I am curious about the challenges and frustrations people face when they begin to learn the process of 3D printing. As a beginner, what were your struggles? Have you helped anyone over a barrier they had? Any thoughts or stories would be appreciated!
Here some more questions if you have the time…
How many people do you think are out there that want to 3D print but are blocked by something? What might that something be?
If you had to guess - what percent of beginners want to design and print something custom vs. printing something public (example - thingiverse). Put another way - do you think that designing objects is a blocker for people or do most people just want to print something they can already find online?
Thanks for any time you spent on this! You guys rock.
I’m a beginner! And I created a podcast dedicated to learning more from people like Ryan Kittleson, Nancy Liang and tons more. I talk about struggles from a beginners perspective almost every episode http://printingeveryday.com
i think many people dont realise whats out there on, for example, thingyverse.
I can understand people struggling with cad but again with some many tutorials out there for every cad package under the sun its hard to figure why so many people shy away from cad.
Free tools like sketchup and even free parametric design tools like design spark are not that difficult to learn if you have the will and patience.
All in all i think the 2 main barriers are cost ( even a self build is around 400+ US$ and wont get much cheaper anytime soon) and “like 3D printers but what would i do with it”
@bigfilsing I think you hit the nail on the head. For me the barrier is the software. Beginners don’t really know what software is out there, most are familiar with Makerware (and other closed source software) but you really have to be in the community to learn about Zbrush, Rhino or Blender. And when you hear about them their cost (like you said) or their learning curve keep people from pursuing it.
In my Podcast I feature designers from Shapeways, iMaterialise, Etsy, and Sculpteo, so that we can focus on the software barriers, and answer the “what would I do with it” question that so many beginners have. And because you can make money selling your 3D prints, there’s an element of entrepreneurship as well.
@Craig_Walker I think the percentage of beginners who just want to pull things from thingivers (to replace or repair something that’s broken, or that looks cool) is higher than the people who want to design. BUT the tipping point is downloading 2 things from Thingiverse and joining those two things. That to me is the first step of designing without the harsh learning curve. In my beginner’s opinion
It is a matter of time really. I have the Cad Software, (Via Cad 2d/3d, and Corel Cad ) however the time it is taking to relearn cad is allot more than i have to give right now. I have more ideas in my head than time to create them. Patience is not the problem for me. Just replying to your question. Thanks for posting it.
