NOVEDGE blog

The Edge: Samantha Snabes's Giant 3D Printer

Novedge: Tell us about yourself and what you do.

Samantha Snabes: I am the catalysts and co-founder of re:3D.

re:3D was founded in January 2013 by a team of six dynamic entrepreneurs with diverse professional backgrounds, yet united by one singular vision: to transform the tangible world through 3D printing. Our founders have more than 50 years of combined experience in engineering, manufacturing, tool and die, research and entrepreneurship.  

Based in Austin, Texas, re:3D is committed to trailblazing new frontiers in 3D printing. Our flagship technology, the GigabotTM, is a high-performance, robust, affordable 3D printer with a build volume of 8 cubic feet -- 30 times the build volume of a standard consumer device. re:3D is also at the forefront of material science, developing novel printer feedstocks including recycled plastics and enriched composites. With a global online marketplace and a localized presence in Latin America, re:3D is reaching untapped emerging markets worldwide.

 

Novedge: Why create a large-format 3D printer?

Samantha Snabes: The vast majority of home 3D printers have a build volume of less than 1 cubic ft, which limits the ability to create at human scale. GigabotTM enables printing in the 8 cubic ft range. Imagine household, industrial, and educational applications. For example, communities are already envisioning 3D-printed furniture, tools, decorative artwork, storage containers, and other functional objects. Architectural firms can now create in-house rapid prototyping at a larger, high-quality scale. Conversely, small production companies can now affordably complete in-house set design. Imagine a micro-entrepreneur in Latin America creating composting toilets and rainwater catchment systems for local sanitation and water conservation projects. Think big, print big.

Novedge: What software do you recommend for 3D printing with the Gigabot? 

Samantha Snabes: With some general ideas of what 3D printing is your next step is to obtain a solid model or .stl file of the object you want to print. There are a number of places on the web where you can download models for printing or you can be creative and make your own models. One of the largest 3D model sites on the web is Thingiverse. There are many other sites as well. Some are tailored to specific markets such as video game design or architectural design.

Modeling the object can be done in a variety of modeling software. Some are free and others can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Google SketchUp is free and can be found here. There is an add-on to Google SketchUp that will export .stl files for 3D printing, download it here. Most any 3D modeling software will work if it can export a .stl file.

It is worth to note that sometimes you may receive a .stl file that is either downloaded or exported that has errors. The most common error is for the model to not be “water tight” or not manifold. If you can visualize a model that has a hole in the surface it would not hold water. For 3D printing the entire outside surface of the model must be completely closed with no holes. There are several ways to fix the .stl model. You can use a free online service called Netfabb cloud service that will automatically fix many problems with your .stl file: http://cloud.netfabb.com/. Netfabb offers stand-alone software that is free as well as a pro version you can buy that offers more features.

Once you have a .stl file that you are happy with the next step is to process or ‘slice’ the model and translate it into commands that drive the 3D printer. There are several free open source community developed software packages for slicing. The above RepRap newsletter is a great source for information on different slicing software. Slic3r is very popular software and there is a well written introduction to Slic3r here. The output from the slicing program is a .gcode file that is essentially a list of X, Y and Z coordinates that the printer reads for movement instructions.

The software, Pronterface, that we use to read the .gcode and move the printer is also open source and community developed can be found here. Before you receive Gigabot we will have even more instruction that will help familiarize you with Pronterface and Slic3r.

Novedge: What is your response to the critics who say that a 3D printer would not be helpful to people who lack access to food and basic sanitation?

Samantha Snabes: Modern society is facing complex, dynamic challenges that require solutions capable of spanning local needs with global demands. re:3D's vision is to harness the rapid growth potential of 3D printing technology to create employment opportunities and new end users in Latin America and other emerging markets. By leveraging relationships with local educational institutions, governments, non-profit organizations, and corporations, re:3D seeks to build communities around customized 3D printing solutions.

Also, the materials we use to create products defines the lifecycle of our economies. 3D printing opens new avenues for sourcing and producing objects that will reposition fabrication in a post industrial world. Recognizing this, re:3D is partnering on technologies to transform recycled materials into plastic filament. "3D re:purposing" will not only drive down input costs, but create new markets for recycled materials, thereby reducing landfill waste and resource depletion.

3D printing alone may not solve the multi-variable problem of global food security and sanitation, but it does have the potential to facilitate small steps as citizen scientists, problem solvers, and entrepreneurs we explore opportunities to improve the world around us.

Novedge: As the title of an article about you asked: "Will 3D printers save the world?"

Samantha Snabes: We believe that 3D printers have the potential to be adapted as enabling technologies to help contribute to solutions that improve life on earth.

Novedge: What is social entrepreneurship?

Samantha Snabes: This is a tough question. I wrote about this theme last year on open.nasa.gov. You can read my response here.

Novedge: What are some of the rewards and challenges of founding and being part of a start-up company?

Samantha Snabes: Any engineering endeavor is a balancing act between the opposing forces of physics: form vs. function; precision vs. speed; feature vs. necessity. Matthew Fiedler, Chief Hacker of re:3D, optimized Gigabot for performance and size at a highly affordable price point for serious hobbyists and small businesses alike.

A second obstacle has been maintaining effective lines of communication within a distributed team. The re:3D founders are currently spread across four distinct geographies: Austin, Texas; Santiago, Chile; Houston, Texas; and Syracuse, NY. We’ve overcome the distance by rigorously maintaining biweekly video chat tag-ups, and prioritizing face-to-face meetings whenever possible. We also leverage multiple communication channels including Google Hangouts, Skype chat, and e-mail.

Novedge: You received tremendous support on Kickstarter: what advice would you give to anyone looking into financing their project using that platform?

Samantha Snabes: Take advantage of local resources and timing opportunities. We were incredibly blessed to have the Start-Up Chile community behind our campaign and fortunate to be featured at the SXSW Interactive festival in re:3D’s backyard of Austin, Texas, the day we launched our campaign. Showcased at Startup Chile’s trade show booth, we ran a live demo of Gigabot printing in action for hundreds of SXSW participants. The demo generated significant buzz and media attention, which catapulted our Kickstarter campaign. In just 24 hours, Gigabot had met its Kickstarter goal, only to double it the following day. 

 

Curious about re:3D? Visit their website.

Looking for a smaller 3D printer? Check out what Novedge has to offer here.

The Edge: Kelly Nedderman, Forging Community

Novedge: Tell us a bit about who you are and what you do.
Kelly Nedderman: Well, I do quite a lot of things. I am a surface/textile designer (mostly commercial work in fashion and home), artist, jewelry designer, and I teach metalsmithing at The Crucible and Academy of Art University. My work has been included in a handful of publications and I have exhibited nationally. I came to the San Francisco Bay Area over a decade ago for school and never left. For the last several years I have been self-employed and really thrive on the multitude of possibilities that it offers with regards to projects and people.

Novedge: What are some of the rewards and challenges of owning your own business?
Kelly Nedderman: Some of the best parts of owning your own business are also the most challenging parts. Schedule flexibility is a huge plus for me. It is also a huge challenge to hold yourself accountable and stay on track. The ability to choose projects is wonderful, but when you are in between things and the paychecks are not rolling in, it can also be nerve racking.

Novedge: What is a recent project that you worked on?
Kelly Nedderman: One of my current projects is a collaboration with a local wallpaper company. The pieces will be for commercial interiors such as restaurants and hotels. While I create repeating imagery every day, this project is a bit different. The patterns will end up being 52” across with no vertical limits, so I can design something to float in the center of the wall or something that is 15 ft tall. It’s exciting.

Novedge: What software do you use?
Kelly Nedderman: In my line of work, I primarily use Photoshop, Illustrator, and Nedgraphics. Nedgraphics is a CAD program specific to textile design that facilitates the development of repeats, wovens and knits. These programs allow me to draw and develop repeating patterns ready to be printed by clients onto thousands of yards of fabric or wallpaper. I also do hand illustrated artwork for graphic t-shirts.
Recently, I took two great courses in Rhino, and am learning to model jewelry designs that would be very difficult to execute in metal, mainly because of their crazy shape and size. I have also been playing around in Hex Fiend, GIMP and Audacity and using them to “break” tiff and jpg files in interesting ways to produce new imagery for my designs.

Novedge: Where do you find inspiration for your work?
Kelly Nedderman: Just about everywhere. Magazines, blogs, photos… even just walking around, but the more offbeat the better. I have a soft spot for silhouettes, textures and magazines from the UK.

Novedge: You are the Co Director of Programs at the San Francisco Bay Area Metal Arts Guild. What is the Guild and what does it do?
Kelly Nedderman: The Metal Arts Guild of The Bay Area is a non-profit organization that focuses on promoting the recognition of metalwork as an art form and offering Bay Area jewelers and metal artists a network of information, education and support. That’s the official answer, but it is so much more than that. It’s a community, support group, and network of friends. We organize artist lectures, museum tours, exhibits and workshops all aimed at inspiring the group. We have around 250 members of all ages and backgrounds. From the student to the retiree and the hobbyist to the large business owner… The guild provides a common ground for all of those who love making and exchanging ideas.

Novedge: How important is it for professionals to be involved with their community?
Kelly Nedderman: I think it’s incredibly important. We were all beginners once. I was very lucky to be able to work with and learn from people making their living doing what their passion was. It had a huge impact on me. I try very hard to encourage students and professionals to get involved. Another great benefit of community is feedback and interaction. Our lives and creativity do not happen in a vacuum... I think people forget that even just being in an office environment is still a community. The office community is the one most people are familiar with, but we need to branch out past that. I have had some amazing brainstorming sessions with new people whom I have met at events and many of my clients have found me through word of mouth and my network. Take the time to get outside of your bubble!

Novedge: How are new technologies changing jewelry design?
Kelly Nedderman: One of the most obvious ways is that a fine jewelry store can have most of its inventory exist digitally now. They will have some great samples that customers can touch and try on, but without having so much money invested up front.
For someone who is more into the sculptural aspect of jewelry, like myself, 3D printing and laser cutting allow for an amazing level of experimentation. Forms that are extremely challenging or maybe impossible to create in metal, can be worked out with relative ease and then manufactured in a huge variety of materials. This grey area where traditional skills and new technologies meet is very exciting right now.

 

See more of Kelly's work on Flickr and don't forget to join our Rhino Jungle community, if you are a Rhino user.

 

The Edge: Electroblooming

Novedge: Tell us about yourself and what you do.
Mark Bloomfield: I'm a designer and a maker. I've always worked with jewellery as I like the scale and the idea that I can set up and make anywhere.Traditional tools are very important to me and how they are used to connect with different materials. I strive to have the same relationship with digital tools. I established electrobloom to specifically explore digital processes to both design and make on demand.

Novedge: You have created wearable accessories for film, fashion and luxury brands including, Titanic, Vivienne Westwood, and Virgin Galactic.  What was it like? What did you like the most and what was most challenging?
Mark Bloomfield: I feel very fortunate to have worked with some really inspiring and talented people over the years and have enjoyed the challenge of applying what I do to very different industries, from film to fashion, luxury to hi-tech. It has always been jewellery but ranging from jewellery as costume to jewellery as technology. It's been particularly challenging working with traditional craftsmen and introducing them to digital processes. When I bought in a 3D printer at one company the entire model making team thought they were going to be out of work, it took a lot to convince them otherwise, but by drawing out the best in them so that their skills complemented the digital processes it strengthened our competitive edge.

Novedge: Your website, Electrobloom, is all about custom work. Are we heading towards a future in which consumers will want the option of customizing all their purchases?
Mark Bloomfield: I wanted to include a customisable component to the work which would engage the customer in the process, allowing them to participate and create pieces of jewellery unique to them. Many companies include a customisable element with some of their product lines. When showing my jewellery collection to customers they get very excited when I explain that all the components are interchangeable, they then start putting together different combinations making the jewellery their own. I also like the idea that the customers collection can be updated with a new charm rather than discarding and replacing, as your personal collection grows then so do the options. Once you start it does become very addictive! Customisation is also the main reason for using 3D Printing as the production process, I can make items to size and introducing new elements becomes cost and time effective. I believe we will be seeing more and more customisable options applied to the things we buy as the production processes become more able to handle it. It's worth remembering that most PCs and smartphones are already being customised, I'm sure that my devices are customised with software, apps, photos and covers that are very different to what you've chosen to install and use. Customisation already happens!

Novedge: What is a recent project that you worked on?
Mark Bloomfield: The last couple of projects have been exhibitions, the first was the Kinetica Art Fair in London which represents artists whose work moves or uses new media and encourages user interaction. I'm also exploring how to design complexity into the items of jewellery by making them move or change shape. Some of the charms have rotating elements or open up but are 3D printed in one go, no assembly required.

 
It was a great opportunity to talk about my work and show customers first hand how everything works, something that's difficult to get across on-line, I've started to use animation and will be making more films to get across the collections character. One of the interesting aspects of the jewellery collection is that I can reinvent it every time I show it and I can also tailor it according to which customer I'm selling to.
The other exhibition is in Canary Wharf in London and runs till the end of the April. I enjoyed thinking about the space and tailoring the collection accordingly. I've gone for very bright colours as this area of the city is the new financial district and I wanted to brighten up the suits!

Novedge: What software do you use?
Mark Bloomfield: I've used many pieces of software, 3D Studio, Maya, Rhino but settled on Blender in 1999 as I loved the interface. It was a challenge at first but I somehow knew it would be worth the effort. I feel confident that I can design anything with Blender and as it's continually being updated there's lots of new tricks to learn. Being able to link files is very useful as I'm often improving the designs as I go along and having all instances update is a real time saver. I tend to also link objects to paths and duplicate using modifiers, you can start to create complex forms that are very easy to edit.

I have also started to use the physics simulator as it's a real easy way to animate chains and get a feel for how they will work before being made. I want to continue to use animation to show not only how the jewellery works but to also come up with new designs, you can use the animation features in Blender as modelling tools. I'd also like to revisit the game engine with the intention of making the virtual models interactive and responsive, so much to do!

 
Novedge: What are some of the rewards and challenges of owning your own business?
Mark Bloomfield: Running your own business is very rewarding, I've always enjoyed jumping from one task to the next while attempting to use design to make the processes easier to manage. Maintaining momentum continues to be a challenge as there's always distractions which pop up daily, but in the words of Walt Disney, "Keep moving forward..."

Novedge: If you could go back in time, what would you say to your younger self before entering the workforce?
Mark Bloomfield: I feel that everything you do makes you the person you are now, the experience is important as you are then better equipped to deal with new challenges.

 

See more of Mark's work on his website and connect with him on Twitter.

And don't forget to stay in touch with us on Facebook and Twitter as well!

The Edge: 3D Print Your Favorite Game Character With Sandboxr

Have you heard of Sandboxr? I met the team at GDC and saw their creations. This startup company lets you 3D print a figurine of your favorite game character and is currently raising funds on Kickstarter (their drive ends on April 11th, so hurry up and check it out!). Berkley Frei, the founder and CEO, tells us a bit more about how it all works and how you can sign up to license your designs.

Novedge: Why Sandboxr?
Berkley Frei: I grew up in a small town and as a kid the sandbox was my favorite place to play.  You could make anything you wanted in the sandbox.  I wanted to replicate that experience with Sandboxr.  We allow people to play in a digital sandbox where they can unlock their creativity, really make one of a kind creations.  When they make something they are really proud of, they can have it printed in 3D and mailed to their house.  My hope is that people will spend hours perfecting their pieces. The experience is just as important as the final product.

 
Novedge: What designers and/or companies have already signed up with Sandboxr to allow consumers to 3D print their designs?
Berkley Frei: I wish I could tell you everyone we are in talks with, but we are under non-disclosure agreements until the deals are finalized.  These are very exciting times.  However, we already have support from Super Villain Studios who have licensed awesome characters to us from their games Order Up and Tower Wars.  We also have a diverse group of independent artists that have uploaded their work, street artists, animators for big companies that are doing work on the side in Sandboxr.  We add more everyday.

Novedge: How can designers sign up with you?
Berkley Frei:  Right now we are still in our Beta phase, but if you have work in Maya file format that you would like to see on Sandboxr, contact peter@sandboxr.com with a link to your portfolio or examples of your work.  We would love to get your work up on our site.  We have a range of licensing options to make sure you maintain the ownership of your work.  You can specify how you want it to be used, set your own prices, the customization options, limited series runs, etc.  For more info, check out Sanboxr for Artists.  Once we have officially launched, artists will be able to upload content themselves just by visiting our site and following our guide to best practices.

  

Novedge: What 3D printers do you use? Can someone 3D print designs from Sandboxr at home? 

 Berkley Frei:  We use professional grade industrial sized printers from Z-Corp that print in full color sandstone, which gives our pieces a nice weight and high resolution detail.  However, we hope to provide a variety of material and color choices in the near future.  We have made .STL export available to select backers on Kickstarter to test whether or not we will keep that functionality going forward.  There are licensing concerns with home printing that we still need to work out and we also want to protect the quality of the experience.  Home printers have a long way to go, but we are thrilled with what we are seeing and hope that one day everyone can easily print high quality pieces at home. 

Novedge: What software do you use?
Berkley Frei:  We developed our own software for the app because no one has done what we are doing yet.  Basically we take the animation files, simplify the interface so that anyone can easily manipulate and customize their creation, automate the post-processing and conversion for printing so that you don’t have to be an expert to prep your models.  You just have to click print.

 

Novedge: In his book Makers Chris Anderson compares 3D printing to the internet, for its revolutionary impact. What are the advantages of actually having more people participate in making products? How is 3D printing changing manufacturing?
Berkley Frei:   I haven’t read his book yet, but I agree with that assertion.  It is democratizing manufacturing.  The more people creating, the more creative we will get.  I think we will see the rise of designers that would otherwise have never had the resources to manufacture samples.  Right now we are in the early phases.  There is a lot of excitement, but I think there are many surprises ahead.  People will gravitate to things we never expected them to.  New ideas and innovations are coming out everyday.  It’s exciting.  The response to what we are doing has been amazing and there is so much more to come. 

Novedge: What can we expect to see from Sandboxr in the future?
Berkley Frei: We want to be a community where skilled designers and animators can interact with their fans.  Right now the video game industry is really excited about us.  We are talking to developers that want to integrate Sandboxr into their games so that as people play the game, they can earn access to new characters, unlock accessories and build things in Sandboxr that only players can access.  We also expect to see artists experiment on Sandboxr.  There is so much potential for collaboration between artists or an artist with users.  I think when we open our doors to the public, we will be surprised with all the ways people will use Sandboxr.  It will be a great big experiment for all of us and I think the results will be amazing.

 

What are you waiting for? Donate to Sandboxr's campaign on Kickstarter, it ends in just a couple of days!

You can also request an invitation to join Sandboxr on their website and watch more cool videos on their Vimeo channel.

All the figurines in the photos above are Super Villain Studios Characters Posed and 3D Printed using Sandboxr.

The Edge: Michiel Cornelissen's 3D Printed Happy Birds

Michiel Cornelissen is an independent designer who "combines work for clients with the creation of his own range of products, such as jewelry, housewares, and electronics accessories." His work has been featured in Gizmodo, Wired, Designboom, Core77 and more. And the Museum of Modern Art in New York has even bought some of his products.

 

Novedge: Tell us a bit about who you are and what you do

Michiel Cornelissen: I am a designer. Sometimes I design whatever pops into my mind and seems like a good idea, sometimes I help clients with products they’re working on. Sometimes the two meet halfway.

Novedge: On your website you mention learning in school and then while working for Philips Design. Can you talk about learning in school vs. learning on the job? What advice would you give to young people who want to follow in your footsteps?

Michiel Cornelissen: My education in Industrial Design Engineering at Delft Technical University was a very general one: I know very few people from my year that are actually still in design. Some are in engineering, or are project managers, or researchers, you name it. I came away from it with a general idea of how to approach almost any problem, but with very little classical design skills. I mean, I hardly knew what a fillet was, let alone how big I should choose it in any give project. Fate somehow placed me in Philips Design, where I met all these "real" designers, from all kinds of backgrounds and often with wonderful insights in how to create and detail designs. So yes, it feels like a post-doc education to me. Something similar is happening now since entering the 3D-printing community;  a whole world is opening up to me. It’s just great to be able to keep on learning and growing in your profession.

Novedge: What is a recent project that you worked on?

Michiel Cornelissen: The dilemma is always that there’s so much I can’t talk about yet, as much as I’d love to. Just recently a health care product I worked on was introduced in Asia, which I’m very happy with (unfortunately, I don’t have good images of that yet).

Of course the Mesh Matryoshkas were introduced in the beginning of the year and I’m really happy with Zesch too, although manufacturing it in larger quantities is a challenge.

Novedge: What software do you use?

Michiel Cornelissen: When it comes to designing, I do almost everything in Rhino. I started using it when 1.0 was still in beta, and I still haven’t found a compelling reason to switch to something else. I still think it’s a Godsend, I’m not even sure I would still be in design if it wasn’t for Rhino…  And since about a year, I’m exploring the Grasshopper plug for generative modeling in Rhino – that’s the future! Both Zesch and the Mesh Matryoshkas were almost completely defined in it. I’m not saying it’s the only way, but I might have given both projects up without Grasshopper. For rendering, I now love Keyshot – it’s just so much fun, and the results can be great. Oh – and don’t forget pen and paper! I don’t see myself scribbling on tablets anytime soon, I love the simplicity of a white sheet of paper and a nice fat Pentel sign pen.

Novedge: You have embraced 3D printing. What are some of the benefits and challenges of using this technology?

Michiel Cornelissen: One of the main benefits of 3D printing is that anyone with some modeling skills and an idea can make a product available anywhere in the world. One of the main challenges of 3D printing is that anyone with some modeling skills and an idea can make a product available anywhere in the world… What I mean is, that there is an inevitable explosion of 3D printed content in the works, and one of the difficulties will be to find the few useful, qualitative items in that outburst. Other than that, I’m still intrigued by the geometric possibilities that are opening up through 3d-printing, some of which I’ve tried to highlight in products such as Happy and Merry Bird, The ExChange collection and the Mesh Matryoshkas.

Novedge: What's in the future for you?

Michiel Cornelissen: I really enjoy working with clients, also when it has nothing to do with 3D-printing, by the way. That’s some of that stuff I can’t talk about… Just recently, I visited a manufacturing facility in Switzerland where men and women were creating beautiful items from wood and metal and other materials, in ways that haven’t changed much over 100 years. It was awe-inspiring, and it’s one of the things I sincerely hope won’t disappear with developments such as globalization and 3d-printing. Crossing my fingers that the project I’m planning with them will happen!

 

You can learn more about Michiel's work on his website. And don't forget to follow him on Twitter!

To buy Rhino and Keyshot, visit Novedge. And send us your questions and feedback in 140 characters or less at @Novedge. Grasshopper can be downloaded here.

Meet Jim Newton, Founder of TechShop: "TechShop was created because I wanted my own dream shop"

Jim Newton, an uber-DIYer and lifelong maker, created TechShop because he needed a place to build his own inventions. His ideas are now more relevant than ever, so I asked him to share his story and philosophy with us.

Novedge: Tell us about yourself and TechShop. 

Jim Newton: TechShop is a membership-based workshop and fabrication studio where we teach hands-on classes to equip anyone to operate industry-standard machines and technologies for use on their personal projects. Each of our facilities includes a full wood shop, metal working shop, machine shop, plastics and electronics labs, welding stations, and laser and water jet cutters. No experience is necessary to take a class or become a member at TechShop.

Members are given unlimited access to the space, which is open daily from 9AM to midnight. They can use any of the tools after taking a one-time Safety and Basic Use (SBU) class. These classes typically run between one and three hours and prepare members to safely explore a machine's capabilities on their own. They also have open access to high-end design software including the entire Autodesk Design Suite.

TechShop also offers personal consulting and prototyping for an hourly fee. All locations are staffed with experts who can be paired with members who require special help or guidance.

We teach hundreds of classes every month at each TechShop location.  Classes cover topics in everything from laser cutting to sewing to electrics design to stained glass and injection molding.  We also offer a variety of CNC classes including the ShopBot wood router, Tormach CNC mill, and the FlowJet CNC waterjet cutter. We will be opening our seventh location in March.

TechShop was created because I wanted my own dream shop, so I tried to think of a way I could put it together, that would not require me to perform prototype work and fabrication services for customers.  I thought about the health club membership model, and applied it to a do-it-yourself workshop.  The rest is history.

Novedge: What inspires you? 

Jim Newton: Ben Franklin inspires me, and people who become brand new makers. 

Novedge: What is a recent project that you worked on?

Jim Newton: Here are three recent projects.

Electric Cargo Trike

This was a project that I built as transportation for myself for the 2011 Burning Man event.  I took a new electric bike that I bought at a local auto parts chain store, and hacked off the motor, controller and drive train and fabricated a frame and box that looked a lot like an ice cream vendor trike.  It had a large cargo box in the front with two wheels, and had one wheel in the back.  It worked great, but I only had 4 days to pack for the trip and build the trike.

Extreme Pinewood Derby Cars 

My sons were both in Cub Scouts so they built Pinewood Derby cars each year.  In our pack, we also had what we called an "Outlaw Derby" and the reason was so the dads would build their own car to compete with the other dads, and they'd let their son build his own car.  It worked great.  I have build a number of "Outlaw" cars over the years, but in the last few years I made a self-steering car that would sense the center guide rail and steer away from it to reduce drag and friction, and my car from last year was designed in Autodesk Inventor and printed on a 3D printer.  That car also had jewel bearings on all four wheels, which reduced the wheel and axle friction to practically zero.  I am now working on my car for 2013 that has both active automated self steering and jewel bearings, as well as a ducted air induction system that directs incoming air onto vanes on the wheels to add a small rotational force.

Amphibious Armored Personnel Carrier

Before I started TechShop, I build an amphibious armored personnel carrier for one of my clients.  It was a scaled version of a Marines troop carrier.  It had tank-style steering, eight wheels, propellers in the back, a machine gun turret, and could carry 6 adults with full combat gear.  Since I didn't have a TechShop yet, I built it in the driveway of my house.  I'm pretty sure the neighbors loved it.

Novedge: What software do you use?

Jim Newton: I use Autodesk Inventor for 3D design, and Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop for 2D designs. I like Inventor because it really is a virtual workshop, and feeds particularly well into 3 printers and into CNC equipment.  Illustrator and Photoshop I use because I produce a lot of 2D graphics work, and I have been using each of those programs since before they were released so I know them really well.

Novedge: What innovations do you see in your field?

Jim Newton: I think there are a lot of future tools that have not even been dreamed up yet.  Laser cutters and 3D printers are very new in the history of tools, and it was not very long ago when nobody had thought of those yet.  We are going to see some amazing tools come out in the near future that are going to add capability that humans have never had before.

Also, I think that we will see 3D printing technology advance to the point that it is competitive with traditional injection molding.  A lot has to improve with 3D printers for that to happen...specifically print speed, print quality including the ability to print smooth glossy surfaces without any "pixel" resolution, and the ability to print objects that match the color and luster of objects with which they will need to mate in the final product assembly. I think we are a long way from any of these things happening, but it will happen at some point.

Are you a member of TechShop? Leave a comment for Jim.

Samantha Gratz: "My current work explores how mutated creatures would interact or inhabit the human body."

Today I have the pleasure to talk to Samantha Gratz, a graduate student and member of our Rhino Jungle community. Her jewelry design is quite unique, so I invited her to share with us a little bit more about her interests and inspiration.

Novedge: Tell us about yourself and what you do.

Samantha Gratz: I am drawn to the wild and strange. Anything that has an unexpected form or startling color combinations excites me. My current work explores how mutated creatures would interact or inhabit the human body. This work is the thesis topic for my Master’s Degree in CAD/CAM at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia.

Before moving East, I lived in the 7,200 foot altitude of Flagstaff, Arizona where I earned a BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing at Northern Arizona University (NAU). It was at NAU where I developed my chops fabricating jewelry by hand.

Novedge: Where do you find inspiration?

Samantha Gratz: I admire the colors of the gem-encrusted pieces by Dior’s jewelry designer, Victoria de Castellenne, even though my current work does not relate to conventional jewelry. I’m also inspired by the illustrations of Dougal Dixon and Ernst Haeckel.

Technologically, I love how I can develop forms and mechanisms with ease using CAD and rapid prototyping processes. The work I’m currently producing would be a prodigious task using traditional bench techniques. With CAD software, I can quickly and easily produce tangible objects of intricate complexity.

Novedge: What is a recent project that you worked on? 

Samantha Gratz: The recent explorations of deep ocean depths and the sea creatures inhabiting those dark, deep seas set me on a path to create my own denizens of the deep. For example:

This Snail project was designed to envelope the ear. The challenge was to first consider size and shape and then determine where the piece best fits on the body. I printed the shell portion of the snail in Durus White then dyed it. I chose Durus White for its durability and translucent nature. The back of the shell has an opening that slides over the ear. The soft body of the snail is printed in the flexible material of Tango Plus in order to mimic the actual feeling of a snail touching the face.

The piece entitled Tremor is a companion bracelet for the Shell earpiece. This bracelet is a conglomeration of deep sea creature forms and coral reef plant life. The head and body portions are printed in Durus White because I wanted translucent material to be present in both pieces. It’s also easy to dye.

Novedge: What software do you use?

Samantha Gratz: I use Rhinoceros to model objects, then switch over to ZBrush to texturize them. Rhinoceros and Zbrush provide design aesthetics I need through modeling commands. Rhinoceros is also the industry standard.

Novedge: What innovations do you see in your field?

Samantha Gratz: New design features in CAD and rapid prototyping married to the rising popularity of generative modeling and multi material printing are exciting in of themselves. But when these technologies are used with Objet’s Connex printers, the results are akin to the emulators in science fiction. I envision the Connex printer becoming more popular and opening up a range of potential material capabilities that will jump-start many ingenious projects.

 

Do you want to see more of Samantha's work? Take a look at her website and at her profile page on Rhino Jungle.

Do you love Rhino? Join Rhino Jungle to connect and share your work.

 

Meet Miranda Bastijns of Materialise: "Our customers inspire us to do great things"

3D printing is finally entering the consumers market, so I asked Miranda Bastijns, the Business Director of Units at i.materialise and .MGX to talk about her company and 3D printing.

The team at i.materialise

Novedge: Tell us about yourself and your company. 

Miranda Bastijns: Materialise is one of the pioneers of 3D printing. For over 20 years, our company has been making 3D prints and developing 3D print related software for the industrial and medical markets. All over the world hospitals and research institutes use our 3D printed models as customized drill and cutting guides, and anatomical models for surgery preparation and/or educational purposes. They also use our software in order to conduct research with virtual 3D models as well as in the creation of 3D models using their own printers.  Also, a range of industrial sectors from aviation over automotive to consumer electronics are using the 3D prints of Materialise. It will be hard to find a type of car that Materialise has not supplied a prototyped part for. In 2003 Materialise expanded its range of services towards the consumer. For the first time in history, 3D printed design products became available on the market. This was the .MGX design collection, a range of high-end lamps and decorative elements straight from the 3D printer.

Designer: Patrick Jouin

At the end of 2009 we recognized a growing interest from the consumers to make their own designs. This was the start for i.materialise, the on-line 3D printing service for consumers. This implied that the over 80 printers of Materialise became available to everybody who wanted to make something. I think the name i.materialise is quite self explicative: “Materialise” should be seen as a verb, while the i is in fact I, me, myself, I materialise.

I have been with Materialise for 15 years. When I started, the company employed 40 people, now we are close to 1000. For years I have been responsible for the marketing. Not so easy to be in a commercial role in a company with mainly engineers. For a while I combined my role as marketing manager with the set-up of i.materialise, but very soon it was clear that i.materialise was growing too fast to combine it with another job. So now I am managing this fantastically interesting business unit full time.

Julia Vase 002 - Yin Yang by Virtox

Novedge: What inspires you? 

Miranda Bastijns: If you really want to know who is inspiring in the 3D printing world, I am surrounded by so many inspiring figures at work that it is hard to think of any inspirations externally. Materialise has always been at the forefront  of the 3D printing wave, trying out new things and going places where no other company had gone before. Many of my colleagues inspire me, for example, our CEO Fried – and many in the industry agree with me about what an inspiration he is. He was voted the most influential person in the industry in fact. Of course, looking beyond 3D printing there are numerous management books where we find inspiration.  But also, just looking around and seeing what our customers do inspire us to do great things together with them, whether it is an inspiring design they come up with, or improving a clever software tool together with them…even going as far as developing life saving implants.

Bass Bracelet Constructionist by Maaike van der Horn

Novedge: What is a recent project that you worked on with i.materialise? 

Miranda Bastijns: A very nice project is the recent launch of Twikit. Twikit is a start-up company that specializes in creating unique, customizable trophies. They developed an easy-to-use software tool by which people can make their own trophy, meaning every trophy is unique, which of course makes 3D printing the preferred method of production. Together with the people of Twikit, our engineering and customer support team looked into the best possible way to prepare the designs for 3D printing. And now that the product has been launched we are almost as proud of it as the Twikit boys. On top of the production,  i.materialise also takes care of the logistic handling, including assembly, white labeling and shipment to customers. We have several of these kinds of start-ups that we collaborate with. And, each time one goes live, it’s quite exiting. Almost as exciting as starting your own business.

But of course, we are also touched by nice, one-off prints. It’s difficult to pick one as a favourite. Every day brings new beauties. I really like my job as I am on the forefront of many new and beautiful objects and projects that enter the world.

Lotus.MGX by Janne Kyttanen

Novedge: What software do you use at i.materialise?  

Miranda Bastijns: Every 3D print starts by designing something in a software package or software tool. No file, no print. People uploading files at i.materialise use numerous design software packages, but many files are not immediately suitable for 3D printing. There are a multitude of software packages that can be used to design or model something for 3D printing, ranging from very high end CAD packages to relatively simple ones. Depending on your skills and what you want to make, you use the one or the other. For beginners there are Autodesk123D, Tinkercad, 3DTin and SketchUp.We use Magics, a software package developed in-house at Materialise in order to check and fix files.  Then our own Streamics software takes care of the back end and of course we have Materialise’s hundreds of software developers doing whatever is needed to ensure that our web service run smoothly.

36 Pencil Bowl by Michiel Cornelissen

Novedge: What innovations do you see in your field?

Miranda Bastijns: More materials, more materials, and more materials. Thousands of new design tools to make your own something special. More user friendly and better home printers. And, for sure, many more medical applications of 3D printing.  

 

To learn more about Materialise, visit their website.

 

Interview with Saad Alayyoubi, Founder of SaGa Design: "This industry is still in its infancy, but the road ahead looks incredibly exciting for all of us"

Remember this incredible 3D printed Siri case for the iPhone? We asked Saad Alayyoubi, the designer behind it, to tell us a bit about his work and his company SaGa Design.

Novedge: Tell us about yourself and your company.

Saad Alayyoubi: I am a designer trained in architecture, and I’ve always been interested in creating inspiring work that crosses disciplinary boundaries. When I was a teenager I spent most of my days working on drawings and oil paintings, and ever since I can remember I have always had a passion for aesthetic beauty, both in the natural world and in our human artifacts and constructions.

After college I worked for several years as an architect for a large firm called KPF, where I was a member of project teams tasked with creating massive cultural centers, hotels and office skyscrapers. I enjoyed the work, but felt somewhat frustrated at the time that most of the key design decisions were made, understandably, by the experienced senior partners. Young designers, including myself, were mainly assigned to the technical execution of the partners’ vision, and would have to spend decades working our way up the corporate ladder before we had any real creative freedom.

At the time, 3D printing was still a relatively unknown technique used for prototyping architectural models, but all of us making these prototypes sensed that imminent change was on the horizon, as the technology continued to rapidly improve. I loved the creative expression the technology enabled, as I watched the intricate, digital architecture models I had created come to life in powder form inside the 3D printer. All the years I had spent honing my digital skills in college could now be translated outside the computer screen and into the physical world.

I waited for the day when commercial 3D printing would become viable as a means to create my own physical products: the technology had to both be capable of producing a high-quality material finish, and also relatively affordable for mass market consumption. As soon as I started to see this happening, I began experimenting with the various material offerings and formed my own studio, SaGa Design, dedicated to building beautiful 3D printed products and concepts. I have since expanded the scope of SaGa to include all artistic endeavors that I embark on, and it is now essentially a portal for the expression of all my thoughts and ideas. I would like to also create a blog someday soon associated with the website, to engage with other designers and thinkers on the problems and ideas of our time.

Novedge: What inspires you? 

Saad Alayyoubi: The sources are almost infinite. In terms of my worldview, a big part of my thinking was shaped by the writing and ideas of the late Carl Sagan. He was a brilliant scientist and philosopher, expert at articulating who we are as a species, and how we could begin to understand our place in the universe and the meaning of our existence.

In terms of artistic creativity my sources of inspiration continue to evolve every day, but in terms of classical art I have always been deeply inspired by Caspar David Friedrich, Frederick Church, and William Turner. In terms of more contemporary artists, there are so many it’s actually impossible to even condense the list to a reasonable format…The information age has really enabled us to recognize incredible artistic talent from all corners of the globe, and from people of all ages. I’ve seen astounding works of creative photography and digital art from kids as young as 16.

Novedge: What is a recent project that you worked on?

Saad Alayyoubi: I’m currently working for a multi-disciplinary design firm in midtown Manhattan, Experion Design Group, where I do everything from architectural renderings to website design and even user-interface design for mobile software apps. I spend most of my non-office hours continuing to expand my design portfolio of creative work, and most recently have been interested in improving my abilities as a digital matte-painter.

I start with a quick 15 minute sketch in Photoshop, to capture a certain mood using color and light. I then create a rough 3D model of the scene, to get an understanding of depth and some reflection layers which I can use to overlay on the base sketch. In the case of the project below, the 3D model also incorporated an idea for some floating architectural elements, which I scrapped in the final painting in favor of a pure landscape scene. I love working on dreamscapes such as this, creating an evocative scene from pure imagination; in my next few digital paintings I’ll be looking to implement more 3D elements that lend a more surreal, other-worldly atmosphere to the scene.

I am also still working on several new 3D-printing concepts, but many of these are still work in progress and will be revealed in the near future. I’m waiting for the next technological leap in the manufacturing process, when we can create 3D-printed objects at much larger scales (e.g., for use as furniture pieces) with multiple embedded materials and integrated electronics. These technological capabilities are inevitable, it’s only a matter of time, and I’m designing concepts now to pre-empt their arrival and try to envision how they can potentially be used to create physical objects that were never before possible.

Novedge: What software do you use?

Saad Alayyoubi: I use many of the same digital tools that other architects and designers of our generation use, including 3ds Max, Rhino, ZBrush, Sculptris and Photoshop. I really enjoyed experimenting with ZBrush on some of my iPhone case designs, and I will be looking to use it more extensively for future 3D work that involves highly organic, detailed and intricate forms. In terms of 3D printing materials, I really like the smooth, polished finish of glazed ceramics. To be quite honest, I’m eagerly awaiting the day when it will be viable for us individual designers to create entire, full-fledged 3D-printed custom body panels for cars and motorcycles. Many of the designs I’m working on at the moment are custom vehicle shells, and it will be amazing to one day have the material finish of such 3D prints rival the creations of the major exotic car manufacturers.

Novedge: What innovations do you see in your field, now or in the future?

Saad Alayyoubi: Besides some of the aforementioned ideas, I have been speaking with a lot of designers recently about where the technology might evolve in the near-term future. One of the ideas I am most excited about is the notion of complete democratization of physical products. It may be possible that 3d-printing will enable anyone to have almost any physical object they can imagine, irrespective of any notion of “price” beyond the pure commodity cost of the physical material. If 3D-scanning technology improves to enable flawless 3D capture of a physical object, and 3D printing simultaneously enables an almost exact replication of that object, imagine what the disruption this would cause the retail sector, and the idea of a "luxury product".

Besides this, I also have some friends working on 3D printing technology in the context of aerospace engineering, seeking, for example, to use 3D printing to enable the on-demand production of materials by a robotic rover on the moon or mars. This industry is still in its infancy, but the road ahead looks incredibly exciting for all of us.

 

Read more about Saad Alayyoubi and SaGa Design on his website and find his 3D printed designs on Shapeways.

And if you are interested in 3D printing, don't forget to read our interview with Chris Anderson.

Interview with James Coleman: "What started as a result of not being able to move more than a few meters a day has ended being in a very strong position teaching one of the most powerful 3D/CAD render engines in the world."

I discovered James Coleman's work on Twitter and invited him to talk about being a student in England and becoming a certified instructor of Maxwell Render. Little did I know James had needed all his determination to study and work while battling a rare disease.

Novedge: Tell us about yourself and what you do.

James Coleman: I am a student of product design, currently in my last year at the University of Brighton. I also teach fellow students at the University and I have my own YouTube channel with tutorials on Maxwell Render.

 

I studied physics, electronics and maths (pure & mechanics) at college when I was 17, and chose to study mechanical engineering in university. Then something happened that would, for better or worse, shape the rest of my education forever. In 2007 it was discovered that I had a condition called chronic hypersensitivity that affects 300,000 in the UK, and the root cause is still unknown, as is a cure. The recovery period is approximately half the patient's age, in other words, I still have 5 years of recovery ahead of me, but at least I now have a diagnosis and I am receiving treatment.

Once I found out about my condition, I started to use my spare time to make 3D models of spaceships in SketchUp and decided to change my course to Product Design Bsc.

Novedge: How did you get into teaching? 

James Coleman: Whilst in my second year, my renders kept garnering attention, and I started showing groups of students how I made them. Then I setup some lectures in the afternoon. The first was hugely successful and I became the official Maxwell Render Mentor at the University of Brighton Center for Design Technology. When Next Limit announced their certification program I signed up immediately!

In the summer of 2012, I set up my Youtube channel and started recording basic tutorials, things like resolution and focal length, with the occasional overview of certain setup techniques. I also upload tutorials based on the questions my students asked me most frequently.

Then one day I was looking for inspiration for a new tutorial and I saw that VizPeople had released a free model of a DeLorean DMC12, which has always been one of my favourite cars. By coincidence, Maground had also recently released a free HDRI set with environment and backplates on hdri4u.com. I decided to strike while the iron was hot, and I made a series of tutorials involving setting up the model and then rendering it in a variety of different environments. The DeLorean Series got the attention of cadjunkie.com, which I was already a fan of. I ended up producing 10 free and 6 premium tutorials for them, Studio Lighting Techniques In Maxwell Render. The series went on to great acclaim, and like the DeLorean tutorial, continues to be one of the most popular videos on my channel.

 

Currently I am working on the tutorial series’ Maxwell Render Hot Tips and What Not To Render. There’s currently a new video in each playlist every week and there will be until April.

Novedge: Your university didn't have instructors to teach you how to render using Maxwell Render. How did you learn?

James Coleman: I learned by doing: I spent my time using the program, looking for answers in online forums and  watching online tutorials. 

Novedge: What software do you use? 

James Coleman: I started out with SketchUp all those years ago for one very simple reason: it was free. I can’t remember exactly where I first heard about it, but I do remember using it with friends and learning from each other. It was also really helpful that SketchUp didn’t have high system requirements, the interface and the “sketchy” style made it approachable, and although it was designed for architecture, we used it for whatever we liked.

After I became frustrated with the limited modeling tools in SketchUp, I started searching for a more advanced alternatives. 3ds Max has a huge reputation on the web, but is only available on Windows, and I use a Mac. I heard about Cinema 4D and downloaded the demo. I loved it’s interface and I understood the basics almost immediately. The tutorials available online were extensive and it wasn’t difficult to find an answer to a problem. I decided to keep it and I’ve never regretted it. I still use it today when making quick drafts, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone starting out in product design, but plenty of other students on my course use it for animations, and for times when they need to make a model quickly and easily. 3ds Max is also popular with Windows users as an alternative to CAD centric software.

The CAD software we use at the university is less a matter of choice and more a matter of logic. SolidWorks is practically a requirement on CVs at the moment. Rhino is also available. When I started the course, I found Rhino to be more similar to Cinema 4D and hence I preferred it at the time. But now that I’ve used both for years, I always open SolidWorks before Rhino when I need to make a prototype, even for models with complex curves.

When I first became interested in photorealistic rendering, V-Ray was very appealing to me, but once I actually had V-Ray for Cinema 4D, I realized that I didn’t want to spend a lot of time adjusting settings, I wanted to spend more time designing and modeling. A few internet searches later and I found Maxwell Render. When I first tried it, it was still version 1, and it won me over in terms of ease of use and quality. One of the first images I ever made showed the model casting a shadow on the floor, when the only lighting in the scene was an HDRI. I’d never seen that before and it was enough to make a lasting impression. I dabbled between Cinema 4D’s own render engine, V-Ray and Maxwell Render for a while, but when Maxwell Render 2 was released I didn’t look back. For me it still delivers fantastic results, whether the image is complicated or simple, very easily. 

And something I wish someone had told me when I started: whenever you see a render that really impresses you, 10-25% of all the work that went into making that image came from Photoshop, which is why it is also another vital tool in my arsenal of software. Alien Skin Exposure is a plug-in for Photoshop that I couldn’t work without, it mimics the effect of certain types of photographic film, but with a lot more control and subtlety than Instagram.

Novedge: What is a recent project that you worked on?


James Coleman: The most surprising thing about my product design course is that we focus on teaching communication, technology, professionalism, history, etc. It’s a doctrine that actually I agree with. Not just because it follows Dieter Rams’ principles, but also because we have the rest of our lives to design, so we might as well use the time now to make sure we know how to do it right, and then later on we can be eccentric if we like. Very often in product design, designers can get too caught up in the aesthetics of a product and forget about ergonomics, engineering, or any other topic. That’s not what’s taught in Brighton, and that's what makes it stand out from other, more “arts” based courses.

One project I enjoyed was making a “Revolutionary” product, with the tag-line of “It doesn’t look like a “X”, but it does what a “X” does”. I was inspired by one of my favorite ideas in product design, “the new application of an existing technology”, and because we were so pressured to design something that would be completely revolutionary, I decided to include some technologies that were theoretically possible but not available yet. I based the project on audio loudspeakers, because the technology in them hasn’t really changed for nearly 150 years, they’re still as electrodynamic as they were when they were first invented. The end result is the Levitating Superconducting Speakers concept. 

After starting to use Maxwell Render 2, one of my projects was to identify a product which exhibited evolutionary design, and to continue that design onto its next generation. For my project I chose the Kodak Brownie, despite being out of production since the 1970’s, its design when it was discontinued was very similar to when it was originally conceived at the beginning of the century. Kodak would often make special edition cameras for major events and I immediately themed the project around the upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games. The project was small and it only took a few weeks to complete, but it went on to be featured on Yanko Design, and after that it was very popular on the web, I still see the occasional tweet about it! I put the amount of public interest in the project down to the quality of the renders. I approached Kodak to see if they would be interested in taking the project further, and although they weren’t interested at the time, they invited me to contact them about employment upon my graduation.

Novedge: What innovations do you see in your field (now or in the future)?


James Coleman: I think predicting the future has never really involved specific technologies, but instead looking at habits, lifestyles and routines, and then the technology is left to catch up. Touch screen technology, for example, was mostly a gimmick that had little real world value, until you could touch simultaneously in more than one place at once, and it was applied to a mobile phone. In hindsight it seems obvious that that’s how it should be used. So predicting specific technologies that will be developed, find a niche, and become cheap enough to be in common use, is much more difficult than imagining overall work flows and customs. My Levitating Speakers involved several different technologies that are not commonplace yet, or do not exist at all, including superdiamagnetic levitation, wireless power transfer, and flexible screens. It is certain that these technologies will develop over time, in fact when the project was completed, wireless speakers were still revolutionary, but now AirPlay is commonplace. The question is, will there be a benefit to having Levitating Speakers?

3D printing has got a lot of press lately regarding its potential. I agree that one day we may have 3D printers in every home, and in one end you would put waste, and then products, food and other luxuries will come tumbling out of the other. I think that one day, we will have “Star Trek” style replicators, powered by electricity which will probably come from fusion reactors. But not within my lifetime. At the moment, 3D printing and rapid prototyping often seem limited to making spare components when objects break. Even then they have to come from 3D files made by a professional. Consumers will want to be able to print complete objects, like kettles, laptops or phones. Even though 3D printers which are capable of making multi-coloured objects, and printing multiple components connected together have existed for some time, as someone who has worked with 3D printers for many years, I think we still have some way to go. But when we are there, they will change the world in ways which no one has yet imagined, and copyright and piracy laws will once again be brought into question.

In my particular area of interest (medical design), there are plenty of issues which are commonplace and well known. Drug resistant infections, obesity related complications, and aging population are the three problems which I expect to encounter in my design career. In much less than a century, certain bacteria have evolved to become almost immune to many typical antibiotics. If this trend continues, product design will have to play a major role in increasing the hygiene of hospital environments. Anti-microbial materials such as copper are already seeing a comeback, and although cloth bedsheets interwoven with silver (again for its anti-microbial properties) is a hugely expensive concept at present, if it becomes cheaper than treating patients, it will become a reality. 

Despite being prepared for these trends, I don’t think there is anything that can or will prepare me for the problem of ageing population. There are practical, medical, and ethical issues where product design will be called upon to help. These issues are nothing new, but will be exaggerated in the future. With higher demand, and larger markets, products specifically for the elderly will become more commonplace, and inclusive design will have more influence over everyone. This effect is visible now, for example with non-step access to buildings being a legal requirement, and this trend shows no sign of stopping.

Novedge: What are your plans after graduation?

James Coleman: My ideal job would be a product designer at a company specializing in the medical industry. My overall impression of the purpose of product design is to make our lives more efficient, where is that more important than when well being, potentially lives, are at stake? Medical staff are often overworked and underpaid, and then they have to use equipment made by the lowest bidder. Then this equipment will not be updated unless it breaks or is recalled (the standard that dictates the design of an IV drip stand is nearly 50 years old, and has never been updated). And with humans living longer and getting fatter, the market is just going to get bigger (some pun intended).

My family is a big reason I feel this way. Three generations have in some way or another worked in the medical industry. I’m not brave enough to be on the front line like they are, but I wouldn’t mind sitting back at a comfortable distance and making the equipment that they use everyday a little bit more efficient. 

Most of all, though, I’m going to recover from the condition that has practically dictated my life for the past 5 years. It’ll take another 5 years to be completely rid of it, but I’m looking forward to being able to walk to places without running the risk of being housebound the next day. I’m looking forward to working to improve the services that have served me for so long.