The beauty of a class like this one is that everyone seems eager to delve into 3D printing even deeper beyond the scope of the class. I sure would like to. In the immediate future, I will take a break from designing and printing but will be following closely the growth and development of 3D printing. The reason for my hiatus is that I would rather wait until printers are even more accessible and softwares are easier to use. When our paths meat again, I would love to take part in the “printing for good” movement.

Looking back to the beginning of the semester, I would have told my eager self to “take it easy.” Like most people in the class, I expected 3D printers to be the force of magic. It can print absolutely anything easily and give big manufacturers a run for their money. I found out a few weeks later that big dreams must be grounded by the laws of physics. My team went back to the designs with a “reality check” mentality.

One of the biggest frustrations my team had and I personally had was working with SketchUp. The program, as easy it is to use, does not provide us with the flexibility we need to make a printable design. Even moving pieces to the exact place or aligning parts were extremely difficult. Having worked with flat design softwares such as Illustrator, I found the rigidness of SketchUp hard to deal with. The trick is simply to keep going back and revising. On the bright side, I have gained a whole semester worth of 3D designing experiments.

At the beginning of the semester, I was very unsure of what I was going to do with 3D printing. Now I am very certain of my obsession for the Internet of things. I can use 3d printing to prototype the product while dreaming of its functions. I really enjoyed brainstorming the functions that my group’s CoffeeCuff would be able to offer. I can see myself doing the same hybrid functions in the future, except the goal would be to solve social issues, like food shortage.