Over the weekend I attended a workshop in Shanghai at Xin Che Jian 新车间. The topic was 3D Printing and it was held in a space adequately equipped to make stuff. By that I mean there are cables, wires, pieces of electronics, boxes and all manner of things strewn all over the place. You can tell it’s the kind of place where people get busy. As Lucio, our instructor, put it, this place is about making not talking.
After an introduction, we got started. All attendees had been asked to download and install software prior to the workshop, so we were able to get started quickly, with Lucio getting the 3D printers printing and then teaching us how to use the software, Cura and Repetier.
After spending some time creating our own 3D models, or downloading them, we customized settings in Cura and Repetier to create a 3D printable file. I downloaded a Shark from thingiverse.com, made some adjustments in Cura and commenced printing. In less than 15 minutes I had a brand new plastic shark toy.
Having had an introduction to 3D printing, I’m definitely intrigued. The possibilities are endless, bound only by our own imaginative powers. The hardware itself, the 3D printer, can be built right at home. Lucio builds his own 3D printers from scratch and has held workshops where people build their own. We will definitely be fiddling more with 3D printing in the coming months.
