Teaching Tip: 3D printing services abound
July 22, 2014
Have you been thinking about 3D printing something for your classroom, lab or just
for fun but don’t know how to get started? There are a plethora of easy-to-use and
inexpensive online services to help with that!
Printable materials include:
- plastics: flexible, strong, detail, frosted, translucent, elastic
- metals: steel, sterling silver, brass, bronze, gold, platinum
- food
- others: castable wax, sandstone, ceramics and more.
Here are some services we have found to help send you on your way to 3D-printing bliss:
FIND A 3D MODEL
Yeggi is a search engine just for finding printable 3D models.
BUILD A 3D MODEL
Check out these free 3D model creation applications, in order by ease of use:
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
There are some important rules of thumb you will need to keep in mind when creating a 3D model. Always look for tutorials and tips from your printing service, as they will be able to best advise on the design for specific materials. See also, Make: Top Ten Tips for 3D Printing.
3D PRINTING SERVICES
These online services will print out your designs and rush them to you. There are many others out there, but these offer inexpensive options, various materials and available models by other users.
-- Teaching Tip by Jennifer Moss, UAF eLearning instructional designer. You can also see Jen's step-by-step tutorial on using Photoshop Creative Cloud to create and print something 3D
Learn even more about 3D printing at iTeachU: http://elearning.uaf.edu/go/tt-3dprinting