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Tinkercad -- A free, web-based 3D design software by Autodesk. Tinkercad has an extremely simple interface, and is a good place to start for those with little 3D Design experience
Make: -- Make: is a magazine dedicated to all things maker-related. See their website for project ideas, purchasing ideas for 3D printers, and information on upcoming Maker Faires
Blender -- An open source 3D Design software. Blender is more sophisticated than Tinkercad and requires a higher learning curve, but the software is powerful, and Blender offers design tutorials on their website
Shapeways -- Shapeways is a New York-based 3D printing company that lets users submit 3D printing orders in a wide range of materials. Have a piece of jewelry you've designed, or want to design? You can send it to Shapeways, who will print it in plastic, stainless steel, or even gold.
Design for 3D Printing
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France's Le FabShop has extensive experience testing 3D printers and creating digital models for them. From an articulated Makey Robot to a posable elephant model, Samuel N. Bernier and the rest of Le FabShop's team have created some of the most-printed designs in the 3D printing world. This book uses their work to teach you how to get professional results out of a desktop 3D printer without needing to be trained in design. Through a series of tutorials and case studies, this book gives you the techniques to turn a product idea into a 3D model and a prototype. Focusing on free design software and affordable technologies, the exercises in this book are the perfect boost to any beginner looking to start designing for 3D printing. Designing for the tool and finding a good tool to fit the design--these are at the core of the product designer's job, and these are the tools this book will help you master. Foreword by Carl Bass, Autodesk's CEO, a passionate and prolific Maker. In Design For 3D Printing, you'll: Learn the different 3D printing technologies Choose the best desktop 3D printer Discover free 3D modeling software Become familiar with 3D scanning solutions Find out how to go from a bad to a good 3D source file, one that's ready-to-print
3D Printing Projects
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Even if you've never touched a 3D printer, these projects will excite and empower you to learn new skills, extend your current abilities, and awaken your creative impulses. Each project uses a unique combination of electronics, hand assembly techniques, custom 3D-printed parts, and software, while teaching you how to think through and execute your own ideas. Written by the founder of Printrbot, his staff, and veteran DIY authors, this book of projects exemplifies the broad range of highly personalized, limit-pushing project possibilities of 3D printing when combined with affordable electronic components and materials. In Make: 3D Printing Projects, you'll: Print and assemble a modular lamp that's suitable for beginners--and quickly gets you incorporating electronics into 3D-printed structures. Learn about RC vehicles by fabricating--and driving--your own sleek, shiny, and fast Inverted Trike. Model a 1950s-style Raygun Pen through a step-by-step primer on how to augment an existing object through rapid prototyping. Fabricate a fully functional, battery-powered screwdriver, while learning how to tear down and reconstruct your own tools. Get hands-on with animatronics by building your own set of life-like mechanical eyes. Make a Raspberry Pi robot that rides a monorail of string, can turn corners, runs its own web server, streams video, and is remote-controlled from your phone. Build and customize a bubble-blowing robot, flower watering contraption, and a DIY camera gimbal.
The Maker's Manual
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The Maker's Manual is a practical and comprehensive guide to becoming a hero of the new industrial revolution. It features dozens of color images, techniques to transform your ideas into physical projects, and must-have skills like electronics prototyping, 3d printing, and programming. This book's clear, precise explanations will help you unleash your creativity, make successful projects, and work toward a sustainable maker business. Written by the founders of Frankenstein Garage, which has organized courses since 2011 to help makers to realize their creations, The Maker's Manual answers your questions about the Maker Movement that is revolutionizing the way we design and produce things.