Learn the foundations of 3D Printing with an introduction to 3D Modeling with design for 3D printing expert Aaron Trocola.

This class has evolved greatly over the past year and a half. This is an extended version that is essentially two classes: Foundations of 3D Printing, and Introduction to 3D Modeling. The goal of the class is to give a complete primer on printing processes and software, then show how you can apply that knowledge to create your own designs and manufacture them at home or from a service bureau like Shapeways. You will also learn about selling items from your Shapeways shop, custom object co-creation, and the logistics of re-selling printed items through other venues like Etsy and Ebay. 

UPDATE: It seems like our experiment worked for one day only, Happy April Fools Day.

While looking for a way to recycle our excess Nylon powder we found a way for anyone to 3D print at home with an iPhone and a magnifying glass.

At Shapeways we recycle most of the Nylon powder from our industrial 3D printing process but sometimes the powder does not meet the standard required for use in our 3D printers.  We were looking at the testing process when we made a really exciting discovery, with a tightly focused beam of light you can solidify the Nylon powder into a solid.  

We did some experiments and discovered a way that anyone can 3D print at home using an iPhone and a magnifying glass with our Nylon powder.  Take a look at the simple video below and email freenylon@shapeways.com and we can send you (for the cost of shipping) some of our excess Nylon for you to try at home.

How to extend the life of a kitchen appliance using Shapeways 3D printed ceramic parts.

When a small part for Shapeways community member Mitagaki's Panasonic Bread maker broke he looked everywhere for a replacement part.  The manufacturer no longer supported the model so what was a $5 replacement part became unobtainable and the $200 appliance was rendered worthless. 

Rather than throwing the entire appliance away, Mitagaki 3D modeled a copy of the broken ceramic part and then 3D printed it in ceramics with Shapeways. 

After successfully testing the 3D printed ceramic component he made a minor adjustment to the design and has now made the Panasonic SD-YD250 breadmaker replacement bobbin available for others to repair their appliance using Shapeways.

If you want to learn how to get started designing for 3D printing we are running an introductory class in New York City on Thursday the 14th of February, 2013.  The class is suitable for anyone, of any age who is interested in getting started 3D printing.

The Intro to Design for 3D Printing class will cover the basic principles behind design for 3D printing, the free tools available to get started and the materials and processes used to make your ideas real.  Bring your Mac or PC laptop your charger, and an external mouse and create an account on Shapeways prior to the event and download free 3D modeling software 123D Design from Autodesk prior to the class so we can run through some of the basic tools, and maybe even design a little something. 

Sign up via Skillshare and be sure to bring your laptop and mouse. 

If you are like me, with impeccable (cough) taste and want to share your refined aesthetic and eye for the coolest designs, be sure to add them to your favorites.  We will start using your favorites to curate the homepage on Shapeways and we will also feature your selection on the Shapeways blog.  You can include your own designs in your favorites but if yours are chosen, we will only feature one of your items along side other designs that you love.

To add an item to your favorites is easy, simply hit the heart to the side of an item on it's product page. 

If you think you have an awesome selection already in your favorites, comment on the blog with you Shapeways user name.  If you do not have any favorites yet, why not browse through the Shapeways site, favorite a few that you like and enter your user name here too.  We could be featuring your favorites next... 

Shapeways now has hundreds of thousands of 3D models just waiting to be 3D printed.  Sometimes it can be a little hard to find exactly what you are looking for (unless you design it for yourself).  Giving your design a descriptive title will help people find your product in both Shapeways and Google search, adding your model to a category is essential to them appearing in the galleries and adding tags makes it easier for people to discover products around a very specific theme.

To help make it worth your while to head in and tag your products, we are going to feature a new tag every Tuesday, and so, Tag Tuesday is born. This week we are featuring products tagged meme.

Take a look at our Shop Owner tips on getting found in search and tag your designs with relevant terms.

Let us know what tags you think we should feature next week?

Welcome to Design for 3D Printing 101: Intro to Design for 3D Printing.

When you are designing for 3D printing there are two main factors that you really need to take into account before you start.

1. What application to design with
2. What material you are designing for

In this first introductory session, we are going to look at choosing the right type 3D modeling software.

There are now many 3D modeling applications you can use to 3D model your designs to 3D Print, ranging from very expensive professional engineering software to free online tools to get you started. Choosing the right software is an important first step in ensuring you can realize your ideas with 3D printing.

If you want to create organic, sculptural forms and characters to 3d Print, you may want to start with freeform surface modeling software.  This modeling process represents the surface of the object, not its volume. With this method you will manipulate the surface of the model to create the form with points and curves. This gives you the freedom to do flowing forms, but can sometimes make it harder to achieve tight tolerances if your design is made to integrate an external object. 

Above is a screenshot from Sculptris, free surface modeling software. Image via Flickr

If you are looking to engineer a product (or robot) for 3D Printing, you are better off using Solid Modeling Software. This process defines the volume of the object you wish to model, by creating solid geometry, which you then modify by extruding or cutting away mass. The "Design for 3D Printing 101" image above was modeled using TinkerCad, a browser based 3D modeling application with drag and drop functionality to make it very easy to get started.

Above is Autodesk's 123D App, a solid modeler with which you can 3D Print direct to Shapeways. 

You can of course experiment with each to to find what works best for you, but often the tools within the application are designed for a specific kind of geometry.  There is a relatively steep learning curve when you start to learn to 3D model, but once you hold your first design in your hand, it makes those challenges a pleasure.

There are a number of free applications in each type that you may want to download and play around with to get a feel, watch tutorial on YouTube and ask questions in the Shapeways forums as there is a wealth of knowledge within the Shapeways community. 

In the next Design for 3D Printing 101, we will look a little closer at some of the 3D modeling software options available to get you started 3D printing.