[MUSIC] Hi, at this point you probably have a good understanding of what 3D printing is and how 3D printers work. You've also seen our MakerLab. What we'd like to do now is show you some of the people who use our lab, the gurus, the students, and our general walk-in customers. Each of these folks have it, their own individual story of how they turned their ideas into objects. Let them tell you that story. >> Hi, I'm Cameron. I'm from Chicago, and I'm studying engineering mechanics. >> Hi, my name is Arielle. I'm from Cape Coral, Florida and I'm studying entrepreneurship. >> Hi, my name is Scott, and I'm from Southern Illinois, and I'm studying aerospace engineering. >> You guys ready? >> Yep. >> Let's get started. [SOUND] Hi Cameron. >> Hi Eric. >> Thanks for joining us today. >> Not a problem. >> Could you tell us your 3D printing story? How did you become interested in this technology? >> Through one of my organizations on campus, Makers UIUC, I had the idea of getting a team together and working on a project where we could scan people from head to toe and build 3D-printed models of them. And so that was where I really started getting involved in 3D printing. And I started doing some research, I started using the modeling software that I learned as an engineering student. And we worked on that project, and I got a lot of experience working with 3D printers. [SOUND] So I've made all sort of things, from fixing little objects around my house to different objects that I've made for my design classes. One of my favorite projects was this product, which is a prototype for a detachable roller skate. So there are two pieces, and the bottom piece attaches to the wheels of a roller skate and the top piece would attach to your shoe. And so you could attach and detach them whenever you wanted to, and you could walk around or skate around campus. I printed this out. It went through probably 10 or 11 iterations. It's made up of four different parts. My team and I kept printing model after model until we got something that was semi-functional. [SOUND] Each piece that we have, the two main pieces and these two locking hinges. The only part of this that isn't 3D printed is two little pieces of paper clip that are connecting the objects together. >> Is that just a regular paper clip? >> Yep, yeah, just something I grabbed off my desk to make it fit. [SOUND] I'd like to continue working on it, continue making better models. The fit isn't exactly perfect right now, as most projects are with 3D printing. You have to keep working at it, so I'd like to keep building it, actually get it on a skate. We designed it so that it could be used with pretty much all the skates that are out on the market right now. So we'd like to start using it, and maybe even developing it into a small business if it really worked that well. [SOUND] It was probably about $5 or 6 total in materials, which really isn't that much. A lot of it is hollow inside, so it's just really the structure around it that is what you can see here. >> So even affordable for a college student. >> Definitely, definitely. That was our goal. [SOUND] It's a really exciting experience, because it's not like you're going into a store and you see something that that's something I want. That'll work for my needs, and you go get it. It's something that you have a need for, and then you have the ability to create exactly what you want. You have all this customization, and you get to have 100% input on what you're creating. And that really gives you a lot of power to develop some really great things. And watching those products come to life, watching an idea that you had in the back of your head just print out in front of you, it's a really, really cool feeling. [SOUND] I think it's a really awesome opportunity that anybody taking this course has. It's a very new technology that's coming out, and not a lot of people know about it. And the more that you're learning about it now, the more exciting it'll be as the technology improves in the future. So I'd definitely be excited about the opportunity that you have right now, and take full advantage of it. [SOUND] >> Well hi, Arielle. >> Hi. >> Thanks for joining us. >> Anytime. >> Could you tell us a bit about your 3D printing story, how you became interested? >> So I became interested in 3D printing through a course that I took at the University of Illinois, in the College of Business. It was taught by Vischal. And so this course was just an introduction to 3D printing. I knew nothing about 3D printing before I took the class. So I learned everything I know from there. And that's just how I got started. [SOUND] I had no training in engineering or design whatsoever before I took this course,. And I'm starting to kind of dabble in both of them, and I really, really enjoy it. It's just a really nice change and mix up from my typical business classes. So it was just something that I thought would be a good hobby. But it kind of turned into something that I want to pursue as a career now. [SOUND] We had an assignment in class to bring an object to get scanned. And I'm on the racing wheelchair team here at the University of Illinois. And we use these really special gloves that we make by hand in order to propel our racing wheelchairs. So I thought it would be interesting to try and scan a glove, because it has really complex geometries that are matched to each individual racer's hands. So I thought it was a really interesting concept, and something that I would like to try. So I was able to scan it and then print the very first racing wheelchair glove here at University of Illinois. It worked really well, surprisingly. I wasn't really expecting it to be extremely durable or anything, because of the material. But it turns out that it's very, very durable. And now four or five people on my team are able to use them for marathons that they push and during practice. And it's been very successful, which is pretty surprising. [SOUND] So we make the gloves by hand. And so then when I went into the lab and I used the 3D scanner to scan the glove that I had already made. Then I took that scan file and cleaned it up in a program called Geomagic. And then I was able to export it and then print it on a MakerBot in the printing lab at University of Illinois. This glove is really, really incredible because it's so much cheaper than the gloves that we were previously making by hand, and it's also so much lighter. And so the original gloves would cost about $350 to make. And then these gloves cost about $4 to make, which is an incredible price drop. The part that's most important for functionality for my team is the weight. The original glove weighed about 174 grams. This one weighs only about 70. So we also were able to cut the weight by more than 50%, which has greatly impacted speed and turnover for our stroke, for how we push our racing wheelchair. And it's also decreased injury, because the less weight that it is, the less stress it puts on our tendons in our wrist. [SOUND] I am working with other people on my wheelchair racing team. And so I'm teaching them how to use the software and how to use the printers, just so that way, after I leave they'll be able to continue doing this and making gloves for all the wheelchair racers here at Illinois in the future. So I would love to be able to take scans of people's hands from all around the world, and then have them send me that scan. And I could produce a customized glove and be able to ship it to them across the globe. [SOUND] I think 3D printing is really revolutionary because it places a ton of power with the consumer. And so no longer do we have to rely on manufacturing units and large corporations in order to get the kind of products that we need at home and any use, for sports, for home use, for education. And so now we can just create these objects on own, which I think is incredible, because there's so much potential there. And there's just so many things that you can do. [SOUND] When I first introduce people to 3D printing, I usually lead them to Thingiverse and let them just explore. Because when they start exploring on Thingiverse and see all of the different creations that other people have made, I think that kind of lights a little spark of creativity in them and inspiration in them. And so then they kind of think of ideas that they would like to produce or that they would like to make. And then I kind of start them on basic software, just using the MakerBot desktop interface, and then using Meshmixer, or programs like that, just because they're very good introductory programs. And any advice I have would be just to try it. Because a lot of people get intimidated and they're like, I could never do that. It sounds very complicated. But it's definitely not, coming from someone who knew nothing about engineering at all before. And now it's a passion of mine, I would say. It's definitely really, really doable. [SOUND] >> Hi, Scott. >> Hi. >> Thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us a bit about your 3D printing story, how you became interested in this technology? >> So I began using the 3D printers because I was trying to be creative. And I didn't want to buy a phone case for my iPhone. I didn't want to spend $40, $50 on one that was just going to wear out. I wanted to be a little bit more creative. So I visited MakerLab one day. And I actually had my own design that I had modeled using a CAD software. And I printed it out at MakerLab, and I paid for it, and it didn't fit. I went back to the computer lab and I remodeled it, adjusted a little bit. I went back to MakerLab and I printed it out, and it didn't fit. But I went back to the computer lab and I adjusted a little bit more, and then this third time it fit. And it wasn't the perfect fit, but it fit. And after a couple more iterations, I was able to get a perfect fit. And at that point, I started to put my own designs into it. And I was the guy who had the 3D-printed phone case with a bunch of different cool designs. [SOUND] I've made all sorts of stuff. And a lot of stuff is for either broken belongings that I have that I want to extend the product life of, or things for my friends. And just one example is, here I've got my calculator. And it's a pretty expensive calculator. And at one point I lost the back to it. I tried doing all sorts of stuff, but the batteries kept falling out, and there's nothing to do. So one day I thought, well, why not 3D print one? So I went to my friend and I asked to borrow his back to his calculator, and I was able to replicate it using a ruler. And just a couple iterations, about three iterations, and I was able to replace the back to my calculator. And now my batteries don't fall out anymore. [SOUND] I could have bought one from Texas Instruments, but I would rather not do that. Because it feels really good, and it's really, really cool to do things yourself and to build things yourself and to just have power as a consumer. And that's what I think is the biggest pro of 3D printing at this point in time. A lot of stuff, there's a lot of marketing towards building your own things or DIY projects. But I think the biggest thing, in my opinion, is being able to fix your things without having to buy new things. And especially if you have sentimental value towards the things that you have, your belongings, you want to repair them yourself. And actually, it creates even more sentimental value. And so I've noticed, as I work at the MakerLab as a guru, whenever clients come in and they're able to fix their belongings with either 3D models that they find online, something that I've modeled for them, or something that they've modeled themselves, they always have a smile on their face when they walk out. Because they know that they've made an accomplishment and they've fixed something themselves, something that they care about. And now they care about it even more because of it. [SOUND] There are three aspects to my job at MakerLab. The first one is open hours. So during open hours, people can come into the lab and they can print themselves. And I'm there to help them print and guide them along the way. And a lot of times, they come in with their own models that they've designed by themselves, or they just print from models they find online on various websites. And so my biggest role in that aspect is just working with the printers, using the technology. And the second aspect of my job is the modeling services that I do. So clients will come in oftentimes with either designs they have on paper, or just ideas, or a broken something from home. And they say, can you help me with this? Can you model this for me? And so of course I can. And so I take their designs home, or if they don't have designs then I think it up myself. And I bring it back to the lab and I print it, and we see if it works. And if it works, that's great. And if it doesn't work, we try again, and we meet and we figure out how we can make it work better, and we do iterations. And that's one of the biggest powers of 3D printing, is the ability to do iterations quickly, and do rapid prototyping for things like that. The third aspect to my job as a guru at Illinois MakerLab is the workshops that I do. In these workshops, we teach how to model, so from basic to advanced modeling softwares. We teach people how to 3D scan. And we teach people how to use the printers, and how the printers work. [SOUND] For people who are just starting out with the 3D printing technology and they're using design softwares, I would suggest to just start tinkering. Tinker at home, a lot of the software is free online. And anything from Autodesk, if you're a student, is free. There are 3D printers everywhere, at universities, at libraries, at schools. Just start building things. And eventually, if you're not inspired initially by something you found online, you'll soon realize something that you always wanted to build, or something that you've always wanted to make, or something that has broken at home that you've always wanted to fix. And it'll become a hobby, it'll become a pastime, and you'll get pretty good at it from that. >> As you just heard from these three stories: from Arielle, from Scott, and from Cameron, 3D printing is easy, empowering, and enables you to make things you couldn't buy in a store. I hope these three learner stories help you find your own personal learner story and inspire you to turn your ideas into objects. [MUSIC] [SOUND]
