Through this process I was able to get a better understanding for 3D printing and the endless creative possibilities you can have with it. I clearly save space and time, because a lot of items are made in big factories that take up a tremendous amount of space. Plus, from talking to Prof. Sheehand-Zaldana, the time that it takes to get an item back after it is sent out for manufacturing could take a while; it could be across the country or even in a different country. So, 3D printing looks like it could save a lot of heartaches. You’re saving the planet too, because when I built the sneakers from what I could find in my local hardware store I was wasting a lot of the material; with mistakes and from what is left over from the prototype. Whereas, with 3D printing you can clearly see in the videos that there is virtually no or very little wasted during the process. This came at an interesting time, because I am making a trip to Hong Kong to speak to some manufacturing factories, but now I’m thinking twice about possibly wasting my money when I could purchase a 3D printer and made this process cheaper and quicker turnaround. I’m really interested to see what will come in the near future, because it seems that we can get a lot done with the printers that are available. It’s kind of scary thinking about the future, whats real, fake, and what is reality? Do I hide from it or do I conform and contribute to this idea, I say conform! As a designer and builder I could produce things at a much faster rate, produce more, or even alter something so that it’s customer fitter. The steps taken for the area of expertise has allowed me to understand that doing your research on a market is important, because you want to be an individual. The ironic thing is that a 3D printer will allow you to be an individual, and when you look at the market trends you could do something better or differently.

I wasn’t able to print the sneaker sole that I designed, but I made a prototype by hand and made a sketchup version that can easily go to printing.

http://recreus.com/en/free-3d-models/24sneaker-by-recreus.html#.VJTCMJ0HDA

With a specially made rubber you can print out your own sneakers. There are some modifications to your 3d printer that are needed, like a new tip bit that will allow you to print the rubber. You can see that with 3D printing the manufacturing process changes drastically, you could print it in about 20 hours and at a much cheaper price than hand making the traditional way.

I did some market research to see how 3D printing could be applied to shoe design.

An amazing designer named Earl Stewart highlights some amazing things you could do with a 3D printer. http://cargocollective.com/earlstewart/XYZ-SHOE

Even Nike has ventured into the 3D printing market, by printing the sole for their cleats.

New Balance has allowed their customers to custom make the sole of their shoes to fit their preference. 

3D printing has even crossed over to fashion, and some high end fashion designers too.

I did some extensive research on the internet, but it wasn’t very helpful and seemed like in every direction someone was just trying to sell me something, or trying to make me take their class. I went onto Youtube, but the problem there was that a lot of information wasn’t disclosed; It seems like people were trying to keep some aspect of their design a secret. So, I went and did some reach on a couple of books and found one that was pretty simple. It was the perfect amount of information that spelled everything our for you.  It gave very insightful tips along with details on how to get through easy process.

How to apply these findings to 3D printing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsq8T-zK4ks

The process seems very long and seems like it requires a lot of materials that I don’t have. It also looks like a lot of machinery is required to get certain aspect of the sneaker/ shoes done. I think these three processes highlight the 3 different ways of making the sole of a sneaker/ shoe. The first video is done by making molds for the sole and then attaching the top half. The mold seem like it’s a pretty lengthy process that could take a couple of hour or even day.The second video they are using a machine press to force the rubber into a shape, that can then be place on the top half afterwards. The third video is a very long process, where its like they are assembling a Ford Model, there are many steps and require manpower and machines.

The thing that I would like to question is, if, it is possible to shorten one of these processes?

I have selected a general topic on what it is that I would look further into, and it is fashion. There are a lot of different route I could go when comes to fashion.

Clothing: I could look at the different ideas that are floating around and see what direction clothing is going in.

Shoes: I could look at how 3D printing will change what we put on our feet.

Accessories: Look into how we can personalize individual pieces

This course has molded me in a way that has forced me to become a vicious animal, because that’s just the nature of design; survive or be eaten alive. As a designer you have to continually fight for what you believe in and follow it all the way through its completion. If your heart isn’t in it 100% then it will reflect in your work and how efficient you are with your work. Looking back at when I first came into the class, I didn’t think that I would be where I am today. I was a complete wreck on the first day of class and I felt overwhelmed with everything, because I had all of this work being throw at me from all different direction; It was just an overload of new concepts that I was introduced to. After a while you begin to catch on to these concepts, and this is the beginning of your transformation into this vicious animal; only you can unlock your inner beast. The general nature of the class is for you to seek the truths that you are interested in and to unlock them, or further develop them. There were many different paths to go down while taking this class, so this freedom made it different and more intellectually stimulating. You could be as random as you could possibly think of or be very narrow with your thought, and still be able to develop some ability. For me, I was able to get in touch with a little bit of everything, since I sent myself down that path. I really wanted to take the most of what I could get out of this experience and felt like it did. I definitely developed my design skills, with the various assignments that involved creating something and making it come to life; whether it was the array of objects printed with sketchup, or the development of the final project. My business skills; with the final project I was able to learn new terms that lead to new concepts and how to apply them. My interpersonal skills; one of the hardest thing to overcome was dealing with my group member during the final, all of these opinions and personalities coming together as one doesn’t always mean you think in unison. It has tough me the value of my work ethic and how much of a leader I could be, this was something that I noticed when began to work on the final project. Coming into the class I felt from the beginning that what was being tought was on the same frequency as my brain, so I wouldn’t tell myself to do anything different from what I did in the class; just continue to rely on that inner beast.

Reading the Fabricated book has definitely helped me grasp a better understand for for 3D printing as a whole and has answered a lot questions that were running through my mind that were pertaining to 3D printing. There were various topics that were covered in the book, some that stood out to me that I gravitated towards were; 3D printing in the medical field, and the legal implications that arises with 3d printing. The medical field could really change for the better as a whole from 3D printing, since this industry is on the cusp of making some revolutionary improvements for people as a whole. Something that really stood out to me was the fact that they could print human cells to regenerate the part of the body that needs fixing; like organs for an example. There are some roadblocks that are preventing it from moving forward, things like funding and the fact that this technology is still in early development are holding it back. We saw this in various places like with printing human cells to regenerate parts of the human body. We are able to print organs, but problem is if the organs will withstand the test of time. We have also seen this with printing prosthetic limbs, getting the right algorithms to produce a balanced and ergonomically correct limb; this will benefit the patient from having complications with they prosthetic. All of this takes time and a lot of man-hours to get the trails done. All of this directly affect the where the funding is coming from and whether or not an insurance company will cover items like 3D printed prosthetics. The legal implications are very interesting, because I have always questioned what the limits are and what is really stopping me from printing something like a Ferrari? In my eyes, nothing really. So this is where it is crucial to have regulations on 3D printed objects. Things need to be regulated, because you want to make sure that all the objects are approved and screened before being printed. Some things to keep in mind with this are whether objects are safe or will they be a safety hazard to the person that is printing them.  This is where trademarks and copyrights to protect the consumer, but also protect the designer with their ideas.

One area of interest that I would like to learn more about is the impact that 3D printing has on fashion. I chose this topic to study, because I think fashion is a direct connection to who you are as a person and what you value. The things that people are wearing can be very insightful and tell you almost everything you need to know about a person. It can tell you what kind of personality they have, or be as person as going all the way to their social status. It’s art and it is a form of self-expression. Things that I would like to know is how and what impact has 3D printing had on the fashion world? Will plastic take over fabric? Will 3D printing get so advanced that you could print your clothing out for the day, and maybe recycle the materials to make a new outfit the next day? How efficient is it? What are its limitations at the moment? Is use for things aside from articles of clothing, like printing a specific needle needed to sew something? How do the people running the fashion world feel about this new technology having an influence on their industry? Who is currently using this technology? How does it affect the pricing of things? 3D printing has disrupted the fashion world in many ways, an article of clothing doesn’t have to be a piece of fabric anymore, and art that you would think be longs in a museum can now be worn. It has also changed the way of thinking, because now there are endless possibilities when it comes to the design process. The accessories that are used are now evolving, because now you can make things that are intricately done at a much faster pace and without them being a one off. I would really like to learn about how the forms and the human body harmonize to these uniques pieces work. I also want to learn more about shoes making with 3D printing, since I have a sneaker/shoe addiction.  I would also possibly like to design a pair of shoes to print out, having them be cost effective and feel great on the feet.

Noa Raviv combines grid patterns and 3D printing for Hard Copy fashion collection

N12 3D-printed bikini by Continuum Fashion and Shapeways

3D-printed dress for Dita Von Teese by Michael Schmidt and Francis Bitonti

Nike combines Flyknit and 3D printing to design American football boots