MAKING: Workshop at Orchard NLB on 3D Printing

It’s no longer expensive and impractical for one to print your own accessories or figurines in a matter of minutes. Just last weekend, I attended the MAKING (3D printing workshop) at Orchard NLB. After attending another event in the Orchard library in March, I saw a group doing 3D printing, and put my name down their mailing list so that I would be informed the next time they have another workshop on 3D printing.

MAKING Sessions

In the first session, we learnt the basics of 3D design: introduction to 3D printing, modelling software, printers and had a hands-on session and created a small accessory. It’s a name sign, which I now used as an accessory for my key pouch (Image 1). In Image 2, you can see the process of a name sign being printed using the Ultimaker2.

MAKING session, clockwise from top-left: 1. My name sign accessory ; 2. Ultimaker2 printing a name sign; 3. Clip for sealing opened food packaging; 4. 3D printer (in-progress) created using Ultimaker2.

MAKING session, clockwise from top-left: 1. My name sign accessory ; 2. Ultimaker2 printing a name sign; 3. Clip for sealing opened food packaging; 4. 3D printer (in-progress) created using Ultimaker2.

 

The software that we used is 123D Design, which is a free software suitable for beginners, from AUTODESK, the company that owns Autocad.

In Session 2, we were introduced to 3D scanning, where we could have our face scanned. In this session, we had a hands-on activity where we created a clip (Image 3) that we can use for sealing open food packaging. In the workshop, we won’t be able to get the figurine and clip printed but if you volunteer some time with the library and help out at the 3D printing workshops, you could get these (or other objects) printed for free using the facilities.

Session 3 is a short session that only took about an hour and we were briefed on the 3D printer basics: printer parts and what are the common issues with printing (e.g. warping/lifting/stringing/grinding/clogged nozzle).

Cura is a free to download software from the company that manufactures Ultimaker but this software could be adapted for use with other printers. It’s open-sourced so the settings of the software could be changed. I was thrilled to hear that Cura can convert photograph (2D image) into a 3D file, but was disappointed to see that the sample 3D objects printed were of bad quality. My imagination of being able to convert my photographs into amazing 3D objects were dashed.

3D printers in industrial settings have the ability to print with wood, textile etc, and the facilitator shared that metal bridges and even houses have been printed using 3D printers. So, it might be in a matter of years when we print our own furniture, clothing and even food (yikes!).

Details of Workshop

For those who are interested to sign up for the free workshop at Orchard NLB, you can go to the NLB website to get more information about registration. Or if you’re at Orchard NLB, check with the librarians on how to register.

The sessions are conducted on 3 days:
Saturday and Sunday (11 am to 2 pm) and the following Monday (7 pm to 9 pm).
From what I understand, they currently have one session per month.

Do note you don’t have to know any 3D modelling software or programming to learn about 3D printing at this workshop. Basic computer skills — click, drag, drop and scroll — would suffice.

If you happen to be around Orchard NLB on a Sunday from 2 pm to 5 pm, you could also see a group of 3D enthusiasts creating a 3D printer (Image 4: product in-progress) by printing some of the parts using the Ultimaker. I heard that the group would be finishing their product this weekend.