My Foray into 3D Printing Software-Computer Aided Design

Our assignment is to experiment with various kinds of 3D printing software. I chose Tinkercad, Rhino, and 3DTin. I also was attracted to playing withSculptris, and out of all of them, this one I had the most fun with. So here is what I was able to do in 3D tin. The things I like about it were that you weren't instantly bogged down with tons of icons. It was easy to use for the most part. I did not like how it compared to Tinkercad, rotating your shapes was a bit more involved than just point, click and drag. The geometry builder was also slow loading, and I would get errors if I tried to use more than 5. Overall, not my favorite, but a good free software, none the less.

Fab Lab Rings Link: http://www.3dtin.com/2a0r

Rhino was intimidating from the start. There were many, many icons, a command box at the top, and informational boxes on the right. I started out with a simple tutorial until I discovered the info boxes on the right were just as helpful. The 4 different perspective boxes are new and different, but easy to adjust to. I enjoyed playing with layers you could put on your shapes. There is a lot you can do with this program, and I am intrigued enough to continue playing with it. A nice feature is that you can repeatedly download it for free, so it never costs money to use. I did not think anyone would want this file, so I did not save it.

Tinkercad can be lots of fun once you get the hang of it. The icons are easy to use and you don't get overwhelmed with tons of tiny icons from the start. I enjoyed building things in Tinkercad. Moving your shapes around on the grid feels easier when you only have to point, click, and drag. Something to keep in mind is that Tinkercad is owned by Autodesk, so it might not be around forever! On the left I have started building a silverware basket for the dishwasher. The ring on the right was successfully 3D printed!

Basket Link: Download & Ring Link: Download

Scupltris was the most fun to play around with. Anything you build in scupltris can also be uploaded to tinkercad. This is something I plan on playing with more in the future!