docs/02_module-1-what-is-3d-printing/03_3d-printing-facts-concepts/04_where-designs-come-from.en.txt

[MUSIC] Now let's take a look at
where designs come from. Regardless of the specific process or type of materials all 3D printers
start with a digital design and this digital design forms the base for
the object to be printed. These designs could be obtained in three
different ways, the first way is modeling. Most 3D designs are made using a 3D
modeling software such as Tinkercad, Google SketchUp or Autodesk Fusion. Although these programs
are getting easier all the time, if you haven't used them before
there's a bit of a learning curve. Tinkercad is the most
accessible program and its basic functions can be
learned in about an hour or less. In fact, we use Tinkercad in our lab
to train kids as young as ten years old how to create 3D printable designs. So if they can do it,
you can do it as well. The 3D software portion of our
specialization will guide you through both Tinkercad as well as a more advanced
modelling software called Fusion 360. This class will be taught by
Jeff Smith who works for Autodesk so again this training directly
from the firm that markets and owns both of these two software programs. The Illinois I that I have here in front
of me is a good example of something that will be created using
a digital modeling program. The second way in which you can get
3D designs is through scanning. So we say that 3D printing allows
you to turn your ideas into objects, well scanning allows you to
turn your objects into ideas. So, what a 3D scanner allows you
to do is to make a 3D photocopy of a person or an object. These 3D scanners have been around for
awhile but until recently they were quite expensive, today you can buy
3D scanners for $500 or less. Let me show you an example,
this is a 3D scanner called the Structure Sensor and
it's mounted on an iPad, and the scanner itself is about $500 US. And simply you just scan using your iPad,
it's really quite easy. In addition to buying a 3D scanner
you can also download for free, or for very low cost,
an app on your smartphone. For example, Autodesk has a program for free called 123D Catch,
it's an app you can download and it takes a series of photographs
in which you can scan an object. Let me show you an example,
this object here is a scan that was made of the head of Mars
using a smartphone app. And this is a statue, a replica of
a statue that sits in the Art Institute in Chicago, as you can see this
scan is quite detailed. We'll explore scanning in more detail
during our 3D printing software class. The third way in which you can get a 3D
design if you don't own a scanner or if you don't know a 3D modeling
program is simply download the design. Today there are a number of websites
which you can go in and find 3D designs such as GrabCAD, Youmagine,
or my favorite, Thingiverse. These design files are usually free or
very low cost, for example, thingiverse contains hundreds of thousands
of digital designs all of which are free, thus if you can download a file,
you can create 3D printed objects. For example, this model of
the Eifel Tower is a great example of the types of designs you can
find free on Thingiverse. [MUSIC] [SOUND]