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For anyone on HN who hasn't had the opportunity to use a 3D printer I really recommend that you find a way to use one for a few hours. The experience of willin

by habosa 13y ago

For anyone on HN who hasn't had the opportunity to use a 3D printer I really recommend that you find a way to use one for a few hours. The experience of willing something into physical existence with a few clicks in Solidworks is amazing. If you remember the feeling of the first time you made the computer say "Hello World" or the first time you set up your own website, you'll get a similar rush from 3D printing. I've been lucky enough to have access to one for my final project at school and it's made me so much more ambitious with how I can design and has made my iteration speed at least 10x as fast.

FigBug 13y ago
I'm a software developer, but I got a copy of solid works from work. I tried to design a Garmin mount dog collar and failed miserably. I then asked a mechanical engineer to do it for me and he whipped it up in a few minutes. I was humbled by how hard it is to design physical products. If anybody wants to track their dog: http://www.shapeways.com/model/1805713/dog-collar-garmin-mount.html?li=shop-results&materialId=6 http://www.shapeways.com/model/1805713/dog-collar-garmin-mou...
- habosa 13y ago
  Yeah it's an entirely different skill set. I have 3D printed a lot of parts for my recent project but it's all rectangles and circles, I couldn't get anything much more complicated to come out right. One of the things a mechanical engineer friend of mine suggested is finding a cool SolidWorks file online and learning from it. Basically drag the bar of the feature tree all the way back to the top and you can "play back" the person's design step by step.
tripzilch 13y ago
I do have access to 3D printers if I wanted to, but I can't really figure out what sort of little plastic doodad I'd like to print out and spend a few hours on how to design. Any ideas?
- habosa 13y ago
  Just make anything, like a desk toy or a phone case. It's just a great feeling to watch it print at your command.

by habosa 13y ago

FigBug 13y ago

I'm a software developer, but I got a copy of solid works from work. I tried to design a Garmin mount dog collar and failed miserably. I then asked a mechanical engineer to do it for me and he whipped it up in a few minutes. I was humbled by how hard it is to design physical products. If anybody wants to track their dog: http://www.shapeways.com/model/1805713/dog-collar-garmin-mount.html?li=shop-results&materialId=6 http://www.shapeways.com/model/1805713/dog-collar-garmin-mou...

habosa 13y ago
Yeah it's an entirely different skill set. I have 3D printed a lot of parts for my recent project but it's all rectangles and circles, I couldn't get anything much more complicated to come out right. One of the things a mechanical engineer friend of mine suggested is finding a cool SolidWorks file online and learning from it. Basically drag the bar of the feature tree all the way back to the top and you can "play back" the person's design step by step.

tripzilch 13y ago

I do have access to 3D printers if I wanted to, but I can't really figure out what sort of little plastic doodad I'd like to print out and spend a few hours on how to design. Any ideas?

habosa 13y ago
Just make anything, like a desk toy or a phone case. It's just a great feeling to watch it print at your command.