A few months ago I attended a mini Silicon Beach Fest at Idealab in Pasadena. Even though it was on the agenda 3D printing was not on my radar. I was there for sessions on content and blogging but decided to arrive earlier to take in the other sessions. No surprise 3D printing is even more the rage than it was then. Not only is it a game changer for assembly based businesses. The technology is spurring a lot of entrepreneurial creativity.
By the end of the panel “Printing Money: How to Make 3D Printing Pay Off for Your Startup” I knew I was going to sign up for a couple of classes for beginners offer by Pasadena’s Art Center of Design and entrepreneur Diego Porquerias’ company Deezmaker!
The insights provided by panelists Joseph Chiu, Founder of ToybuilderLabs.com, Bruce Dominguez and David Cawley of Art Center, Diego Porquerias, Dan Newman, Co-Author of Sailfish open source firmware for 3D printers and Leslie Oliver Karpas, CEO and Co-founder of Metamason made me see 3D printing in a very different light.
There is great potential for use in math education as relates to Algebra and Geometry as students can design and create objects that make the study of area and volume less abstract. Joseph Chiu gave the example of the inventor with an idea to eliminate the annoying wobbling of the Square card reader attached to your mobile phone as you swipe the credit card. To test designs and aid with proof of concept generally inventors have to pay for their designs to be prototyped and tooled by a manufacturer. That would have cost the inventor roughly $6,000. Instead he bought a 3D printer, I believe on made by Deezmaker for about $600. Not only did he make his own prototypes but he continues to use the machine to manufacture products for sale. He is literally making more than 500% profit per piece.
Students studying 3D and learning on a variety of different 3D printer have the potential for specialized jobs in their future. And an area of education for profit has developed in training people the skill of using the equipment and programming for 3D printing.
As prices go down the panel, and I, visualize seeing something at Wal-Mart or in a catalog and going home and making it yourself using your very own 3D printer. Of course in that regard we were cautioned the laws of engineering and feasibility still apply. In other words 3D printing your own mug does not mean it will not melt in the microwave, or even be toxic as a result of limitations on materials used in the process — or 3D printing something as one solid object when in fact to be structurally sound, sturdy and functional it needs braces, nuts, bolts, hinges and brackets. It is as a result of the fact that engineer principles still hold that the panel pointed out that the idea of anyone being able to 3D print any object is much easier said than done.
Still I am looking forward to my beginner’s class in 3D printing. I am thinking of it like taking ceramics for the digital age!
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