practical applications. Especially in applying the maker mentality, making minute and large changes in iterating projects could not be easier in MeshMixer. I hope to get to work with the software more in the future and see strong applications ahead in my final project.