3D Printing: The Importance of Patience and Teamwork

For our final 3D printing project, me and my partner Emily created this abstract structure by combining the concepts and ideas that we generated separately into a brand new form. By analyzing our models and working together to create a brand new design, we were able to sucessfully create a unique and interesting 3D-printable structure that combines both of our artistic voices into one.

    We first started by examining the models we generated from the idea process of this project. We took each model into consideration as to how it would form into a proper structure, and eventually settled on the hourglass shape that I had created, and the twisting support beams that Emily had created. We also originally wanted to incoperate Emily's heart-shaped design and the arch, but they were both cut due to not being easy to print. We did however split the arch in half, which can be seen in our final product.

My Models

Emily's Models

We did some early process sketches that aided us in creating our final design. As you can see, a lot of changes were made when comparing our sketches to the final product, but this is common in the design process. It's all about getting as many ideas out in the open as possible.

Final Model

Final Rendered Model

Once we had a model that we were both happy with, we started the 3D printing process. However, this next step came with a lot of issues. It took us three tries to get the model to fully print, as there were a lot of technical difficulties involed. Not only that, but our first model was much smaller than anticipated as well. However, everything worked out in the end and our model was printed perfectly.

This project combined many of the skills I've learned throughout this course along with introducing new ones. The main focus on patience and teamwork were especially helpful. I think that me and Emily worked well together when creating this project and even through difficulties, we were able to work around them and push forward, which is always a great skill to have. I am very proud of both of us and the things we were able to accomplish.