3D Printing Projects

I enjoy 3D printing as a means to practice design and CAD skills, but moreso as a means to solve practical problems in daily life. I've used a variety of CAD programs to create modles for printing - mostly Autodesk Inventor and CATIA, though I've also tried OpenSCAD for some programatically generated objects. Some recent projects include wall mounts for a canoe paddle, stackable kitchen knife trays, and hard drive mounts. To achieve best results design for manufacturing becomes critical. Considering how the object(s) will be positioned during printing, and designing features for the anisotropic material properties greatly improve project outcomes.

Many models are often available online, however customisation can provide greater functionality, and in some cases flexibility due to easily edited model constraints. The CAD process after ideation has many parallels to the structured problem solving used in programming. Breaking down a problem into individual functions which can be repeated, combined, and assembled to produce a product capable of solving more complex problems well.