There’s a 3D printer in my future. Not so long ago it was a distant dream, with the cost of a 3D printer well beyond gadgety impulse buying limits, but costs are coming down and the future is approaching fast. I just need to find some way to justify the need for a 3D printer on the grounds of printing some replacement part essential for fixing the downstairs toilet! (Ok, so $500 for a Solidoodle is still a fair bit more than the cost of an old coat hanger.)
With all these cheap 3D printers on the way, we need more things to print. Speculating wildly, I can’t really see people wanting to print 3d photos. I’m sure existing CAD software is well suited to printing engineering orientated objects but that would be missing a huge opportunity.
A few years ago, I saw an incredible demo which Ann Marie Shillito gave to a few of us in Hursley. It was like being able to reach inside the screen and mould objects. The sense of touch added another dimension in a way which 3D displays just never have for me. I would definitely recommend trying to get a demo if at all possible.
In what should be perfect timing, Anarkik3D are raising money through IndieGoGo to fund the next stage of development for their Cloud9 software for 3D modelling. They have just 35 days left to reach their target of $120,000!
Photo © John Abella (CC BY 2.0)
Notes from a small field 
Hello James, one of my early updates for our IndieGoGo campaign went down the same gullet and I thought it was just me! So thank you for this even longer comment. I have been writing a blog about my emotional ups and downs doing this campaign and a positive part of it is the great new contacts we have made and the best is the connecting up with our early enthusiasts such as you guys from Hursley. I have managed to justify buying a personal 3D printer. Okay it comes as a kit and it will challenge me to put it together – I will blog about this – and I am looking forward to it. The justification? I start running courses to teach Cloud9 and designing for 3D printing so have to have one to demo the concept!
I think it makes perfect sense to be able to demo the concept right the way through to a physical object. I’m looking forward to hearing how you get on assembling the printer, and how successful the courses are.
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