The Value of a Custom Made Gift is Greater Than the Sum of its Parts

There is little more rewarding then giving a loved one something that you have made especially for them. The value of the item far exceeds the sum of it's parts, as the act of making embeds meaning into the object far beyond a mass produced item, or a unique item you may have chosen from as artist or craftsperson. Your participation in the item adds a level of depth to the story and meaning behind the gift, that simply cannot been bought. The item becomes priceless, not in a Mastercard advertisement kind of way, but the item is embedded with genuine meaning.

Designing a gift using on demand 3D printing with Shapeways may not mean you are hand forging every atom in the item, but the thought and emotion behind your design, the time spent 3D modeling (if you can), along with any post production you do increases the social value of your gift.

There are many beautiful stories in the Shapeways forums of people 3D printing gifts for loved ones. One of the most recent stories to capture our hearts at Shapeways is an age old story:

Boy meets girl
Boy falls in love with girl
Girl mentions she loves a pendant that is no longer for sale (the impossible mission is set)
Boy becomes the hero, locks his mission into his sights and decides he must design, 3D print and assemble the pendant to give to her (in 2012 the hero fabricates the Holy Grail)
Not knowing how to 3D model so well he enlists the help of a designer from the Shapeways forums (cutting the Gordian Knot with a little help from 3D superstar Kevin Wei)
Shapeways 3D prints the design in Sterling Silver and sends it to our hero's door where he then has a crash course in setting jewels as he glues 150 Swarovski Crystals into the pendant
Once complete he packages up the pendant and sends it across the ocean, nervously anticipating how she will receive the gift he has invested with so much time and energy.

You can read the entire story in the Shapeways forums which includes the line that really summed up the value of giving custom made gift that really captured our hearts.

Oh well, right now it's being transported... so I don't know yet whether she likes it. But honestly, when I send it off... it felt like I was sending a piece of myself... the amount of work and dedication that goes into making this... really made it the most special gift I have ever given somebody.

Good luck David, I am sure she will love it.

Chopper: Partitioning Large Models into Smaller 3D Printable Parts

Chopper automatically partitions a given 3D model into parts that are small enough to be 3D printed and assembled into the original model.

A recent paper by Linjie Luo, Ilya Baran, Szymon Rusinkiewicz, Wojciech Matusik of Princeton University presented at SIGGRAPH outlined software designed to partition large 3D models into smaller 3D printable ones. Check out the video of the 3D printed parts being assembled, fairly seamless.

3D printing technology is rapidly maturing and becoming ubiquitous. One of the remaining obstacles to wide-scale adoption is that the object to be printed must fit into the working volume of the 3D printer. We propose a framework, called Chopper, to decompose a large 3D object into smaller parts so that each part fits into the printing volume. These parts can then be assembled to form the original object. We formulate a number of desirable criteria for the partition, including assemblability, having few components, unobtrusiveness of the seams, and structural soundness. Chopper optimizes these criteria and generates a partition either automatically or with user guidance. Our prototype outputs the final decomposed parts with customized connectors on the interfaces. We demonstrate the effectiveness of Chopper on a variety of non-trivial real-world objects.

This is a great step forward for desktop 3D printers that sometimes have a relatively small build area. We do not see too many projects that are too large to be printed in Shapeways 3D printers other than the occasional architectural model.

Would you use this tool if it were made available?

Relevant posts from the Shapeways Blog.

Digital Wood Joints - What can you make?

Disney Research 3D Printed Optics and Interfaces (VIDEO)

Designer Spotlight: Isaie Bloch

This weeks Designer Spotlight focuses on Isaie Bloch, an incredible artist who uses the capabilities and limitations of 3D printing to inform his designs.

Tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? Where are you located?

I'm a Belgian architect and CG artist under the name of Eragatory. After receiving my first master degree in architecture, I joined the postgraduate program Excessive in 2010 lead by Hernan Diaz Alonso, at dieAngewandte, Vienna, Austria. My ongoing research and design ambitions are focused on the correlation between craftsmanship and additive manufacturing within several creative domains including Architecture, Fashion and Plastic arts and the digital methodologies blending in between them. I have been working as an artist in the field of hyperrealism exhibiting in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, China, Dubai and the USA, creating a range of art-pieces reaching from small prints, to 3D printed sculptures and huge hand manufactured installations. I have also been working together with designer Iris van Herpen on several sculptural dresses which have been shown on the catwalks at the Mercedes-Benz fashion week in Berlin and the Paris Haute Couture Show.

What's the story behind your designs?

I generally seek to design pieces dedicated to the geometrical capacities of 3D printing. In my opinion it does not make sense to use 3D printing for the production of regular objects unless they are intended to be prototypes. Just like all production methods all of them have specific characteristics 3D printing offers the incredible advantage of being able to produce almost any type of intricate geometry. And that specifically is the characteristic that I want to project in my work as much as possible. Highly ornamental, specific geometrical conditions and subverted aesthetics are elements which will always be found in my work. The Floralia vases are a design that balances on the edge in-between functionality, digital aesthetics, mass customization and object-oriented eclecticism. In contrast to contemporary thought and design, which views things as the aggregation or assembly of smaller bits and parts, in Object Oriented Design new objects emerge out of an ecology of interaction of multiple and heterogeneous objects. Through a process of formation or computation, highly differentiated, contradictory concepts and structures can become one object, without resulting in an incongruous collage.

Pink Floraria vase printed in Full Color Sandstone

What brought you to 3D printing with Shapeways?

For me personally Shapeways offers the ideal balance in between a very good online service (which is really hard to find) quality, price, materials and production time. Being able to get a direct quote and first checkup of your 3D model instantly is very useful. It speeds up your design process a lot, since you don' need to wait for several days in order to know if you should make this or that differently according to your estimated price. The whole website is so clear and easy to use, the web shops are pretty good looking and not complicated in any way.

How did you learn how to design in 3D?

As an architecture student I was confronted with the possible use of 3D tools. We were not forced to use any of them but it was very clear for me that these tools were going to be a great help according to my own aesthetic and geometrical preferences. So I started to instruct myself using a lot of tips and tricks that I found on the internet. Because of my attraction to ornamental overload and high resolution geometries I acquainted myself to the types of softwares which would not be directly related to architecture like 3DS Max, Z brush and Meshlab.

How do you promote your work?

I try to get as much exposure as possible by publishing my work on design and 3D printing related blogs and magazines. I organize workshops once in a while and during those I lecture about my work as well. All my work is published on my Eragatory blog as well.

Green Floraria vase printed in Full Color Sandstone

Who are your favorite designers or artists?

My interest is pretty wide according to artists I follow. Differing in physical or digital disciplines and status, some are very known and could be on the edge of being commercial and others might just be students or unknown artist with a very good oeuvre. But all of them have a touch of absurdness, eccentric material usage, high resolution intricacy and would preferably have a high level of tolerance for mistakes. Abhominal, Barry x ball, Henrique Oliveira, Jan Manski, Jerry Judah, Mrmann, Katsuyo Aoki, Lebbeus Woods, Michael Hansemeyer, Juliaan Lampens, Wolfgang Tschapeller, Stephan Balleux, Mack Scogin Merril Elam Architects would be a good representation of what I seek for in the creative industry.

Anything else you want to share?

I can not stipulate it enough, despite all the magical 3D tools on the market it is still very important to have a design intent at the beginning. I use these tools as a new set of crayons impowering me to form my ideas not as a series of digital trics generating random geometry. It happens way too often that people get mislead by automated fuctions in 3D software, generally resulting in mainstream/predictible/d?j? vu results. We should be subverting the logic of perfection: what used to be about mastering the perfect result of non-perfect processes should now be about the production of misfit and the grotesque through perfected processes.

That's some incredible advice for budding 3D designers, thank you Isaie! You can see more of his work on his Shapeways Shop or his blog.

Designer Spotlight: Stijn van der Linden

This weeks Designer Spotlight focuses on Stijn van der Linden, the creator of one of our most popular items on Shapeways: Gyro the Cube. He is an avid and prolific designer, and he also finds time to answer questions on the forum as one of our moderators.

Hi everyone! My name is Stijn van der Linden, probably better know as Virtox around here . I live in Tilburg, in the Netherlands together with my lovely wife and son. I am a work-at-home dad, so I juggle my time between housekeeping, changing diapers and late night sessions of tinkering, designing and programming. I have a college degree in Electrical Engineering and worked as a software engineer for several years, but shortly after discovering 3D printing and Shapeways, I switched careers to my life long passion of 3D Art & Design.

What's the story behind your designs? What inspires you?

Initial sparks often come from the intrinsic beauty found in nature, science and life: a twig, an atom or a kitchen sink. I have a particular fondness for using primitive shapes, such as circles, cubes and spheres and morphing them into the desired forms.

How did Gyro the cube come about?

I have a great love for trying to create the impossible and this is clearly visible in Gyro the Cube. At the time I had just discovered the real power of 3D printing and the possibility to make stuff with moving parts. So, while I was playing around with morphing cubes into spheres and vice versa, I noticed that two of these closely nested cubes could rotate freely about a diagonal axis. I could then repeat this and change the axis for each one and make this impossible looking gyroscopic sculpture, that could (theoretically) move and spin straight from the printer! I was quite anxious after ordering, whether I had made any calculation errors and if it would actually work. It did spin (phew!) and the ease of movement exceeded all my expectations! I still keep one handy near my desk.

How did you learn how to design in 3D?

I am mostly self-taught, as a young kid I started with simple 2D graphics and programming in C64 BASIC. This quickly went on to more advanced programming languages and working with 3D in PovRay, a very elegant scripted 3D rendering engine. During college I had access to more advanced software, like 3D Studio Max which had even more powerful scripting languages and programming APIs. All this evolved to the point that I stopped using off-the-shelf software and I currently make most of my work with home-brew software built in C++.

What brought you to 3D printing with Shapeways?

In August of 2008 I saw a mention of Shapeways somewhere and I signed up for the closed Beta. At the time I thought it was mostly expensive and very complicated, but I kept a close eye on the newsletters and forum and started to learn about the wonders of 3D printing. I tinkered about on the site, uploaded some models and tried the shop feature. To my shock and amazement, I sold something within mere days! Someone had actually bought Holey, a model I had designed years before and now someone, somewhere, was actually going to hold something I had once designed to be impossible to make. And worse, they beat me to it! So this led me to quickly place my first order and ever since I've been hooked on 3D printing.

How do you promote your work?

It has never been my strong suit, and it's hard to find the time, but I try to post updates to social networks as much as possible, such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, my own blog and occasionally to design blogs and websites such as Designspotter and Behance. But all things marketing, I learned from the Shapeways blog, as it contains a goldmine of tips, tricks and hints on how to promote your designs and shops.

Who are your favorite designers or artists? Who in the Shapeways community has served as an inspiration to you?

My all-time favorite artists are Salvador Dali, M.C. Escher and H.R. Giger. Their mind-bending work really sparked my love for art and I am very fond of surreal and impossible looking stuff! After four years of being part of this community, I must say there are so many great members helping and inspiring others, I could not hope to name them all! So a big thank you to ALL for making this place the success it is today! A special shout-out to Youknowwho, Magic, StonySmith and Stop4Stuff for driving the community forward and to Nervous System, Bathsheba, Unellenu and Opresco for making the most inspiring works. And apologies to all that escape my mind at the moment!

If you weren't limited by current technologies, what would you want to make using 3D printing?

Oh wow, well just about anything and everything! I can't wait to sink my teeth into an impossibly shaped designer steak, sit down in a fully personalized chair and strap on that pair of extra robotic arms to get things done. But this technology is evolving so quickly I really do not feel limited. If anything, 3D printing just seems to be the ultimate addition to any toolkit.

Thank you to all Shapies for all your efforts to make the impossible possible, you are changing lives and the world with it!

Check out Stijn's incredible designs on his Shapeways Shop, his website, or hop onto the forums and chat with him and the rest of the Shapeways community.

Quick Tip: Finding the Center of Mass of a Model

Do you need to know if your model is properly balanced? The first step is to determine where it's center of mass will be. Fredd shared an excellent tip on the forum - you can use the free MeshLab software to calculate it! Fredd writes:

Meshlab can detect it:

Import your model, click Filter/Quality Measures and Computations/Compute Geometric Measures.

Then click show layer dialog icon. [It] looks like a sheaf of papers (It is under the Window in the top header)

Center of mass looks like what you are looking for. Plus gives bounding box dimensions, surface area and volume.

Lots of goodies, besides it being free.

Thanks Fredd!!

I plotted the result for 'Suzanne' in the image to the right.

Glowing 3D Printed Architectural Models on Shapeways (VIDEO)

We see many architects 3D printing their models using Shapeways 3D printing service but most of them remain behind the scenes and never make it onto the Shapeways site or blog so it is always cool to see architectural 3D prints in the Shapeways marketplace to share what architects are doing.

One of the coolest architectural models we have 3D printed at Shapeways lately is the 1 WTC by Stefdos which is a 3D model of One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower) that glows when lit from within with an LED.

This amazing model that is 3D printed in full color at 25cm high is only $25 on Shapeways, that's $1 per cm... bargain. Check out the video below....

Also check out New Orleans tower Rotterdam 15cm by the ame designer that also glows when lit from within.

8 Tips for 3D Printing with Sketchup

Sketchup is a great choice if you're new to 3D modeling: it's free, easy to learn and there are TONS of free tutorials available. Even so, you may need to know a few things before you can get your models 3D printed.

Community member Marcus Ritland from Denali 3D Design shares 8 great tips on MasterSketchup.com. These tips include making your models printable, making them look great and keeping them affordable.

Don't forget to give him some kudos on the forum!

Autodesk Launch 123D Design for OSX PC iPad & Web

Yes, the free, awesome and easy 3D modeling app 123D has now been extended to 123D Design, available for OSX, PC, iPad AND Web App. That's four times as fantastic with interoperability between all four and the rest of the 123D suite making it easy for you to design for 3D printing with Shapeways.

With Autodesk 123D Design, anyone can have fun designing and making things. Whether it's a new design of your own, replacing a part of something you already have, or reimagining something so that it's just right for you, with 123D Design you can create a digital model of your idea and then directly 3D print or fabricate the things you want, just the way you want them. And the way you work with 123D Design is similar to how you work in other everyday software you're familiar with, so you can avoid frustrations and enjoy the process of making things.

I have had the opportunity to play with an early edition of the software and it is easy to learn and export to 3D print with Shapeways. This is a perfect tool for someone starting to design their own products as we will be sure to cover in our Design for 3D Printing 101 series.

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

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

Design for 3D printing 101 Shapeways

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

What application to design with
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.

How to Make Your Own 3D Printed Success, Kid (VIDEO)

We have seen the popularity of the 3D Printed Success Kid meme as it has made it's angry way across the internets but did you ever wonder how it was actually 3D modeled?

Did he search the world for the child and scan it with Autdoesk's 123D Catch? No.

Did he use Facebook's creepy face recognition software to find multiple views of the child to be stitched together to create a 3D model? No

Did he use Sculptris (FREE), zbrush and a Wacom tablet to 3D model this from scratch? YES...

Check out the video of how Ryan Kittleson 3D modeled the Success Kid ..

Prepare for New York's Next Top Makers: Launching in Mid November

Launched by Mayor Bloomberg at the Shapeways Factory of the Future, Next Top Makers is New York City's is challenge makers, designers, and engineers to create product prototypes.

New York's Next Top Makers is a challenge to prototype new designs that have commercial potential. The goal of the challenge is to support design-driven production, and promote a culture of innovation and commercialization within New York City's industrial business, design and engineering communities.

Starting in mid November, makers, designers, engineers and others will be invited to enter prototypes in the challenge. It is anticipated that New York's Next Top Makers will be open for submissions until mid February 2013.

Finalists will be selected by an expert judging panel, and will receive assistance on the path to commercialization during the studio phase. Assistance will include studio space from sponsor NYDesigns, business support, and mentorship from industry experts such as Adafruit Industries, Honeybee Robotics and Shapeways. It is anticipated that the studio phase will run from April to August. Judges will award an additional cash prize to the most promising winner following the studio phase.

Image Courtesy Edward Reed of the NYC Mayors Office on Flickr

Smooth vs Standard Nylon 3D Printing

We introduced Polished White Strong & Flexible Nylon 3D Printing back in May 2011 and have seen your prints coming out looking much more smooth and professional feeling. Those making twisty puzzles now assemble their designs without the need for sanding prior to assembly and those painting their 3D Prints can do so with less preparation time and effort.

One downside is the size of 3D Print that can currently be polished is limited to 150x150x150mm so not all Nylon 3D Prints can be post-processed in this way. To polish your 3D Prints we place them in a giant vibratory tumbler with an abrasive medium that smooths the surface. The tumbling process can be a little rough on really fine 3D Printed wires so the minimum thickness for these kind of features in your design must be at least 0.9mm, over 1mm is preferred.

We do not currently offer smooth color 3D Printing but it is something we may offer in the near future. The current dying process does not react well to polishing but if we were to introduce polished colors we may need to limit the size from the current 230x180x130mm to 150x150x150mm. The result is there may be a few models that cannot be printed in color, but all color models would be nice and smooth, less stepping, less rough edges.

Let us know what you think? would you like ALL of your 3D prints to one day arrive at your doorstep silky smooth, is there any other post processing you would like to see? Let us know your thoughts...

Designer Spotlight: Wesley Gunter

The Designer Spotlight for this week focuses on Wesley Gunter who takes inspiration from all around him and turns it into wearable 3D printed designs.

Tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? Where are you located?

I am Wesley Gunter (Krijntjes) a young Dutch designer living and working in Bergen op Zoom. I work at a Hi Tech Sheet Metal Processing plant welding, programming Mig and Tig Welding Robots and now and then I design a welding mold for the robots. I also have a little business of my own Gunter Art & Design.

What's the story behind your designs? What inspires you?

Me and my girlfriend see a lot of beautiful things in this awesome world and I do my best to transform those things into wearable 3D Printed designs. I also like food and light so now and then I design something in that area. Music, fashion and above all FUN are the keywords.

What brought you to 3D printing with Shapeways?

I wanted to make a keychain casting mold for the company I work for, I was looking for a milling company, but then I stumbled on Shapeways and thought why make a mold when you can print the design?

How did you learn how to design in 3D?

I had some experience with 2D in high school and when I had some free time at the company I worked for, I would play a little with the 3D software they have. Then I downloaded Blender on my own laptop and the shaping began. I knew how I would make something in real life so I approached my designing on the computer in the same way.

How do you promote your work?

The most promoting I do is with my Facebook page, and I also have a Twitter account @Gunterartdesign. I give almost every prototype I print away to family and friends so they can spread the word for me!

Who are your favorite designers or artists? Who in the Shapeways community has served as an inspiration to you?

Morten Linde designs very cool watches that I like a lot, and Nervous System and Museum of Small Things have the most amazing designs I have ever seen. They drive me to design cool things that I myself would like to have.

If you weren't limited by current technologies, what would you want to make using 3D printing?

If I had the time, knowledge and money I would love to 3D print an interstellar space craft that could fit me and my girlfriend and a bit of food drinks and go on a little vacation around the galaxy. I would like to encourage everybody to design the things they like the most and in a couple of years we all can buy custom products right here at Shapeways!

Check out his varied designs on his Shapeways Shop Gunter Art and Design.

How to Customize an iPhone Case in TinkerCad to 3D Print (Video)

So you want to enter the iPhone 5 contest we are running to win $500 worth of 3D Printing but you do not know where to start? We uploaded some files to TinkerCad so you can get started and now the team from TinkerCad have taken it one step further with a really handy video showing how to customize an iPhone case in TinkerCad.

TinkerCad is a perfect tool to get started designing for 3D Printing thanks to it's drag and drop capabilities. Because it is browser based you never need to download or update the software. You always have the latest version.

Thanks again to the team at TinkerCad for putting the video together...

First 3D Printed iPhone 5 on Shapeways

It Arrived!!!

The first 3D Printed iPhone 5 has landed at Shapeways and along with it an update to the design for the iPhone 5 case templates for the contest we are running at Shapeways where you can win $500 worth of 3D Printing by designing an accessory for the iPhone 5.

There are already over 30 3D Printed products already available on Shapeways to fit the iPhone 5, enter your design in the contest to win.

We have updated the downloadable files for customization now that we have been able to test the fit, especially around the corners for the iPhone 5, the case can be downloaded here, and the bumper here.

The Shapeways Blog: 3D Printing News & Innovation

Shapeways Blog

Thursday, December 27. 2012

The Value of a Custom Made Gift is Greater Than the Sum of its Parts

Monday, December 17. 2012

Chopper: Partitioning Large Models into Smaller 3D Printable Parts

Chopper automatically partitions a given 3D model into parts that are small enough to be 3D printed and assembled into the original model.

Designer Spotlight: Isaie Bloch

Monday, November 26. 2012

Designer Spotlight: Stijn van der Linden

Monday, November 19. 2012

Quick Tip: Finding the Center of Mass of a Model

Friday, November 16. 2012

Glowing 3D Printed Architectural Models on Shapeways (VIDEO)

Monday, November 12. 2012

8 Tips for 3D Printing with Sketchup

Thursday, November 8. 2012

Autodesk Launch 123D Design for OSX PC iPad & Web

Wednesday, November 7. 2012

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

Thursday, October 25. 2012

How to Make Your Own 3D Printed Success, Kid (VIDEO)

Wednesday, October 24. 2012

Prepare for New York's Next Top Makers: Launching in Mid November

Monday, October 8. 2012

Smooth vs Standard Nylon 3D Printing

Wednesday, October 3. 2012

Designer Spotlight: Wesley Gunter

Friday, September 28. 2012

How to Customize an iPhone Case in TinkerCad to 3D Print (Video)

Tuesday, September 25. 2012

First 3D Printed iPhone 5 on Shapeways

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The Shapeways Blog: 3D Printing News & Innovation

Thursday, December 27. 2012

Monday, December 17. 2012

Chopper automatically partitions a given 3D model into parts that are small enough to be 3D printed and assembled into the original model.

Monday, November 26. 2012

Monday, November 19. 2012

Friday, November 16. 2012

Monday, November 12. 2012

Thursday, November 8. 2012

Wednesday, November 7. 2012

Thursday, October 25. 2012

Wednesday, October 24. 2012

Monday, October 8. 2012

Wednesday, October 3. 2012

Friday, September 28. 2012

Tuesday, September 25. 2012

Shapeways is a 3D Printing marketplace and community.

Quicksearch

Archives

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Help

Get 3D Printed Inspiration

Don't miss Shapeways Live