Monday, November 10, 2014

Mini-Lectures

Hi WOOFers and 3DP enthusiasts,

>Our first round of mini-lectures seemed like they were well received. Thanks to all who came out. Because some of you asked, I've posted links to the slides I used during my presentation:

3DP Toolchain Slides
3DP Electronics Slides


>I am doing another lecture this week: An Introduction to OpenSCAD. Everyone is invited!

For those of you who aren't familiar, OpenSCAD is a free, open source CAD package for 3D modeling. 

There are many reasons why it's a great program to have in your repertoire of 3DP skills:

*If you're a beginner, OpenSCAD is simple enough to not be overwhelming.
*It can easily do some things other CAD packages cannot.
*It can be picked up pretty quickly (beginner or not).
*You will learn a different type of modeling, namely CSG (as opposed to feature based, direct, etc...).
*It is affordable. Each download is $0 and they give you a 20% bulk discount if you download ten or more.
*You help support the open source community.
*If you bought a Printrbot: there's an awful lot of satisfaction using a printer you assembled yourself when you're printing a part you designed yourself...

During the course of the presentation I will be demonstrating the topics I cover within the OpenSCAD environment because I want you to see it in action. I encourage you to bring a laptop so you can follow along with me. If you choose to do this, before you come: A) make sure your computer is charged up so we're not fighting over outlets and B) download the most recent version of OpenSCAD here.

The lectures will be about 45 minutes and will start at 4:30 on Wednesday, 12 NOV with a repeat presentation at 4:30 on Friday, 14 NOV. They will be held in MEB 103.

I hope to see lots of enthusiastic faces there. Don't forget to be awesome.

-Mark H.