I Think I'm in Heaven!

This will prolly only interest me, but I think I'm in heaven right now...

On an email list that I belong to someone posted a link to a site that does 3d printing (or rapid prototyping). Nothing special, we have at least one company that does that here in the Twin Cities.

But this place does NOT have a minimum cost per model, just per order!

At the local shop they have a minimum price of $25.00 no matter what size the model is. At this new place, you could potentially spend $1.00 per model, it's just that you need a minimum total order of $25.00 or more.

Okay, what is 3d printing? Essentially, it's just that. You take your virtual model, created in a 3d modeling program like Blender, Max, or Maya, export it to a specific type of file, and it's "printed" layer-by-layer until you have a physical model identical to your virtual model!

This is going to be fun.

 

And this will be the first thing I'll have printed!

View attachment 891

 

OMG CHANI I NEVER READ THIS HOW COULD I !?!?!?!?!?! OMG CONGRATS!!!!
'
8) That is amazing, btw.

 

LOL!

Sarcasm much? :p

I made these rings years ago, and I've always wanted to "print" them, but I never did get around to it.

The pic above is to scale. It's about 7.75 inches high and around 8 inches wide. I'll need to do some prep work before Mark paints it the blue marble-like color above.

 

I'm sure they'll get a lot of customers with those prices!

 

No sarcasm!! I really didn't see this topic. e.e looks kinda real in that thumbnail.

 

That is pretty sweet Chani. Congrats on the find. RP is pretty awesome. I've seen some stuff here at my company and it's quite cool, for lack of a better word. Course your use is different from mine in this case.

Look forward to seeing the results!!

 

Hey I'm excited for you!

 

Well, a $1.00 model will need to be quite small, but at our local printer it would be $25.00!

Oops... :o Sorry...

But thanks!

I can't wait, either! I've been waiting for this for a long, long time.

Thanks!

 

Congrats, that is a great find. The closest I've gotten was 1.50 with a min purch of $50.

 

really makes me want to get started learning 3D modeling, there are so many things I'd like to "build". What's the best way to learn? And does it require any actual drawing ability?

 

I've only just opened this program yesterday: blender.org - Home

It confuses the heck out of me, but then again, I'm so used to Max that it kinda gives me a handicap in other programs.

But, hey...it's FREE!

You don't necessarily need to know how to hand draw, but you really should be able to visualize what you want to make. Just try experimenting!

But remember, there's no "Make Art" button.

 

I'm going to have to work at it with Mark, but with any luck, I should have my 3ds Max commercial license this time next week!

 

Duuuuuuuuuude.

What are those rings? Is it a logo or something?

 

They're just a design that I came up with several years ago.

I've been meaning to make a physical model of them for all these years, but I'm just not confident enough in my own sculpting ability to make them myself, and I've been looking at having them "printed" by a 3d printer.

Every time I look at them I think (quoting Close Encounters of the Third Kind), "This means something. This is important."

Thankfully it's not just a mountain of mashed potatoes.