I’m pretty new to 3D printing - I got my first printer about a year ago. But I have lots of experience in wood and metal fabrication, and I’ve really been enjoying comparing my new tool to other machines like the lathe, cnc router, and welder I’m more used to.

Specifically, I’m interested in the unique strengths and weaknesses of 3D printing as compared to other fabrication methods. Like wood, 3D prints have a grain, and this grain determines the strength of parts in specific applications. Certain shapes are well suited to 3D printing while others are more difficult or impossible; subtractive machining has related but different constraints because of the relationship between the material and the tool path.

What’s more, 3D printing is changing fast! In the brief time I’ve had my printer, there have been a number of significant software and hardware changes in the consumer printer field.

I thought it would be fun to convene a discussion of this with Campers - I suspect we’ll be able to compare our experiences in printing and come away with a better understanding for the potential in the art. What are the unique functional and aesthetic opportunities we gain through 3D printing?

Bring anything you’ve printed for show-and-tell (at Camp, or elsewhere)! Or bring things you hope to print…