Arthritis, 3D digital modelling and 3D printing

As a jeweller, I didn’t know when embarking in 2000 on a research fellowship that I was develoing arthritis in both my thumbs. The research I did eventually led to the development of a haptic 3D modelling package (Anarkik3D Design). In a blog in 2012 I wrote that I used Anarkik3D Design and 3D printing to design and make my daughter’s wedding ring. I didn’t mention in the blog that I had to use 3D printing because it was too painful to hold a small ring securely as well as holding the tools to carve the titanium. I just said that this was now hard for me to remak at the bench.

Wedding-ring 3D printed in titanium

In these five years since, I have used Anarkik3D Design a lot, both testing each version that comes out and designing samples to 3D print out for classes and for corporate commissions. The haptic device we use has a spherical grasp with 4 buttons and I am really pleased that using it to design causes very little pain, even after a long session.

Falcon haptic device

Having my designs 3D printed means that much of the making that previously would have been done at the bench has been accomplished using this technology. I can cope with light bench work such as finishing pieces, adding brooch pins and ear fittings, connecting units into a necklace etc..

Necklace 3D printed in paper

I designed this necklace a couple of years ago and had units made for 3 necklaces, one for myself and the other 2 for two women to celebrate the super work they do promoting 3D printing.

Last year I made an exhibition piece, the first for a very long time. I was, with 20 or so others, invited by the Association for Contemporary Jewellery to send in a new piece of work for their 20:20 Vision Exhibition which opened in January and will tour for a year or so. I designed and prototyped various units, with the final ones printed in paper and strung onto Ninjaflex. And the process was almost pain free as it was very light work. The blog on the prototyping process is here.

Neckpiece in 3D printed paper

Now with an exhibition at Galerie VundV in Vienna planned for October/November 2017 I am really looking forward to getting back to designing and making a cohesive collection of pieces. This will be my first show of work where I have used our Anarkik3D Design package exclusively to do the designing for 3D printing! Exciting year in store!

Fabbing: what’s happening, what’s exciting?

Jan 2010: Any ‘blogging time’ has been diverted to keeping up with my big interest area as so much is happening around ‘fabbing’ with mega developments in this community: it is all very much about ‘making’, and the power of 3D printing, fabbing, for exploring, playing, inventing and creating. It’s about ‘ownership’ and democratisation of this whole way of doing and experiencing. I am reading Cory Doctorow’s book ‘Makers’ which I am thoroughly enjoying. His vision of how this could all pan out in the near future is fascinating as he begins with fabbing a few years down the line.
Right now, the developments in 3D printing are encouraging more non-professionals to engage in fabbing. The first is that companies like Shapeways (http://www.shapeways.com/) are making direct access as easy and as low cost as possible, catering for different groups: those who want to and can design their objects, others to customise existing designs to be printed in different materials, and those who just order a design they like from the online shop. Similarly UCODO (http://www.ucodo.com/), which is being launched by DigitalForming, will provide “an online platform for ‘Mass Customisation’ and Co-Design’ of lifestyle products”.
My long-standing favourite is Ponoko (http://www.ponoko.com/) in New Zealand who started by providing an online facility and shop for the digital making community for 2D designs and is now going global and moving into 3D. There is tantalising news about something for Europe.
Most encouraging of all is how ‘build-it-yourself’ 3D printers that are available at very affordable prices are ‘replicating’, spreading and developing. In the UK, there is Reprap (replicating rapid prototyping, http://reprap.org/bin/view/Main/WebHome) as downloadable instructions, and the Rapman (www.rap-man.com) in both kit form and already built and ready for off. In the US, the equivalent is Fab-at-home and Makerbot. These BIY 3D printers are developing fast through open source protocols and collaborations and because these systems can replicate many of their component parts.
The aim of 100KGarages in North America is to offer a network that brings together those with a digital design with those who have the capability and capacity to manufacture 2D and 3D components. By directing the designer’s design to the nearest appropriately resourced ‘garage’ to the purchaser the carbon footprint is kept as small as possible.
There are sites such as Thingiverse where non copyright 3D digital objects and designs can be freely downloaded and/or re-modelled for printing and writing on 6th Jan 2010 The Product Bay states that “RepRap and other 3D printers are the future. There’s no question about it. With the proud tradition from The Pirate Bay, we want to take all of this to the next level. TPB will be TPB, but for real life objects. For now, visit Thingiverse who already understands this. We want you to download those new jeans. We want you to share those new shoes. It’s possible, let’s make it happen.”
This part about jeans and shoes is, I presume, a reference to the quote from the CEO of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos: “Before long,”user-generated content” won’t refer only to media, but to just about anything: user-generated jeans, user-generated sports cars, user-generated breakfast meals. This is because setting up a company that designs, makes and globally sells physical products could become almost as easy as starting a blog – and the repercussions would be earthshaking.”

My interest in this is both personal and commercial. As a designer I want to be able to earn a living from what I do well. So where do I stand on these ‘free everything’ developments and pressures? How might we achieve a balanced and equitable playing field? The music industry is one sector to take heed of for ways to advance. Others are all the many opensource projects such as Linux, OpenSim, applications for mobile phones. Some things can be free, ‘lost leaders’, samplers. Certain products and objects is fine and ‘just good enough’ and do not require complex design knowledge and skills to achieve.

My concerns are the damage caused by churning out ‘quantity’ that gets quickly dumped. Will BIY, by creating ‘ownership’, slow this down and change our materialistic attitude? As many more people become creators and makers I think respect and appreciation will continue for the expertise and talent that underlies well designed, well made, aesthetic and visionary objects that take flair and dedication to achieve. There will continue to be a demand for the know-how of designers, applied artists, craftsmen and artists particularly as they are pretty good at taking on new tools, technology, and processes and bending them to their own purposes.
As water finds it own level designers and creatives find their own states, make decisions about how they make a living, whether they charge for their work, whether they copyright all or some or none, whether they charge for providing services. We should learn from musicians and bands, how they have up-ended this issue, exploiting technologies on all levels, using freebies as a lost leader for attracting audiences and engaging with them in different lucrative ways.
Read Cory Doctorow’s book.

This is how it happened.

This is how it happened.

Quick sketch

I was involved in a mundane task when this idea came to the fore, a solution to a concept that has been rattling around in my head.  So mid task I did a quick sketch so as not to lose it. But I was so excited to develop it, see if it works that I down tools and switched on my 3d modelling programme.

Within a few minutes I had a rough 3d digital model I could 3d print. We have an Ultimaker2 3D printer in our office which is used on our courses to demonstrate the principles of 3d printing.

The digital model was processes/sliced in Cura and its g-code sent to the printer. The model printed in about 2 hours so while it was being printed I finished a couple of tasks but was pretty fidgety!

Anyway with the completed model I tangibly tested my idea and it worked great, helping with the next stage of designing to get the size right and the form more interesting and aesthetic. This second model was also processed for 3D printing out using Cura and printed in white PLA.

This model was then used to decide on the details to make a more finished piece. Having a tangible object helped with decisions on the cord, as the piece is a bead of sorts, and also on design features.  Getting back on the computer I also have ideas bubbling away to create the variations.

Objects printed with the extrusion method used by the Ultimaker can require supports to be built for overhangs – as my model did. As a jeweller I have the bench, tools and expertise to produce a good finish on the bead, to remove the supports and file off the rough bits.  

Next I will 3d print enough pieces for a neckpiece and take the design to the next stages where I can play around with all the components and proportions while ideas are fresh and excitement high. No waiting for pieces to come back from the printers! Also the quality of the print is sufficiently good that I could use the pieces in the final wearable neckpiece.

This is exciting for me to go so quickly from idea spark to solutions and be able to then concentrate on designing. It is a long time since I last worked this way. I am so pleased as it proves the value of our haptic 3d modelling package, Anarkik3D Design, for concept generation, for designing variations faster and being able to afford the time and space to get immersed in exploring and playing to go into more depth. For me this is very important as running Anarkik3D, managing Touchable Universe and setting up Anarkik Creations leaves too little time for getting back into being a designer maker.

Having the use of the desktop Ultimaker2 3D printer is a huge advantage in the design process as having tangible objects to handle and use for testing quickly provides the wherewithal to select best solutions.  Being so handy and there, on the desktop, I feel my designing and development is staying fresh.

I am though also a great believer in ‘mulling’, letting my brain get on with making connections between new input and ideas and all the other stuff that has gathered there over the years. This new neckpiece is the next exploration in the series of wearable neckchains started in the mid 90’s that taps into the different materials and techniques I used as a jeweller, such as titanium, niobium, steel, aluminium, silver, gold, felt, silk, laser cutting, casting, anodising. Although I did know about 3d printing in early 1990 it was financially out of my reach and finally when I stared designing for it I struggled with the computer aided design (3D CAD) programmes available then. Not being able to digitally explore and play within these programmes and with 3D print technologies was a big issue for how I work as my ideas come directly from what my materials, processes and tools enable me to do and combine through play and pushing boundaries.

 

So this is how it happened using new technology!

Crowdfunding: Trials and tribulations of setting up!

14th September 11.55 pm.  just 4 hours into crowdfunding and 31 days to go and I am too excited and psyched to go to sleep but tomorrow will be busy busy busy as we start in earnest getting the word and the link out, and generate as much interest as we can.

14th Sept. 7.30 pm. All decisions made and ready to hit the IndieGoGo ‘GO LIVE’ green button at 8 pm.  This is our banner with the link.

14th Sept at 3 pm. IndieGoGo has 2 options: 1) the risky but more exciting route of ‘all or nothing’ where you have to meet your target, or 2) the safer route where you do get all you raise but if you don’t reach your target IndieGoGo takes 9%. Been thinking about this long and hard. I think psychologically that option 1 appeals to people who don’t know us but like what we are trying to achieve and like a bit of frission. I think that this is the reason many people are serial crowdfunders. But would our friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances prefer us to stick to the safer option where at least we get something, especially as we really do need help to get to the 3DPrintShow and get the 12 models from ‘3D Consequences’ 3D printed? Or do we all really like to participate in a bit of a gamble, even when it is only Anarkik3D’s risk?

12th September. Interestingly and distressingly, Kickstarter declined our crowdfunding project. The feedback is that Kickstarter is a platform for finite and specific creative endeavors, as opposed to ‘open ended funding for business expenses and infrastructure’ and that this isn’t a judgment on the quality of our project, just a reflection of their focus. What is this? But we have little room to appeal now being 4 days behind schedule. Funding is for a better presence at the 3DPrintShow in November and for 3D printing 12 models. We will now go with IndieGoGo. Hindsight is a fine thing!

9th September 6 pm: Our planned launch event has flipped into a preview party! Still no response from Kickstarter re. approval of our project.

5th Sept 11 am. Sent in our project to Kickstarter to get approval. Have cut it fine for launch on Monday!

Book’s progress towards publication in September

04.03.2013. A week ago my editor sent me the rough layout of a few of the pages of my book, with the relevant images and ‘boxes’ to ask if I was happy with the design concept. My editor is aiming to have the samples approved by 8th March so she can start laying out the entire book with all the images in place so we can make any changes needed i.e image sizing (and I might have to request higher res pics from some contributors if the images are to be scaled up) as the next stage is the final layout  The book is pretty rich image wise from about 50 designer makers and applied artists and I can’t thank them all enough for the beautiful photographs they have sent to me to use to illustrate the chapters. 

I hope to get down to London to see the final layout because once all this is done and all agreed, it will be sent, I gather, to China to be printed. The date for publishing is set for this September 2013!

So excited! 

Writing a book:Digital Crafts: Industrial Technologies for Applied Artists and Designer Makers.

I was commissioned to write a book and my part is almost done. The copy editor sent me all her corrections, amendments and suggestions so the whole content had to be gone through with a fine tooth comb. Now there are 4 new images and their captions to collect together to fill gaps the editor would like filled! The publisher has started on the design of the pages so I ‘m looking forward to seeing the first roughs pretty soon.

3D printed ‘Coral’ brooch by Elizabeth Armour

And what you ask is the book about? The title gives a pretty big clue. It is about how designer makers use digital technologies for their creative practice, technologies such as laser cutting and 3D printing. I want to inspire more designer makers to exploit the amazing potential these can provide and offer the information to understand the barriers and how to get around them.

This 3D printed brooch by Elizabeth Armour demonstrates this potential for both design and making. She used Cloud9 3D modelling software and had the piece 3D printed at the MAKLAB in Glasgow.

I intend to use my blog to share some of the information that didn’t get into the book – I was commissioned to write 30K words and did 74K so had to cut a lot out.

I am unsure how often I will get on to blogging as I am getting more and more interest in the courses we have started to run at Anarkik3D. Designer makers are wanting practical knowledge and experience of 3D modelling for 3D printing and we have different programmes for different levels of expertise. We cater especially for those who have no CAD or 3D modelling experience at all by using our haptic 3D modelling software, Cloud9 and having small classes of no more than 5 people.

A discussion one of my Linkedin groups is on the current hype about ‘a 3D printer in every home‘ and Al Dean (of Develop3D) who started the discussion and Geert Van den Poorten of 3Digit are both very skeptical. Geert remarked that ‘Making/3dprinting something needs a special “maker” mindset that not every one has’. And good thing too as design needs to be a highly regarded profession to attract talented and hard grafting people. This is not to say that making, designing and 3D printing should be an elite mystical practice. Others appreciate talent and skills when they understand how hard the graft that goes into achieving something has to be.

The hype on 3D printing is because what is mostly known about it is from articles with images, from videos, from finished objects, and not from any hands-on experience of actually designing for the technology. Being able to photograph objects with a mobile’s camera and stitch the images together to create a 3D object that is 3D printable is an interesting one as this does not take a special mindset. This is not designing though, neither is the act of ‘customising’ objects that are designed by someone else, manipulated on a website and printed out. The word ‘design’ has been adulterated unfortunately but I do see the ‘personal 3D printer’ placed in schools, workshops and sheds as a great facilitator towards getting more people, involved in designing and enthused about making, especially kids, to nurture the mindset that a designer needs.
As a designer maker, using 3D printing for jewellery units I am waiting impatiently to get Anarkik3D’s ‘personal printer’ for the courses we will run, covering designing for 3D printing as this hands-on opportunity will demonstrate the constraints and principles involved. It is also sufficiently open to experiment and isn’t this just what designer makers want to do.

No such thing as cheating: cont…..

11 month’s ago I headlined a blog “Is a designer ‘cheating’ if they use 3D modelling packages that are incredibly ‘easy to learn and use’?” https://annmarieshillito.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/cloud9-cheating/

So this following quote from Nick Grace who runs RapidForm at the Royal College of Art in London is pertinent to my point that complexity of process excludes many talented and creative people from using digital tools as they do not have the time and resources to begin to learn software of any sort with steep learning curves.

“That’s why the debate between traditional craftspeople and digital designers is getting lively. “Traditionally,” says Grace, “the non-maker had to rely on another human being to help him out. Now they can do it all themselves. There’s a lot of Luddite mentality attached to it, a lot of fear. Some people think that in order for something to be good it has to be difficult to achieve, and for someone to achieve something easily, it’s just not fair.”

Nick is referring to 3D printing and being able with this technology to ‘make’ complex forms difficult to produce by any other method. I am referring to 3D software for creating the model to be 3D printed. Unlike standard CAD, the software should be as easy as picking up a pencil or piece of clay and of a quality to provide the balance between pleasure and challenge whereby it is possible to progress and to master the medium. That is our goal for Anarkik3D’s haptic Cloud9 3S sketch/modelling package!

3D printing

In the last 2 months I have attended 2 symposiums where 3D printing has been a major topic for presentations and discussion. The first was in conjunction with the Power of Making exhibition. The second, earlier this week, was specifically about 3D printing ceramics. In Crafts Magazine 3D printing has been a fluctuating but growing topic with Tanya Harrod questioning in the current magazine whether 3D printing is ‘the right tool for our time’. This follows on from her previous ‘Thinking Aloud’ column where the power of making is celebrated for remaining central in designers’ and makers’ practice, both in real world materials and using digital technologies. Also our continuing captivation for all ways of making is fostered and supported by the ease with which we can access information and support through ubiquitous digital media and technology.

There is a desire of course to democratise with the introduction of DIY 3D printers and I agree with Tanya that for the majority of people there is no desire for making for themselves at this level. What is happening is that within the crafts, designer makers are approaching 3D printing from both ends and taking ownership of these as tools to be pragmatically exploited for their advantages within the different craft disciplines. The ceramic symposium presented research and development supported by grants, academia and business as well as a self–developed and subverted system by a ‘lone’ and determined individual.

As a jeweller I will move across all levels of quality print, material and finish depending on my design concept, from high end finesse of 3D printed titanium, to finely grained starches and on through to the refreshing non precious and crudely extruded plastic from one of the DIY 3D printers. Here at the bottom ends lies the enticement of experimentation with little risk and cost and the challenge of designing for inherent constraints. It is this enthusiasm for using new ‘tools’ in context that will bypass the type of critical notes that Tanya highlighted from the Dezeen ezine readers that ‘just because something can be made, it doesn’t mean it should be’. This was about the gross fractal table purchased by the V&A in 2008. But then we can be mesmerised by bravado of this kind! Mine was short lived when I saw the table in the V&A 20th Century Design Gallery – there were more inspiring pieces to go see.

World first – 3D printed titanium wedding ring?

Could this be a world first – a wedding ring in 3D printed titanium?

Kari's titanium wedding ring and gold engagement ring

I designed and made my elder daughter Kari’s wedding ring for her marriage to Rob this last June in a beautiful setting in the Scottish countryside. It was a perfect day. It didn’t even rain.
Rob proposed to Kari. She wanted a specific engagement ring, one I had designed and made in titanium, machined and hand carved to flow around an oval diamond in a gold setting. This is now hard for me to remake but in January this year i-materialise announced their new service – 3D printing titanium (see http://bit.ly/hHMMnL) and Kari and Rob agreed enthusiastically to have it made this way. Personally, this was perfect as I am a 3D print evangelist (since a Stuart Devlin Masterclass at the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in London in 1990) and I could 3D model it in Cloud9. The design would be super fluid with titanium flowing around the diamond of an interlocking gold engagement ring.

With this general concept my daughter and I visited London’s Hatton Garden to look at diamonds before she and Rob chose one – a beautiful square corner cut one.

3D printed titanium with nylon prototypes

Jeweller friend, Teena Ramsey, and I then finalised the designs for both rings which were then 3D printed as prototypes nylon for Kari and Rod to see, check ring size, how they slotted together, and for Teena to work with.
With all checked and approved an .stl file of the wedding ring was sent to i.materialise and in 2 weeks I was working on the titanium! Once finished we fitted them together – it looks as though the diamond is floating within the flowing titanium bands.

Kari’s 3D printed titanium wedding ring and gold and diamond engagement ring

 Mum, having made my wedding ring has given us a unique and special gift and our rings are now all the more precious to us.’  Kari