This week we tested the waters with the basics of 3D printing, we were able to download a file off Thingiverse or a similar website and print something. I decided to print something that I was just recently looking for in my kitchen and failed to find, a wine bottle opener.  I realize that there are so many daily uses that can come out of a 3D printer.  I found a use for it the very first day and I find that amazing. It really motives me to try to think of things that might be a necessity in my life or anyone’s life. I want to be able to create and design something that can not only be helpful to me but to others around me. There are simple things like IPhone docks, key chains, holders for many objects, along with many other things that tend to be overpriced at retails stores but can easily be made with a printer. It was a very great first experience to see how easily one can print something with this machine. One of the thing I plan to do throughout this semester is study the many different materials that are used with 3D printers and how vital material scientist have become with 3D printers.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:28807

This is this simple and easy corkscrew that I recent was able to print, it is really a small object that not make think of but it became very useful when I didn’t have one a few weekends ago. If I could I would try to make it more comfortable to hold.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1233733

I was contemplating purchasing a dock/holder for an Apple TV remote since they are so small and are easily lost in the sofa cushions, but now I can easily make one with the 3D printer for much cheaper than I would have found in any store. The only thing we would need with this some sort of adhesive to make sure the holder doesn’t move.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:173749

This is a holder that can hold many different sized phones so that the user can easy  charge them and use it as a stand watch videos and movies. Its very versatile and simple so that it can be made with ease and used by all. Maybe adding some sort of speaker to it would make it every better.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:13612

This little thing is really cute, its a little clip that can be used to hold papers together or even a bag of chips. Its fun and simple and very useful. I might make it a little bit  more secure than what it looks like now.

Digital making is a class I heard about last spring when it was first starting out, and I’ve been dying to see what it was all about. I had a general idea but nothing too in detail. After our first day in class and having a guest lecturer who has been working with 3D printing and a lot of the research that has gone into this piece of technology already was really amazing to learn about. Along with the fact that 3D printers are not as new as we think. They have been around for a while now and the applications that they can have just keep growing every day.

Learning about all the other applications that a 3D printer has is really eye opening and makes my original reasoning to take part in class look really minuscule. I had only seen printer to help aid plans and designs and allow then to be seen in 3D forms, but there are real working object that can be made from them. It has completely changing the health and medicine industry with 3D MRI and hearts that can be printed and studied. One can also use them to create larger machinery used for construction just by switching out materials.

Now that I have a new found respect for this piece of technology and I would love to learn what I can gain from this class other than using the printer as an aid and nothing more. Going through websites like Thingiverse I see so many little inventions that make everyday life simpler for so many people, the possibilities are truly endless.