‘Hello World’, the maker community world!

Here’s a post on #FirstThoughts, #3DPrinting and #LifeExcitement. Blog post #1 on making things and the super fun stuff that’s related.

Stepping into the MakerLab, it’s like a kid arriving in a candy shop. I’m an engineering student who’s just been given the tools to make ideas a reality. There’s a blank canvas and so many possibilities. The chance to follow any train of thought, develop them into ideas, and have the resources and time to create them is quite a luxury.

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On the subject of candy shops and 3D printing, 3D printed candy is a thing too!

 

Surrounded by a room of Ultimakers buzzing away, the excitement is unreal. Yet, 3D printing is old tech. The concept is, anyway. The impression I get is that the forward development of this technology is in creating higher resolution prints, printing in materials other than common PLA and ABS (their mechanical properties are not suited for the more intensive practical applications), increasing print speed, and even combining different materials as they are being printed. From the class skype call with John Hornick, book author of “3D Printing Will Rock the World, he mentioned possibilities of printing in materials with dual/multiple functionality. While 3D printing is paving the way and bringing us closer to a single machine that could create entire multi-material devices like, for example, a smartphone, this technology is still a very long way off. Multifunctional materials were mentioned as a feeder material into 3D printing machines, but having spent my last semester studying research papers on multifunctional materials, am fairly certain that it’s still rather far off. On the other hand, maybe I’ve underestimated quite how far we’ve come in the realm of 3D printing? I guess I’ll just have to read John’s book for a fuller picture.

Where does this leave us with 3D printing then? There’s definitely much scope for research and development from the materials perspective. As a current tool in “making” or creating things, it’s a good prototype, and good for small parts that do not have to withstand aggressive or cyclic structural loading. Complex (and beautiful) shapes are possible, but I wouldn’t say we’re 3D printing items that I’d be happy to seamlessly integrate into my everyday life yet.

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3D printed from glass powder, there’s some very artistic designs you can create.

 

So what are my own goals with regards to 3D printing? Getting involved in the printer material research that will bring about these futuristic ambitions, or/and using that current technology to make small projects and ideas possible.

The real beauty of what we have so far (in terms of 3D printing) is that there are so many possible items and devices to make, which are completely within reach of the average you and me. Looking to the future, we’ll be 3D printing biological structures and mechanical devices on demand. For now though, I’m happy to settle with any shape I want, at the push of a button, right here right now.

          One of UIUC Makerlab’s Ultimakers in action.

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The Do’s and Don’ts of Twitter

Re-post from Digital Making 2015: Written by our Maker, Gian Luis Delgado

WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT TWITTER?

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Twitter is a great platform to not only share your posts with your followers, but also to reach out to larger and harder-to-reach audiences. This is why today, you’ll see Twitter used in a variety of contexts including lecture halls, conference rooms, concerts, parks, etc. A Twitter feed is like one giant conversation with thousands of topics to discuss, welcoming ease dropping and interjection. You just need to know how to find the right audiences to speak with and speak to them in a way they’ll listen to you. Here are some do’s and don’ts that will help you maximize your use of your account when entering the twitter-sphere of digital making.

DO’S:

  • Polish your profile. Even if your account for this course is separate from your personal account, brand it accordingly. Treat it like your LinkedIn; put yourself out there in the same way you would on a platform where you’re engaging in professional and academic conversations. Have a profile picture, cover photo, and interesting bio. No one wants to engage with a boring egg.
  • Build your digital making community. Start out by following thought leaders and organizations talking about digital making. I’ve begun to do this, so you can get a head start by checking out who I’m following.
  • Tweet your work. We’re on the forefront of a HUGE maker movement; tweeting screenshots of your projects or photos of what you’ve made is a great way to showcase our class work.
  • Call people out. Yes, tweet directly at thought leaders and comment on their posts! This is a great way to get noticed by big players in digital making and also to express your interest/expertise in the area.
  • Tweet often! How do you expect people to engage with you if you’re never speaking to anyone? Tweet out your thoughts of digital making, articles you find, retweet interesting posts, and favorite others’ posts.

DON’TS:

  • #Go #crazy #with #hashtags. When tweeting, 2 hashtags should be used – MAX. Studies on hashtag use have found that using more than 2-3 hashtags in a post actually decreases engagement with a post.
  • Use #random hashtags. Use relevant hashtags that people in the digital making and 3D printing space are using. A great resource is TagBoard. On this website, you can see how often people are using this hashtag per hour/day/week and see what the most recent posts are that used this hashtag (across all SM platforms, not just Twitter; you can filter though).
  • TWEET LIKE THIS!!! Exclamatory messages are great for instant messaging, but not so great for Twitter. Nothing wrong with using an occasional exclamation point, but all-caps should always be avoided. Fun Fact: It actually takes people longer to read words in all-caps due to the fact that all-caps gives words a box-like shape, which makes them more indistinguishable from other words to the brain.
  • Be annoying. You definitely want to interact with other users on Twitter, but don’t assault them with tweets. Tweet at people once in a while and if they’re not responding, perhaps begin retweeting or favoring their posts – a more subtle form of interaction.

Some Amusing Resources/Reminders: