Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
in Google Sketchup, for example. Sketchup is a no-cost, easy-to-use design tool
popular with educators, architects, and beginning designers. Engineers tend to
create design iles using high-end commercial solid modeling software. John
frequently works with geographers, surgeons, or map-makers whose data origi-
nates from an optical scanner, a remote sensor or a medical image.
A recurring challenge in the 3D printing process is compensating for the fact
that most design software was created without 3D printing in mind. Design
iles come in a bewildering array of different ile formats, each with their own
quirks and challenges. During my visit to ABC Imaging, John told me, “In the
2D print world, if you have a document that's poorly done or unattractive, if you
click 'print,' you still end up with some kind of printed document, even if it's
not what you really want.”
John continued, “With 3D printing, it's not just garbage in and garbage
out. It's garbage in and nothing comes out. In the 3D printing world, if you
get a design ile that's poorly done, you end up with nothing. Or, worse than
nothing, you end up wasting expensive raw material.”
Most design iles, particularly those for complicated objects, require some
expert tweaking. “Although people talk a lot about the quality of design soft-
ware, what really matters is the skill of the human who made the design ile,”
said John. “A messy design ile can slow down the process since I need to re-do
it and ix it for them.”
The 3D printing landscape is a complicated ecosystem made up of products (and open
source) tools and applications that span software, hardware, and services and range
from consumer to industrial customers.
