When I walked into my local library and saw their new 3D printer available for patron use, I felt a wave of geeky excitement wash over me. Oh the things I could create—the only limit would be my imagination. Of course, there were likely a few other hurdles such as my (in)ability to model my vision in 3D CAD or the size constraints of the machine, but still, the possibilities!
Near infinite possibilities are great, but what specifically would I create first? The sort of amorphous blob that appeared in my mind initially wouldn’t make the most useful or interesting physical object. Luckily, novice 3D creators can jumpstart their creative juices by exploring www.thingverse.com to see what others have created. From there, www.tinkercad.com allows anyone to access tutorials and learn how to create those yet-to-be-envisioned masterpiece.
At Thingverse, I discovered a wide variety of little plastic models of larger items and other miscellaneous bits I’d largely describe as trinkets. These things mostly reminded me of the many hundreds of little hunks of plastic currently residing in my daughters’ play room—once must-have toys that eventually contribute to the clutter in our lives. I’m pretty satisfied with the amount of plastic junk we already own, though.
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