3D Printer Projects for Makerspaces

We do a lot of custom electronics projects at work (e.g. digital kiosks, card swipe systems, etc) and purchased a 3D printer a couple of years ago to allow us to create custom parts we need for our projects. One of our guys took a real interest in it and sort of became our de facto 3D printing expert through whatever he could pick up on the web and elsewhere. As soon as I received this book, I took it straight to him. A few weeks later he brought it back and said it is a really great introduction to 3D printing, covers a lot of different tools and software, and introduced him to some really useful things that he hadn't yet come across in his learning.The entire book is a series of tutorials, each of which tells you right up front what tools will be used, where to get them, where to download material for the tutorial, and estimated costs for things you may need to purchase outside of the obvious. The book starts off assuming the reader has little to no knowledge of 3D printing and begins with the printers themselves and the various parts and elements involved—such as various treatments for the build plates. You'll movie from fairly simple to complex projects (there's even info in here on 3D scanning), and some of the projects are actually pretty cool.Overall, this is a good introduction to 3D printing that seems accessible to people of all skill levels.

As someone with ZERO experience in the 3D printing arena, I wanted to get something that would help me understand the requirements, capabilities and complexity. I have a technical background and have done a bit of 2D graphics work, but have only seen 3D printed output produced by others who have mostly downloaded and printed designs from online resources.This book provides a pretty good introduction to the process and some (many?) of the common tools. I like that it is divided into "Projects" that begin with a problem and work through to a printed item. Sometimes you want to start from scratch, but sometimes you want to modify something that is already available. Other times, you may want to create something new that is based on a physical object that you have. This book covers both cases. Since each of these is approached differently, it was good to see how that could be done.There were times that I felt that the explanations were lacking a little -- usually when explaining how to do something in one of the software packages. I am unfamiliar with how to use tools like SketchUp Maker and AutoCAD, so it took me a bit to understand some of the terminology and capabilities of the tools used to edit the models. For example, "restore a face by tracing an edge with the pencil tool" may make sense to someone who knows what she is doing, but I am not entirely certain WHICH edge I need to trace and what result I am trying to achieve. Do I just draw a line between the vertices that make up an edge to have all of the the adjacent faces fill in? Were I to want to design something, I suppose I have a little work to do inside the modeling programs. That is reasonable.There are numerous tips given in this book (prepping a build plate, for example), and descriptions of several technology options (single vs. multiple extruders), as well as a section on post-processing of the printed works. Overall, I think it is a good book and I gained some insight into the complexities involved if I wanted to do more than simply download items and print them out. Actually, the complexities involved with just printing ANYTHING: leveling a build plate, prepping it, selecting an appropriate filament type, choosing the optimal orientation for strength and support during printing, etc!So, why not 5 stars? I feel that several of the photographs would benefit from higher resolution and color. For example, the artwork on page 22, the final product on page 248 and the two on the bottom of page 311 might be really interesting works, but they just look like muddy black and white photographs. I think the inclusion of a few full-color pages to showcase some of the more interesting final products would be helpful. In my opinion, this book should be paired with a pre-existing understanding of how to use some kind of 3D modeling software, or an introductory book/tutorial on one.

First off it’s important for parents to know “What are Makerspaces” – they’re a place in which people with shared interests, especially in computing or technology, can gather to work on projects while sharing ideas, equipment, and knowledge. They can be found in classrooms, the library, the community center, the church recreation room or the Y. In this case the book is focused on 3D Printer Projects.The range of hardware and software that this book is targeted to are the most popular ones out there today. The modeling programs are AutoDesk Fusion 360, Meshmixer, Tinkercad, 123D Design, AutoCAD, SketchUp Make & Pro, Inkscape, and Fuel 3D Studio. The four printers used are: MakerBot Replicator 2, MakerBot Mini+, Gcreate Gmax 1.5 XT+ and LulzBot Taz6. Now be aware that I volunteer at the local library and they have just set up a new 3D Printer Room in their Homework and Learning Lab so before I ordered this book I checked that it would be compatible with the “technical stuff” they had available.In my instruction period to be a volunteer in this area I found the book helpful, indeed, and I actually used it to make several project on my own, though it was not part of the curriculum. When the day came for the kids to start the program I found several of them actually more knowledgeable than our “expert” and I found some thumbing through my book with interest.There are 20 Projects in all: Architectural Symbol Coaster, Military Insignia Soap Mold, Hanging Lampshade, Reality Capture of a Buddha Charm, Lens Cap Holder, Phone Stand and many others. Each project starts with things you’ll need. It then takes you step by step with lots of pictures and illustrations ends with “Print it!” Those expecting to learn how to make prosthetics for war veterans or animatronics worthy of Disney will be disappointed but as they say, you have to start somewhere.Now I have to admit that as an “older” lady I found these projects challenging. The book is also a great starting place for finding websites and resources that will further the learning experience.