Shapeways Magazine
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SketchUp for 3D Printed Buildings and Beyond
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SketchUp is a natural software choice for bringing architecture to life in 3D. But did you know you can use it to make much more than buildings? If you’re looking for free, reliable software that is easy to start using and also has the teeth for more advanced projects, SketchUp might be the tool you seek. This week we’ll run down the best beginner and intermediate resources for SketchUp… // Column at Shapeways
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Creating a Community of 3D Educators at the Construct3D Conference
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3D printing and digital fabrication efforts are happening at hundreds of institutions around the United States. The thing is, there’s often just one faculty or staff member leading the 3D effort, working alone. If you’re lucky, maybe you’re part of a small team. What happens when you put hundreds of those leaders in the same place? We found out at Construct3D at Duke University last weekend!… // Guest post at Shapeways
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Mathematica Brings the Mathematical Bling
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Math has the best bling. Structure, form, geometry, and symmetry are secret keys to beautiful 3D designs. For example, this stunning Rhombic star earring by Mathematical Creations was created with Wolfram’s powerful software Mathematica. Mathematica 11 added a suite of new 3D printing features including 3D mesh utilities, ready-made 3D printable models, and new tools for thickening models… // Column at Shapeways
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First Steps with 3D Design Software Fusion 360
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Are you a beginner 3D designer, looking to take the next step after Tinkercad? The good news is, the next thing you’ll learn will make you capable of designing almost anything. The not-as-good news? Since Autodesk retired 123 Design (and Catch, and Make, and Sculpt, gasp!), you now have to take a slightly steeper step to get to the next level. Autodesk recommends taking that step to Fusion 360… // Column for Shapeways
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Print Cheaper By Scaling… Up?
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It makes perfect sense that you can make your 3D prints cheaper by scaling them down to a smaller size. But, did you know that sometimes you can make your prints cheaper by making them… bigger?? There are three ways of measuring size that are important when printing with Strong & Flexible nylon plastic at Shapeways: Scale, Volume, and Space, and it’s “Space” that makes the difference… // Column at Shapeways
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Painting Multicolor Models in Meshmixer
Painting Multicolor Models in Meshmixer 710 528 mathgrrl
Way back in our second Tutorial Tuesday we discussed tutorials for exporting multicolor digital models for 3D printing. But, that assumed you had a multicolor model in the first place. What if you want to add color to some plain old STL files? This week, we’ll walk you through a super simple way to paint color onto STL files with Meshmixer, using our “Perko Morph” model as an example… // Column at Shapeways
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Get Some Variety With Variants
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If you’re 3D printing models you’ve designed yourself, then you can pick exactly the right size and style you want. But if you’re selling 3D prints to the general public then you might want to provide multiple size and style options within one model. With “variants” you can combine multiple design files into one product listing so that you can offer multiple sizes or styles of your design… // Column at Shapeways
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Topological Mesh Modeling with TopMod
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Do you want to make beautiful 3D-printable sculptures, jewelry, and lamps? It’s easier than you might think — if you know how to use TopMod. TopMod is a really unique tool to have in your 3D printing toolbox. It specializes in remeshing, wireframing, stellating, and modifying object meshes, and by combining those powerful functions you can quickly create stunning 3D-printable works of art… // Column at Shapeways
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Modeling for 3D Printing with Cinema 4D
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Cinema 4D is a powerful, professional modeling program that can be used for 3D animations, motion graphics, and 3D effects. It’s also fairly intuitive, and can be used to create and export models suitable for 3D printing. This post will help you figure out how to prepare C4D models for exporting to STL or VRML format for 3D printing, but for those new to C4D we’ll start with some beginner tutorials… // Column at Shapeways
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Printing the Impossible: Evolution of a Fidget Cube
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Some models are really, really difficult to print on an FDM printer, and “Fidget Cubes” are among the worst, with enclosed hinges and pieces that have to somehow print floating above other things. We’ll track the evolution of this fidgety design over the past five years…
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