I had an idea in 1987, that needed both technology and hardware that really didn’t exist until now.
3D printing allows you to shape your product in impossible ways compared to conventional manufacture. You are in control, heady stuff if you have never been there. It’s not just turnaround speed between design and actuality, it’s the knowledge that you can shape your world like never before. You can be a Steve Jobs, all you need is the idea.
In my case it is an idea that was simple, yet complex, and it needed a housing strong enough for the task, printed at a cost that encouraged you to try, but not which would break the bank.
The quality of the resulting print is good enough to go into manufacture immediately, using this as a template, which I will.
3D Quick Printing helped greatly along the way, their encouragement and advice I value. It can be very off-putting to sit down with a 3D design package, mine of choice was Google’s Sketchup, and it takes time to learn how to make watertight models with no holes. I’d recommend it for ease of use, but it is quirky, so be patient.
Remember to allow for mating clearances of about 4mm, it could probably be tightened to 3mm, but it helps to allow some room between mating surfaces.
When you get your design back, wait a bit. It takes time to accept the difference between what you wanted and what you get. For some reason, maybe the instant nature of the process, you feel a little unhappy, but if you’ve thought everything through, it then makes sense. Now I am more than happy, because I see admiration in others faces, when they see it, and perhaps a little envy.
I can’t tell you what this does, I’d like to think you will know someday. Perhaps you might own one, I’d like to say probably.
Bob Stewart
Mull – Scotland
