March 25, 2015

Making Things Class Develops Prototypes

March 25, 2015/ Aric Rindfleisch

In last week's Making Things class, we focused on refining the prototypes for our products. Our team (Handmad3) is creating multiPLY, a bathroom aid that increases the capacity of your toilet paper holder. We finished prototyping, so we focused on other details, such as developing the instruction sheet that will come with the product. We also started working on our product's packaging, slogan, and distribution. So, in essence, we are working on our marketing plan. We will use Facebook, Square, and Instragram as tools for our marketing efforts. Our goal now that we have finished our prototype is to build an inventory. Having an inventory will allow us to begin selling quickly, as well as have a better presentation when we sell in person. We are therefore trying to print as many products as possible.

This week's class had another guest speaker, Eli Share from Dremel. He spoke about his company’s use and distribution of 3D printers, including their new consumer-level model intended for the casual user. He also discussed his vision for how additive manufacturing will evolve in the future: the ecosystem of 3D printing will change, but the hardware will plateau.

We also ate Rosati’s pizza and listened to the musical stylings of James Taylor and Bob Marley.

By Team Handmad3

Find out more about whats happening at the Making Things Class 2015. Stay tuned for updates by subscribing to our blog feed, or just get our posts via email(subscribe on the right navigation). You can also like us on Facebook or follow us on twitter to stay updated.

March 19, 2015

Making Things Class Conducts Design Audit

March 19, 2015/ Aric Rindfleisch

During last week's Making Things class, our teams conducted design audits. We did this through a peer review process in which one team audited the design of another team. This audit contained a variety of questions, such as:

Why did you choose this particular design? What issues are you still trying to resolve? How will the various parts of this design be manufactured?

This audit process provided a fresh perspective to our designs and helped us enhance our product ideas. Our next step is to incorporate these changes into our prototypes!

March 12, 2015

Making Things Class Refines Designs

March 12, 2015/ Aric Rindfleisch

During last week's Making Things class, our teams worked on refining their product designs. This designing process is very iterative in nature, in which most teams go back and forth between creating a computer design of their product, printing it out, and then refining the design some more. We are getting closer to a final design but not quite there yet!

In addition to refining our designs, our class also interacted with two guest speakers, Ron Watkins and Philip Fairweather. Ron and Phil are members of a University of Illinois Extension outreach project that is developing Maker Literacy to economically disadvantaged populations in Illinois, ranging from the west side of Chicago (Phil) to the southern end of our state (Ron). This project is being supported by the Illinois MakerLab, which has equipped both sites with five MakerBot Replicator 3D Printers. Both Ron and Phil talked about their outreach efforts and how 3D Printing is being used to enhance the lives of the populations they serve. The stories they told were eye-opening and inspiring. We are currently working on a developing ways to connect with these outreach efforts and use the skills and knowledge that we are gaining in the Making Things class to help enrich this outreach project.

By Team Handmad3

March 02, 2015

Mark Cotteleer Visits Making Things Class

March 02, 2015/ Aric Rindfleisch

Last week's Making Things class was enriched by a (video) visit by Dr. Mark Cotteleer. Mark is a research director at Deloitte and a leading expert in additive manufacturing. He has written extensively on this topic and is also the lead instructor for a new online course on Additive Manufacturing. Mark provided our class with an overview of Deloitte's additive manufacturing-related activities as well as his own vision of the 3D printing landscape. He also provided our class with some helpful suggestions for what we could make.

After Mark's talk, each of our teams continued to work on finalizing their concepts by integrating the findings from their market research. Most teams have already started some early prototyping, so the Lab's 3D printers were busy churning them out. We produced a second iteration of the prototype for our "boot wallet." This new prototype is much stronger and more comfortable than the previous one. In the coming weeks, we'll go through several more designs and prepare for a product showcase!

By: Team Repligators

February 24, 2015

Making Things Class Conducts Concept Testing

February 24, 2015/ Aric Rindfleisch

Last week's class was kicked off with a visit from Dr. Vishal Sachdev, the Director of the MakerLab. Dr. Sachdev gave our class some tips for making and provided an overview of his Digital Makings class, which is taught in our Lab on Tuesdays.

After Dr. Sachdev's visit, we got down to work. The goal of the class was to conduct concept testing and begin to do some market research by asking people their opinions about our product concepts. Our group, DigiCraft, began printing our first prototype. After two failed attempts we were able to print a very nicely finished version. We will then use this prototype to help demonstrate our product idea and collect some heplful feedback from potential customers. We will then use this feedback to further refine our prototype. This is when the real fun begins!

By: Digicraft

February 16, 2015

Making Things Class Conducts Concept Audit

February 16, 2015/ Aric Rindfleisch

The goal of the this week's class was to narrow down our three ideas from the previous week to just one! To do this, each team conducted a Concept Audit. The audit required each team to describe various aspects of their idea, including its design, target market, value proposition, and manufacturing process. Our group (Minion Makers) decided to design a Alma Mater figurine that would be ready for sale just before graduation, which would be a perfect time to market it. We will conduct some concept testing of this idea next week.

To help us with our ideas,

Sergio Poo Dalidet

(a doctoral student in the College of Education at the University of Illinois), visited our class to share the many things that

he has made

using 3D printers in the MakerLab, including musical instruments, replacement parts for broken furniture, and an iPad case. His talk was very inspiring and illustrated how 3D printing can help turn ideas into objects.