3D Printing- Nerd Unleashed
This winter I acquired a shiny new 3D printer. At first I worried about having another large cumbersome object in my space, but this machine’s ability to make prototypes and art objects is incredible.
In the early 2000’s 3D printing was mostly considered a fad. The first one I saw in high school tediously churned out stringy little blobs only slightly reminiscent of the 3D model fed into it’s system. But times have changed! On the first day of tinkering with the modestly named Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro I was able to produce the smoothest FDM (fused deposition modeling) 3D print I have ever seen.
Example of how smooth a modern day 3D print can be.
After auto-leveling the bed and inserting the filament spool, the process is fairly repetitive:
1. Create a digital model (I use Blender). Making complex models is going to be a higher learning curve than using the printer- YouTubers can show you the way*
2. Use a slicing software to transform the 3D model into a format the printer can read. (I use Cura by Ultimaker).
3. Upload the file to the hard drive included with the printer. Now we go to the printer.
4. Select the material being printed to heat the bed and nozzle motor to the right temperature.
5. Plug the Micro SD card into the printer.
6. Select the file and hit print.
Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro running in the basement.
It takes a minute or two to heat up… then absolutely goes to town. It has a quality of being alive. While it takes a few hours for the printer to accomplish it’s task, that’s a few hours I can spend doing whatever I want while lightly monitoring the process. After four years of practice, creating a 3D model is by far the fastest way to sculpt. It practically feels like I’m manifesting forms into reality.
Cursed Egg before and after being dipped in Golden acrylic self leveling gel that I learned about at SFAI.
To start I am printing PLA (Polylactic Acid- Plastic made from corn or plant based materials) since it is the easiest standard material to print with. The finished product is brittle and has layer lines although they are not very noticeable, especially when painted. Soon I will try other colors and flexible TPU filaments. There is also potential to combine 3D prints with mediums such as fiber and ceramics.
The possibilities of 3D printing are overwhelming- despite limits when it comes to material selection and delicate details. I want to make custom picture frames, modular toy sets, weird keychains, fantasy journal covers, but most of all, I want to make shoes! I have always been enigmatically drawn to shoes and was surprised how much there is to know about footwear and it’s impact on the body and mind. In next, next Monday’s post I will talk about my trial and error making custom midsoles and visions for footwear of the future.