Art, Design, and the MakerLab, Oh My!

When you hear the term 3D printing, a lot of things may come to mind such as rapid prototyping or do-it-yourself projects but what about art and design? As an art and design major (and DIY enthusiast) I was ecstatic to learn of the Illinois MakerLab's existence. What I love about the lab is the ability to create practically anything from imagination and bring it to life. There is something about physically holding my ideas that really inspires me to create more, and I'm not alone. I talked to several other art majors who also discovered the lab about what they created and thought about the lab:

The Illinois Makerlab is awesome. It was the only place on campus where I could get something printed with clear plastic without a crazy 3-week turnaround time. I regret not taking advantage of their facilities more during the semester.

- Andy Gao

My experience at the Makers Lab was great, as the process was quick and easy. The finished projects are well made and the best part is that it was free!

- Autumn Hayes

The lab was a really cool place for students to 3D print and the staff is really friendly and helpful too.

- Josh Lebovitz

I was also able to print a few of my own projects.

I think that this lab has truly helped many art and design students bring their ideas into reality. It is an amazing resource for student's while they are here at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I hope that many more art students will discover the possibilities that this lab brings!

MakerLab meets MakerBot

Director of the Illinois MakerLab, Vishal Sachdev is recently attended the  Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo in NYC. This was the world's first business to business conference on 3D printing and brings together several 3D printing luminaries, including Bre Pettis, Hod Lipson, and Terry Wohlers, among others. Topics include: 3D printing in Aerospace & Automotive, 3D design tools, and the Impact of 3D printing on art and fashion. We are proud to be participating (this time as just an attendee) at this conference and are spreading the word about our Lab!

MakerLab Featured in the News (Once Again)

The MakerLab was featured in another news story last week on WCIA3 news. One of our College's faculty members, Jeff Lowenstein, is featured in story. Jeff is a regular visitor to the lab and has used its 3D printers to enhance his research on negotiation. Our lab has been open for just 10 weeks now and we have had over 250 students, faculty, staff visit us for Learning, Making and Sharing. A number of these visitors have made lots of interesting things and learned to make physical objects in a relatively short period of time.

To see more MakerLab press coverage, see our Media Coverage section. You can easily become part of our maker community by subscribing to our blog or ’Liking’ us on Facebook.

Making the Thinker or Thinking about Making?

Come Make something at the world's first business school 3D Printing Lab.  http://youtu.be/zf6RoWM5jsQ

This excellent video was created by the communications unit within the College of Business. Visit us to find out more about how why 3D printing is enabling the next Industrial Revolution. You can read more about us in the latest edition of the Perspectives Magazine as well.

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Students Photocopy Objects with their iPhones!

On Friday, April 5, nearly 20 University of Illinois students stopped by the MakerLab to learn how to photocopy objects with their iPhones. This session was taught by Katie Khau, a UI student in Art & Design and a MakerLab Trainer. Katie demonstrated how to photocopy objects using the new iPhone app, 123D Catch (www.123dapp.com/catch). As part of this demonstration, Katie printed out a small scale photocopy of a 3D printed replica of Rodin's "The Thinker" (www.thingiverse.com/thing:34343). She has also put up a tutorial, if you want to try this. If you have questions, please post on our Forums

In the coming months, we plan to offer more training sessions such as this. Our next session is a tutorial on Google Sketchup on Friday, April 19 from 12:00-1:00pm. To RSVP, email us at uimakerlab@illinois.edu or signup on facebook. Subscribe to our blog RSS feed to be the first to hear about events and other exciting news from MakerLab.

Katie shows her scan of The Thinker

It's Easy as 123D Catch

So you want to learn how to 3D scan an object using 123D Catch? Don't worry it is easy to learn! 123D Catch allows you to create photo realistic 3D models from just photographs from your camera or iPhone. First you will need: - your object - a camera or phone - 123D Catch App

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TfXXJxDsXw?feature=player_detailpage] 1. Taking the photos. - Make sure that you can move around your object when you take photos. - Take 20-40 photos from different angles around the object. (The more pictures the better!) - Tips: - No transparent or very reflective objects. - Don't move the object, only you move when you take the photos. - Make sure your object is on a unique background with lots of details, place newspapers down if necessary, and put the object on them.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jIU0vJdAHs?feature=player_detailpage] 2. Upload your photos into the 123D Catch Cloud. - Either download the software if you have a PC or iPhone or load up the app in your browser and launch 123D Catch (Both can be found here) - Click on "Create a new photo scene" - Find all the photos you have taken and click "open" - Click on the "green checkmark" and type in your name and email, then agree to the terms - Confirm your email and type in a name for your project and then click "wait" - After all of your photos are uploaded, click on the prompt that will let 123D Catch send you an email when the 3D Model is complete - All of the heavy computing to create the 3D model is done in the cloud freeing you and your computer from processing time - 123D Catch should close when you click "ok"

3. Getting your 3D model - When your 3D model is done you will receive an email that has a link for you to download your file - Download and save the .3dp file on to your computer/phone - Back in the 123D Catch app, open up this file that you just downloaded - You have now just created 3D model using the photos you have taken!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlarVKBAEtM?feature=player_detailpage] 4. Cleaning up your 3D model - You can clean up your model directly in 123D Catch by select and delete certain parts of your mesh that are not necessary to 3D print (be careful though because there is no undo button) - You can also edit the model in Netfabb or other 3D CAD software.

And there's your model! If you have questions, please post on our Forums

Come on into the Makerlab on Friday, April 5th from 2-4pm for a workshop to 3D scan for yourself!

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