WTFFF?! 3D Printing Podcast Volume Three: 3D Print Tips | 3D Print Tools | 3D Start Point

Since it first took off, the 3D printing industry has reached a certain level of maturity, and the WTFFF 3D Print Podcast has been there since 2015 to document its development. After airing well over 500 episodes since it started, Tom and Tracy Hazzard finally wrap up Volume 3 of the podcast to make way for more exciting things to come. 3D printing has always been a part of Tom and Tracy's lives. Now, they are thrilled to embark on an even more exciting journey as they collaborate with Hewlett-Packard to do a special series. Make sure to tune in and don't forget to subscribe!

After waiting to disclose, Tom shares a 3D printing project that he has completed for Amazon – the 3D Printed Echo Dot Holder Project. As a great real-world 3D product example, Tom takes us into the entire process of how the project came to be which involved rapid design and production. Amazon reached out for a product that will not only hold up their Echo Dot but support a brand as well. Tom shares his experience together with some practical lessons that he learned along the way – from handling a two-color print to the difference in sizes between the CAD file and what the 3D printer prints.

After some time where things took a downturn, 2019 saw a resurgence of 3D printing. Tom recaps his trip to the CES 2019 and lets you in on the cool things to see this year. He talks about the advances in 3D scanning, 3D printing, as well as new applications and capabilities. Reflecting on where the progress of 3D printing is heading, Tom shares his thoughts on the future of the industry – from where the prices are headed as well as the quality. He also gives out some of the interesting companies that are paving their own way in 3D printing

Former guest and STEM mentor Brian Bobbitt gives an update on the STEM education curriculum program and 3D printing. He shares his insights on the new generation of students and their capacity to pick up software and projects a lot faster. Complimenting his journey as an educator, he brings one of his students, Jacob Spurling, who gives a first-hand account of the school's program while sharing some of his projects. Jacob also talks about his process of executing his own projects and some insights that he has learned. Together, Brian and Jacob inspires schools to push the STEM education for more students to learn more and get quality experience about 3D printing.

According to a recent report by Microsoft, girls and young women remain less likely to pursue education and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math; in short, STEM. In that regard, the lack of representation of women in STEM-related careers continues to grow as an area of focus. Mary Hadley from MakerGirl talks about their Girl STEM Education and mentorship program. MakerGirl is an organization that started in 2014 at the University of Illinois that introduces young girls in the Champaign-Urbana area to the exciting world of STEM fields through 3D printing sessions and creative activities. They have over 3,000 girls that have gone through their program since then. Their goal is to show girls that they can be both analytical and creative in one space.

There are several markets now that are very viable for 3D printing, and that's what Steve Crimi, CEO of Goldsol, Inc., is looking at right now. Steve, along with his business partner and wife, Brenda, sells lots of different products on Amazon in particular. He has spent his lifetime owning and operating successful businesses in the industries of electrical, energy efficiency, and LED lighting. Steve recognizes that 3D-printed end-use products, not just prototyping, are here to stay, and it's a very big market in and of itself. Very recently, the US government is charging product importers a tariff of 10% percent, increasing to 25% at the beginning of next year. The vast majority of products purchased in the United States being imported, Steve knows importation may just not be cost effective anymore. Steve takes a look at how import tariffs may accelerate 3D-printed consumer goods.

The story of a woman named Grace is something we can all relate to. Grace is an adult living in Texas and she was a first-time homeowner about two years ago. As soon as she signed the mortgage papers, she had every home security company on earth descending on their new home pretty much the day after they moved in. One particular home security system salesperson broke the plastic button that you push on the doorbell after ringing it too many times and frustrated that she's not answering. Grace was unable to get a replacement after checking out the usual places – Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace Hardware – and finally thought about having it 3D printed. She takes the whole doorbell unit and dropped it off at this company. Two days later, the doorbell was ready for pickup. It's fixed, it worked, but it was not what she had expected. This goes to show that having something 3D printed isn't as simple as finding somebody with a 3D printer and giving them a few bucks. Learn some important points you need to discuss with your 3D print maker to make sure you're on the same page and getting what you want.

“What does it going to take for 3D printing to top and be more wisely adopted by manufacturers of products to become a more integrated and integral part of manufacturing around the world?” This is the question that Tom was inspired to answer while watching an interview of the CEO of MarkForged, Greg Mark. Struck by his answer that points to the role of engineers, Tom goes and gives his take on how these engineers will be the path to the 3D Print tipping point. He touches on the aspects of manufacturing, prototyping, and the demands of the consumer market to point out other factors that could push the industry besides engineering.

Technologies have truly evolved that something as expensive as a metal 3D printing machine can now be offered as a desktop metal 3D printing machine and be accessible to a number of audience with the help of media. However, this could lead to many people think of the industry lightly. Tom goes deep into the processes of two companies, Desktop Metal and MarkForged. He highlights their similarities as well as dissimilarities in order to compare and contrast which one is more admirable. Talking also of the media published of the machines produced, he points out the tendency to gloss over the quality. Going back to Desktop Metal, he shares his words and review on whether it is a breakthrough in the metal 3D printing industry or not.

We've seen 3D printers showing up in more dramatic TV series like Grey's Anatomy in a recent season and among a lot of other TV shows. The general public has this perception that 3D printing is easy, but that's just not the reality of it. It's no surprise that the general public does not understand the amount of time, effort, and work it takes to go and make anything on a 3D printer that is a complete usable item or product design. Unless you do it yourself and you've studied it, you've been taught it, or you bought your own 3D printer and started learning CAD software on your own the hard way just to explore it, you're not going to know that it's going to take hours and hours. Tom debunks some of the 3D printing myths to help illuminate the eyes of the general public about the realities of 3D printing.

Any of you following the 3D print industry couldn't help but see that an awful lot has happened in the courts and in the government with 3D printing, in particular regarding 3D-printed firearms. Cody Wilson was the first person to create a 3D printable gun and the plans for a 3D printable gun way back in 2013 or so. A big part of a documentary movie about 3D printing, Print the Legend, tells the early story of Cody and his 3D-printed gun which he put it out there and made it available for the world to download and print their own guns. Eventually, he was shut down by the government. Putting all the regulatory stuff aside, the bigger concern is the copyright issue. Tom delves into the topic of intellectual property and copyright violation in the 3D printing industry.

Dental technology has come a long way since you got braces back in 80s. Now with advanced dental 3D printing as an option, treatment for patients has grown faster and more reliable than ever. The possibilities of high resolution polymer 3d printing are truly endless, with companies fighting to dominate several areas, including digital dentistry. One such company is SprintRay, a 3D Printer manufacturer that has revolutionized conventional fabrication methods in dentistry. Faraz Abidi, Head of Software at SprintRay, discusses how they delivered the Moonray 3D printers to over a thousand dentist offices, putting the power of 3D printing directly into the hands of their customers. SprintRay's founders – Amir Mansouri and Hossein Bassir – were two PhDs out of University of Southern California who did original research on Additive Manufacturing, also known as 3D printing. Faraz Abidi started with Sprintray after meeting Amir Mansouri at USC's on-campus research lab called Contour. After Sprintray had very successful launch on Kickstarter, Faraz joined the team to help them execute orders for the backers. Now SprintRay has become a runaway success, taking the 3D printing industry to a whole another level.

For hardware companies, it has become very challenging to compete in that market. Recovering rocket scientist Joan Horvath and hacker Rich Cameron team up to form Nonscriptum when they realized nobody's doing any training and authored quite a few books on 3D printing. Joan shares that something that's been really valuable for them is writing books and teaching 3D printing to try to change how people teach math and science by using 3D prints. Their fascinating partnership works well because it presents two great sides to 3D printing, the educational and the professional side, which are so important because there's a balance in what you have to teach and what you have to learn between the two sides. What's important to education and what's important in terms of the technical side or the design side of things. Learn more about Joan and Rich's great perspectives to the industry and the education platform.

Coming from the engineering sector, Blake Teipel, President and co-Founder of Essentium, has always been looking at how to advance supply chains and how to advance manufacturing solutions in a wide variety of industries. Partnering with BASF, Blake is disrupting traditional manufacturing processes by bringing strength and speed together without compromising the material set. He shares that they're committed to creating industrial 3D printing solutions for the world's top manufacturers to bridging the gap between 3D printing and machining. Blake talks about the industrial or heavy duty use of 3D printing materials and shares what new tools are available on the market today.

PLA filament has been the most common 3D printing filament, especially in desktop 3D printing in home and educational environments. The reasons are that it's pretty easy to print, the temperature required to print is pretty low, and most importantly there are no toxic fumes that are emitted. A material that's been in development for a number of years and has now become a formidable contender is the PETG filament. It has all these wonderful colors and it's got some great qualities in terms of translucency. The print characteristics and settings that you would use for it are very similar to PLA in pretty much all respects in terms of speeds and settings in your average 3D printer. Delve deeper into PETG to know if it's worth switching over and making that shift.

A recent article came out lately that said 3D printing marketplaces like the Shapeways won't last. That not only does a disservice to Shapeways but the whole 3D printing industry as well. The truth is Shapeways 3D Printing Market offers tremendous value. It is a destination for consumers to shop for 3D printed goods or products. It's a place where creators can put their 3D print models up and offer them for sale. The reality is it doesn't matter if we have a place to put up our designs and sell them, unless there is a large audience of site visitors, viewers, shoppers who are going to continue to be driven there. However, if the products are useful and meeting some need or desire those consumers have, then it would become a destination for people to shop.

There have been a lot of changes in the 3D print market in the last year. Some new printers have come out that are really capable at a very affordable price, and there are some that have been discontinued. It's important for an update and a rundown of some of the best 3D printers under $500. There are a lot of good options for a 3D printer under $500 if that's your market. Whether it's for you personally or a gift or even for school, you don't have to spend a fortune to get into it. The 3D printers that are mentioned are ready to go out of the box and don't have to be assembled. Listen on to check out 3D printers under $500 or even less than $300.

There are a lot of different 3D printers available under $500 retail due to a lot of change in the market in the last year. A bunch of new players and a couple of Steady Eddies are doing really well. One of our favorite entry-level 3D printers has been discontinued. This brought on the realization that everything's temporary, and if you're not growing and moving forward, you're shrinking and going backward. Is the 3D print education market saturated then? Does this mean it's reaching a point where a company, even though they have a better product, doesn't have as deep a pocket and not as big a marketing budget? The education market is one of the biggest markets in desktop 3D printing. You've got a lot of people battling it out for that space and it's going to be survival of the fittest.

3D printing is an absolutely wonderful process to create a product, develop it over time, and evolve it with flexibility. 3D printing is also absolutely right on the money and allows you to manufacture things a number of different ways. We reveal an important 3D print project that we have been working on, a Microphone Block, a real world project that we have done for our own business which has evolved over two years and now has reached a certain level of maturity. We delve into the evolution and the production of our project so you can learn great lessons and insights to help you along the way in achieving your goals with using 3D printing.

When you're using your 3D printer and you encounter a problem, what do you do? In these situations, it's always smart to initially employ self-service 3D printing. You try to figure it out and solve it yourself first. If that doesn't work, you could call the company for tech support. A lot of times there are issues that the company can help you solve. However, all too often the manufacturers of 3D printers will quickly tell you to subscribe to their service plan or replace the whole printer. That's not solving the problem. Companies all too quickly punt the ball down the field instead of really trying to solve the problem. They don't really dig deep enough and help you try to find the problem. Learning how to dig deeply into the problem, so you can ask the right question and go through the procedure with your tech support, can help you a great deal.

If you have been 3D printing for a long time, you are most likely one of those people who go through several spools of filament a day. The plastic that filament spools come in pile up over time and you don't really know what to do with them. Steven Gall and his company Keene Village Plastics, one of the original filament manufacturers for the 3D printing industry, came up with a new filament delivery innovation that specifically addresses this dilemma. They introduce and deliver filament coils that come in reusable filament spools that you can buy one time and be able to use repeatedly from that point forward. This innovation not only solves a problem, but is so easy to adopt as a standard that you wonder why it's never been done before.

Running the world's largest magic company, Adam Wilber had to create a lot of magic tricks for his repertoire. As a magician, he wants to create certain types of experiences for people that watch him. Adam discloses that the true magic of 3D printing lies in outsourcing creativity. He is able play within the world of magic, from idea to sketch to design and then to physical things that he uses. Adam gets help from designers and creators all over the world who can take on the tasks that he's never had time to learn. He's learned that this process is just easier and a lot less time consuming, and has enabled him to do a variety of stuff with his ideas that he would never have otherwise been able to do.

With 3D printing where it's at, more and more people are asking about the 3D print speed. How fast does it work? Some people think its magic like a microwave where you can heat something up in a matter of three or five minutes. The reality is it takes time to print something layer by layer. The higher quality you want it, the longer it takes. If you want better quality, 3D print speed does not really matter. It may take ten hours or you may have to print overnight or even multiple days, but it's still a lot faster and it takes a lot less of your own personal labor to make parts that you wouldn't have been able to do ten years ago.

Architects embrace and take on the course for the love of design and designing. Schools and universities teach you, but once you're thrown into the real world, you find out that most of the time, architecture is more about codes and construction and less about the designing aspect. Dimitra Tampaki's mind goes between the scale of a building to the scale of jewelry, and she has successfully pioneered the market. She admits it's a lot of work, but her 3D-printed jewelry designs embody her inspiration from nature and structure. Dimitra shares the breadth and scope of designing her products and how much fun and fulfillment she gets out of it.

The idea of a 3D printer with one nozzle and four filaments going into it is amazing, and the piece of hardware that comes along it would be as equally amazing because it would be able to print one object with four different and solid colors. This is still a complex area in the world of 3D printing and it would be understandable if the actual printer was not coming out soon. However, at the 3D Printer Display Exhibit at SXSW there was a display of a 3D printers with CMYK printing features. While the display piece itself looks promising the features that it promises at that moment was truly questionable, mainly because perfectly printing every pantone color in CMYK is still not achievable. While most 3D printers came out from kickstarters, it is was a wise choice to keep your eyes open for what you're going to be getting.

Tom and Tracy go live from SXSW where they are joined by serial disruptor and digital innovation expert Jay Samit. They dive deeper into the subject of disruptive technology relating to 3D design. Jay focuses on providing virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality solutions for corporate and public sector clients. We're living in this era of endless innovation where the biggest transformation is about to happen. He shares that disruption isn't about what happens to you, it's about how you respond to what happens. In his book Disrupt You!, Jay teaches how you can swim with the currents of change instead of against them, embrace innovation, and propel towards new opportunities, creative challenges, and success.

The Formlabs LA Roadshow 2018 just recently concluded. Formlabs is a Massachussets-based company that designs and manufactures desktop 3D printers and was founded in 2011. The event was attended by over 150 enthusiasts and featured a panels composed of experts in the 3D printing industry. Joining the panel with Tracy was Sarah Reynolds from Hasbro, Aaron Sims from Aaron Sims Creative, and Aaron Bernard from Blizzard, among others. Formlabs showcased their recent developments which highlighted the new 3D printers' capabilities to print very fine details as demo'd by a team from Formlabs. The significant takeaways from the discussions were the importance of having variety and a broader standpoint when building a design team and taking immersive classes to fine-tune skills.

Virtual reality, augmented reality and 3D printing are three high-growth technologies that are making people and businesses see the value they offer. While 3D models are the last media type to go mainstream, 3D printing is going in the direction of VR and AR. George Egbuonu from VR eCards believes that with innovation come early adopters. He shares how his company has been crossing the chasm and his insights how 3D printing can start going mainstream.

If you have a question about 3D printing, 3D Printing Club will have an answer for it. What started as an interest group seven years ago, has now grown organically into a resource space for 3D printing enthusiasts. Al Shuryan created the club out of his interest in making items during the early computer industry. 3D Printing Club provides opportunities to everyone with conversation threads about the best budget printers or the best place to buy filaments. But their ultimate goal is to become a content reservoir to further the education of 3D printing.

When we give kids credit for their creativity and trust them with the skills they learned from us, amazing things happen. Craig Frehlich witnessed this from his students. What's more surprising is when his students were taught the design cycle of 3D printing, instead of designing plastic phone cases they thought of stuff that have more meaning, use and impact. He knows that it will just be a matter of time before their meaningful ideas evolve to a level of efficacy that will help people's lives. Craig explains the two pieces of the their design process education that focuses on kid's research.

Two years ago at CES, we first saw the CEL Robox Dual 3D Printer that promised to 3D print using two colors and two materials. For product designers, this is the solution to single extrusion 3D printers. You can tell that this machine is on a different league right from the label of the box that says “Micro-Manufacturing Platform.” It is recommended that you follow instructions during the hard ware setup, because there will be small inconvenient problems if you don't. The propriety slicing and printer control software is Automaker, for which operating the functions will take a little getting used to. Learn why this 3D printer is the real deal with its claim to be the game changer of the 3D printing industry. To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at info@3dstartpoint.com or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don't forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled podcast episodes!

It is a universal fact that dogs are man's best friend. But there are times when cats can do a better job, like purring to make your brain feel lighter. The story of Sophia the bionic cat starts with army veteran Karolyn Smith who had a difficult time transitioning from her service. Both Sophia and Karolyn were disabled and chose each other as they keep moving forward with their lives. Just like Karolyn's life was saved by technology, she wanted to do the same to Sophia who was found with her umbilical cord tied to her paw. The vets had to amputate the leg. With the help of 3D printing, Karolyn gave her a second chance in life with her prosthetic leg that shed more light to 3D printing innovation. Karolyn shares her inspiring story and how she didn't let her lack of experience and lack of technology stop her from being an entrepreneur. To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at info@3dstartpoint.com or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don't forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled podcast episodes!

Wanting to be an entrepreneur and actually becoming a successful one has a fine line that aspiring 3D print entrepreneurs can cross easily by seeking mentorship. Mentors can further your goal. Advice from experts can help with the mismatch between the product and the market and get your ideas to distribution channels. Learn the steps of moving from aspiration to success. Never feel ashamed of looking for people who can help you to get to your goals.

There's a lot of new technology coming out in the 3D printing industry, like 3D metal printers and now there's SLA desktop printers. Designers and engineers can now work with the machines using prototypes to figure out if their designs will come out the way they want it. This movement has created a demand for new capabilities, making outsourcing less of a challenge for designers and engineers. Jon Bruner sees 3D printers of this kind as a cool set of technology that can be used in immediate manufacturing that is the driving idea behind 3D Digital Factory. Learn how this ongoing program is looking at the digitalization of manufacturing, engineering and design.

The 3D printing industry is once again stepping forward not only for it to tip but also to finally make people see the wide range it can offer. This time the field is making toys through an app called Toy Maker that lets parents 3D print toys with their kids. This is a lovely way to spend time with the the family, but Drew Taylor of AstroPrint also aims for Toy Maker to be a reference app for other 3D print designers to use. The APIs used for the app had an obvious use that AstroPrint saw to help others in the industry. With this simple app for parents, the complexities of the tech and the software and hardware are all taken away to better give enjoyment for parents printing on demand.

The 3D printing industry is moving to a worldwide scale where entrepreneurs are starting to realize not just the market that it can offer but also the unique services that come along with it. Scottish mechanical engineer Daniel McGuire receives 3D business mentorship to help solve some of his startup issues, like how to put value in his time and how to come up with short term goals to make him visible in the market. His mission is to make the everyday person realize what this industry can do for them. Daniels shares how he got started in the 3D printing business and what excites him the most. To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at info@3dstartpoint.com or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don't forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled podcast episodes!

Fused filament fabrication has found its genius little sister in the form of laser metal deposition. The process builds parts layer after layer using the heat of an integrated blue laser. This allows Melanie Lang and FormAlloy to use a shorter wavelength than IR lasers which then allows for a wider range of material processing. Their blow powder system and modular powder feeders allows them to use different materials on the fly. With this technology that was inspired by aerospace engineering needs, they build parts that have complex geometric structures without any support material in deposition 3D printing. Learn more of the processes and materials used with 3D metal machines and how it is becoming a useful tool with flexible design build concepts.

For some people, seven months can pass by just as normally at it should. But Dutchman product designer Philippe Holthuizen managed to disrupt the footwear industry with his 3D printed men's shoes in that time frame. In just a small amount of time, Phillippe was able to achieve a lot in design and development, from styles to texture, using his 3D CAD skills and background in shoe designing. But his bottom line is pretty much the same with other 3D print product designers; to become part of the disruption wave. He wants to share the materials he uses and his processes to the community to help other designers and eventually help push the industry to the tipping point. Learn more of Philippe's design and marketing concepts and how he plans to keep on disrupting. To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at info@3dstartpoint.com or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don't forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled podcast episodes!

During Inside 3D Printing 2017 in San Diego, one big issue that kept coming up was 3D print post processing and how it has become one of the causes of the delay for the progression of the industry. Post processing in 3D print can be defined as painting, finishing, dyeing, plating and polishing. All of which involve coordination with other sources that will translate to logistics issues and timeline expansion. This is the reason why most product designers think that 3D print post processing is missing its mark, because it is still not in that place where it can make products on demand and come out exactly how customers want them. Find out more of the struggles and the solutions and how you can help to make things happen for 3D printing. To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at info@3dstartpoint.com or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don't forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled podcast episodes!

A lot of people often think that they want to change the world, but it is those who want to change themselves first who can actually make that change happen. By looking into your values, you can identify what your strengths are and use it as leverage to make that great impact possible. Combine this with confidence and solving problems will be easier. Take it to the next level and become a part of the disruption wave by working with people with the same goals. Leader in innovation and author of Disrupt You Jay Samit shares how companies can keep up with the disruption and why taking action around the idea has more worth than just having an idea. To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at info@3dstartpoint.com or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don't forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled podcast episodes!

There is no better time than now to start bridging the gap between buyers and 3D print product designers. While there are a handful of reasons why the 3D print industry isn't tipping as fast as it should, there are also a handful of reasons why product designers, manufacturers, buyers and even students still studying the trade need to pool together and start bridging the gaps on design, skills, labor, product and marketing. Learn more about 3D print disrupting retail and ready signs like showroom, last mile delivery and inventory costs. To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at info@3dstartpoint.com or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don't forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled podcast episodes!

Having a physical model to hold in your hands is powerful to a student learning engineering and design. But when Brian Bobbitt started integrating 3D print education to the curriculum, there weren't many resources. With the help of Project Lead The Way, exposure to design and production got easier. Getting a foundational education in CAD at the high school level translated to better skilled transitioning college students later. Brian Bobbit shares how educating the students early can cast away stereotypes and get their interest level high early. To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at info@3dstartpoint.com or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don't forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled Thursday podcast episodes!

Can you imagine a world where you can get information and content on a product right then and there just by pointing your smart phone at it? What could have been just a fantasy twenty years ago is now possible with Augmented Reality. Founder of Revealio Michelle Calloway found a way to use this technology and make human connections that bridges the real world with the virtual world through cards that magically come to life. Learn how augmented reality marketing can empower business owners and make heart-felt connections with their clients. To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at info@3dstartpoint.com or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don't forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled Thursday podcast episodes!

Every manufacturer in the 3D printing industry is looking for the same pool of talents these days; there is a growing need for more engineers and designers. Even with the crop of graduating students coming in, there is still not enough to fill in 3D jobs with the right skill set. Jennifer Killingback of Alexander Daniels Global reveals what they are looking for in candidates from production, programming, post processing, sales and business development. Find out what your LinkedIn profiles should look like to get that phone interview and learn how you can get more involved in the industry by attending expos and cons. To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at info@3dstartpoint.com or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don't forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled Thursday podcast episodes!

Is the 3D printing industry progressing fast enough? Is AI going to take the place of engineers and designers? Such questions were answered in Inside 3D Printing San Diego 2017. Although a smaller event compared from last year, it was the panel track and the attendees that pulled the event together and made the trip worth taking. This turned into a concentrated effort to push and put pressure on the future of the 3D printing industry. Product designers and business owners from Idaho, Colorado and even Guatemala came in to learn what they need to explore and how they can expand in terms of software, material, machinery and clients. To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at info@3dstartpoint.com or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don't forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled Thursday podcast episodes!

Not knowing if there will be enough topics to talk about and interesting guests to interview is every podcaster's worry during their early stages. Tom and Tracy Hazzard asked the same questions in April 2015 and got their answer 500 episodes later. As designers and developers, making 3D print predictions is both exciting and frustrating since a lot of companies have come and gone, but there are new disruptors that even they never saw coming. Listen to their stories of how they look for hidden gems and how after 500 episodes they are still passionate and excited for the progress being made in the 3D print industry. To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at info@3dstartpoint.com or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don't forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled Thursday podcast episodes!

Custom 3D print fashion is a growing trend with the world of fashion shifting to a new phase of design and production. While studying fashion design, Danit Peleg found that design and producing clothes through a desktop 3D printer is a great way to make her fashion ideas come to life, all in the comfort of her home. Learn two processes, equipment and materials she uses when making her clothes and find out why she doesn't consider 3D printed fashion designing a job. To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at info@3dstartpoint.com or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don't forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled Thursday podcast episodes!

I've got introduced to someone that as I was starting to talk with him I thought, “I'm not just going to write an Inc. article about this. I'm going to air the audio for you.” I think it has such great relevance in some of the many things we've talked about filling the design gap. In this case, I'm talking with Taylor Freeman of Upload.io. They are a company that are in San Francisco and Marina del Rey that has these amazing classes that are teaching virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, X reality. It's just an amazing company that is building the University of the Future. They have the coolest space. I've got a little sneak preview from Taylor. I am now going to take Tom and we're going to go up there in the next months because it is just such a cool space to look at but such cool tools to play with. I just really thought that you would find this really interesting and really start talking about how the skills that you might be building over in 3D design really translate themselves into becoming virtual reality designers, augmented reality designers, really build this future of this idea of marketing all the way through to product, through 3D printed on-demand end results. I love that idea. I really thought you should hear this. Let's go to my interview with Taylor Freeman. To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at info@3dstartpoint.com or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don't forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled Thursday podcast episodes!

We're going to take a real journey down a very old and really ancient material that has been used on this earth, manipulated by men for thousands of years and learn how one company is actually harnessing it and has now been able to control it through 3D printing. It's actually very exciting. The company is MICRON3DP and they're a company out of Israel. I'm going to have an interview with Eran Gal-or who is one of two partners in this company. Technically, he's an industrial designer but he's the CTO. They came up with the seed of this idea many years ago. The company is now been in existence for two years. It's impressive what they have done. I actually have some experience with glass as a material as a design student and then even after design school, going and taking a class or two at certain places in Corning, New York and others around glassblowing. It really is an ancient craft. If you've never had the chance to go to Corning, New York and take a tour of some of the museums there and the factories going on and demonstrations they have, I highly recommend it. It's quite something to learn about certainly how glass has been manipulated and manufactured over time here in the United States. Glass has been around for thousands of years and has been manipulated for ages. It's one of the primary materials probably along with clay and wood that some of the materials that had been manipulated by men from the earliest of times. Now, MICRON3DP is doing it in a 3D printer. They have invented this way to manipulate it. MIT had also experimented with it and was developing it but MICRON3DP has taken it a lot farther. To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at info@3dstartpoint.com or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don't forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled Thursday podcast episodes!

On today's episode, we're going back into our past stomping grounds as we were new people in business and industry. Reminiscing about Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is one of the first places we lived for a number of years and decided intentionally to go there for business purposes. There's a guy named Chris Kaminsky who has started Mi3D for Michigan and has a Meetup group and association about 3D printing there in West Michigan. This is reminding us of how we were involved in multiple pre MeetUp.com meetups back in the day when we were there and we were young. There were some of those early CAD meetups because 3D CAD was really new. There wasn't too many people who did it. They were very, very expensive systems like Alias on Silicon Graphics workstations that were six-figure systems. Your average people couldn't afford that, big corporations only. Then there came this lower cost CAD and it started with 3D Studio, which had in the early days release 1 and release 2 back then. This was the early to mid-90s. People were really new to it and wanted to know about it and you would get together about all the CAD. We were using CAD and creating models and animations of products that we had designed and that was the real innovative thing. Today, we talk about 3D printing being able to rapidly prototype or manufacture products without tooling in an additive way. This is the big new hot thing going on. Back then, it was just about visualization, having a rendering. It wasn't really photorealistic back then but it was a rendering. You didn't have to draw and sketch it out by hand. The meetups around 3D CAD was the idea that we didn't have quite as much resources to YouTube videos on how to do stuff. It gave us an opportunity to network with others who are struggling to solve problems; how to create textures or how to do these things and that's really the whole point of it. When you're in an emerging technology or a technology that's learning how to get applied or that has a steep learning curve like 3D CAD. When you have all of those things, you really need to get together and have best practices and have conversations and get inspired and learn from other people and get out of just behind YouTube-ing it. YouTube did not exist when we were there. We're remembering even the worldwide web was in its infancy. We had email but it was dial-up internet and you went to AOL or something. From within AOL, you're on their platform, which is really like a bulletin board service on steroids. You would dial into a bulletin board in the early days. From there, you could click a button to go to the worldwide web. It was crazy. That's where you would post on a bulletin board that you're going to have this meetup and you would call people and do it the old-fashioned way. We wanted to really bring Chris Kaminsky on of Mi3D because we really wanted to talk about that there really is value in creating this local community meetups and getting the groups together and really organizing it. He's been finding really good success in this and then finding good traffic because he has a great community there in Grand Rapids. We're going to talk a little bit about that with him so you can see where he's going. We want to encourage all areas to really do more of this 3D print meetups. It's very, very valuable to have some face time. Chris presents what we think is a very common experience many of you may have had, or if not, a good model for what you might do in your local area. Let's go to the interview with Chris and then we'll talk some more on the other side.

Today, I've got a really interesting conversation to share with you that I had recently with Arden Rosenblatt of PieceMaker.com. This is a company that has really dealt with how to bring 3D printing to mass market retail. They've dealt with all of the systems involved in that. It's really fascinating. I've often talked with a lot of different people that are working on different pieces of the puzzle. This is a company that really has had to create an end-to-end solution, dealing with content to how would people interface and interact with it then actually having it printed right there for them at a physical location in a museum gift shop or retail store. They've also gone on to do other kinds of solutions, a little more business to business, but it's really all centered around the same thing. How to help companies, especially big brands, take advantage of the opportunities that additive manufacturing, in particular 3D printing, offers. I hope you really will enjoy it. Let's go to the interview with Arden and then I'll talk to you a little bit more on the other side.