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3D printing is one of the fastest evolving tools available to engineers today. The ability to turn a 3D CAD model on the screen into a physical object is becoming increasingly valuable in design and development. The availability of cheaper and more accessible 3D printers means that more people than ever before are looking at the technology, but its introduction is often not as straightforward as buying a machine.
Tony Glockler, chief executive of SolidProfessor, says that this was the thinking behind the recent launch by his company of two online courses for 3D printing, one on the background of the technology and another on how to use it.
“People are still confused about 3D printing,” he says. “They don’t know how to apply it in their company. These are the computer-based tools engineers need now, and SolidProfessor courses will help them become proficient with them. You learn in your own time and at your own pace.”
The courses, Introduction to 3D Printing and 3D Printing with Makerbot, are already available to those who have either SolidProfessor for Solidworks or SolidProfessor for Autodesk Inventor. The courses use a combination of concept-based video lessons, hands-on exercises, and skills assessments.
Although the second course is specific to one type of 3D printer, the range is being expanded to include other machines and software, says Glockler. He adds that the courses are useful for benchmarking people to ensure a minimum level of proficiency.
Jason Wright, head of content development at SolidProfessor, says: “3D printing is ushering in a new age of reconnecting designers with manufacturing. ‘Micro-facturing’ and mass customisation are permeating and changing industry as a whole. We decided to bring our members on this course because we believe that 3D printing is an important component of the future of the computer-aided design industry.”
But if you’d rather digitise actual objects into 3D CAD models than 3D print CAD models, you need a scanner. Andrei Vakulenko, chief business development officer at Artec 3D, says his company is selling more handheld 3D scanners as people find more and more applications for them. “They’ve been used in the US to scan President Obama to make a bust; in Australia to scan sharks; and doctors are using them to scan brains. Our scanners and software make it easy to create the 3D CAD models,” he says.
Artec 3D, which was originally based in Russia, offers two models of handheld 3D scanner, the higher specification Space Spider and the regular Spider. Both can scan to a point resolution of 0.05mm. The Space Spider features temperature stabilisation technology to ensure repeatability. Users buy the software that integrates the scanner’s data into 3D CAD software. The devices work by projecting a grid pattern on the object and calculating its deformation, then stitching together highly accurate images.
“It’s the only product that can scan shiny and black objects without markers. But you do need some train-ing to get the best results,” says Vakulenko.