# 3D Printing and Makerspaces



## Board and Seize (May 22, 2015)

So I've been getting involved with 3D printing and Making at my college over the past school year.  My school's IT department has even hired me for the summer as a 3D printing intern to help make the transition from futzing-around, sticking-a-toe-in-the-water to full on deployment and use of these technologies.

I'm wondering if any SS members have experience in this realm.  If so, let me know - I'd love to talk to you about your experiences and learn from you!

-B&S

p.s. If anyone who doesn't have access to a 3D printer but has ideas needs something printed, let me know!  For any breachers out there, I have the CAD files / design for an interesting plastic) device that Sandia created.  I never got the chance to make any of these while I was still an MOE instructor, but I'd like to get these into breachers' hand and tested out a bit.  PM me for more info.


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## Rapid (May 22, 2015)

Don't be surprised if some of our members PM you with a request to print _a bag of dicks_. Not naming anyone... :-"


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## Dienekes (May 22, 2015)

What is the CAD software for your printer? My school uses SolidWorks. Let me tell you 3D modeling and the things you can do with it are  absolutely mind-blowing.


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## Board and Seize (May 22, 2015)

Rapid: I wouldn't be surprised in the least - luckily, I know how to say no (thanks DARE).

jroberts: I've used Blender, Slic3r, and TinkerCAD.  I am -right now- starting to teach myself OpenSCAD.  I'm all about free and open source...


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## LibraryLady (May 22, 2015)

Cough cough

Check out libraries, 250 and counting, now have them available for the public to use, plus classes on usage...



LL


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## Dienekes (May 22, 2015)

I've never messed with anything but SolidWorks because it's kinda the curriculum package, but I know that almost all of the engineering internships I applied for mentioned AutoCad so that may be worth looking at. I do not know if it is pay to play or not. Enjoy the 3D printing, and I'd like to see some of the things printed if they aren't proprietary or intellectual property. I believe that stuff will really take off in the next 10 years.


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## Board and Seize (May 22, 2015)

For what it's worth (as I feel that I may have given the wrong impression in my opening post), I'm not just looking into this for the first time.  I've been closely following 3D printing for about ten years now, since it was just Fab@Home and RepRap.  I've been actually working with the hardware and software for almost a year now.

LL: Check rog.  We're not too far from the nation's 1st library-based makerspace, the FFL Fab Lab!

jroberts: You better believe that Dassault and Autodesk are pay to play.  Big time.  Also, your time horizon is waaay too conservative.  It's already taking off: 

fully articulated and funtional <$100 prosthetic hands (just one of the most amazing examples of the many 3D printed prostheses)
3D printed organs - using your own organic material(!)
buildings
rocket engines
high-performance aircraft and vehicle parts
those casts of your teeth from the dentist
shoes
clothes
replacement joints
and on, and on, and on...


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## Dame (May 22, 2015)

Pro/E, SolidWorks, and Solid Edge are the three biggies in the corporate world. Extremely expensive. But if you are looking to make a living doing this (I'm not sure you are) then one of these at the very least will give you a better pay rate.


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## Board and Seize (May 22, 2015)

I have (approaching) zero interest in getting into any of those proprietary ecosystems.  If I do go on to work in this field, it will definitely be on the startup/maker side and _not_ with the big corporations.


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## Dienekes (May 22, 2015)

I knew they could print all those things such as organs and other miscellaneous items, but I was under the impression that this was few and far between and that the material was extremely expensive. I guess I should brush up where they stand in the industrial world.


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## TLDR20 (May 22, 2015)

My wife does 3D printed skin scaffolds. I think she knows quite a bit about it.


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## Totentanz (May 22, 2015)

Dame said:


> Pro/E, SolidWorks, and Solid Edge are the three biggies in the corporate world. Extremely expensive. But if you are looking to make a living doing this (I'm not sure you are) then one of these at the very least will give you a better pay rate.



Solid Edge can lick the sweatiest, hairiest part of my ass.  We used that in uni, and I'm really not sure why (school probably caught some kind of discount to push the software).  Horrible interface and the engine sucked balls compared to any of the other programs I've used (Inventor, Mechanical Desktop, AutoCAD).  Unless they've REALLY pulled their shit together in the last few years, I honestly think it would be less painful to design directly from a CAM program...


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## Dame (May 22, 2015)

Totentanz said:


> Solid Edge can lick the sweatiest, hairiest part of my ass.  We used that in uni, and I'm really not sure why (school probably caught some kind of discount to push the software).




I think they used to have the same kernel as SolidWorks. Then they split that up into two different packages; one with a different kernel. Not sure which one is the winner of the rim job lotto though. 
http://cadinsider.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/02/solidworks-the-kernel-change.html


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## BloodStripe (May 23, 2015)

I worked for a machine shop for 8 and a half years, and the two most common CAD software's used were AutoCAD and Solidworks, the latter being the more preferred of the two by most companies because of a few extra features.

3D printing has a very real potential to become something huge really soon, especially as those who utilize it learn better and better techniques, etc. Sound like a neat way to spend the summer.


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## Florida173 (May 23, 2015)

Board and Seize said:


> I have (approaching) zero interest in getting into any of those proprietary ecosystems.  If I do go on to work in this field, it will definitely be on the startup/maker side and _not_ with the big corporations.



I'm sure the folks at MakerBot were saying the same thing.


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## Mac_NZ (May 23, 2015)

Rhino3D is the new one being taught at our engineering and design schools. I did the eval on it but went back to Auto CAD mainly because I'm as amateur as hell with it and the open source knowledge available for it is phenomenal.  Students can apply for a free copy of Auto CAD, the link is a bitch to find but it's on their site.  I've also played with Solidworks (hated it) and find I use Illustrator most of the time as my pattern work is 2D and I'm fastest with that programme.

I do want to get onto 3D again, I have a few really cool ideas that I'd like to try out.


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## Ranger Psych (May 23, 2015)

Used MasterCAD & MasterCAM in high school.  I was disappointed when the teacher didn't know how to adjust feed rate to apply to both axis when I was trying to use a specific bit's offset on the lathe to make concave surfaces on the long axis of the stock we were milling. His lack of knowledge led to a point of hilarity when I told him exactly what I was going to do, "I have no clue how to do that but let's try it anyway" was the reply... and his skittering for the emergency stop button when it ignored feed rates and ended up knarfing off to a dead stop a curly-q of aluminum almost 1mm thick when it locked up the machine.

I think the inverse method of additive production, specifically the one shown in a recent TED talk, is going to be the way to go. I also think that we're missing out on quite a bit of higher production capabilities in zero g/atmosphere in terms of being able to have uniform distribution as desired of gases/materials for metal foams/lattices. We need *more* in space, both for the science of it and the challenge of it.. and if necessary, to just leave the stupid ones behind.


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## Florida173 (May 30, 2015)

www.123dapp.com is a pretty good proprietary entry level method from the folks at Autodesk to get started from idea to print.


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## BloodStripe (Aug 2, 2017)

The Navy can now 3D-print submarines on the fly for SEALs

Very cool, and impressive!


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## Marauder06 (Aug 2, 2017)

TLDR20 said:


> My wife does 3D printed skin scaffolds. I think she knows quite a bit about it.


The Israeli hospital we visited that is "rebuilding" all of those wounded Syrians uses 3D printers for protheses and implants.  Pretty amazing stuff.


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## TLDR20 (Aug 2, 2017)

Marauder06 said:


> The Israeli hospital we visited that is "rebuilding" all of those wounded Syrians uses 3D printers for protheses and implants.  Pretty amazing stuff.



It is indeed. Her Ph.D thesis was on Bioengineered approaches to preventing hypertrophic scarring. 

We will be growing limbs before I die....


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## Flying (Aug 2, 2017)

These are a couple sets of mounts for retrofitting a set of turn signal mirrors  onto my motorbike.

 

Below is  the first iteration (based on a specs/design that I copied from someone else) made from PLA. Ergonomics was waaaay off because previously mentioned person has a super agressive riding position.
The black bits are the second run that are adjust for my riding position made from some weird nylon/carbon matrix filament (google "Onyx").

The metal bits on the right are brass inserts that are melted into the plastic so that you can thread metal fasteners into it.

The big deal with 3d printing isn't making parts directly, but being able to make patterns for metal casting effortlessly.


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## Board and Seize (Apr 17, 2019)

I've been in Quantico this week, attending the Marine Corps' Additive Manufacturing Summit.

I have to say that I'm pretty blown away with the steps the Corps has made to push 3D printing and other maker technologies to the fleet.

The X-FAB is a 20' container with a couple of desktop, consumer-grade 3D printers (lulzbot Taz 6 and Markforged Mark Two) and one commercial-grade printer (not 100% on which one, but I think it's the Stratasys uPrint).  This is a Program of Record that is being pushed to (primarily) maintenance-type units.

The TACFAB is two printers (the Taz and the Mark Two) and a laptop in some pelican cases.  This is not yet, but will shortly be a Program of Record and will ultimately go out to _every battalion in the Corps_!

There's a 24/7 3D printing help desk.  Each MEF has a local 3D printing school.  They've established the Marine Maker program with a curriculum and a series of makerspaces throughout the Corps.

Here's a list of articles on 3D printing in the Marines.


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