Holes Revisted! Amazing Improvements in Both Horizontal and Vertical Hole Printing

When I first started printing with a 3D printer, just after the 1st Gen Cube was announced, I discovered that I couldn't really achieve a clean hole in a vertical wall.  A little experimentation showed me that I needed to print a hexagon or a pentagon (in the right orientation) to simulate a hole.

That has all been changed with the latest Cubify Client software upgrade!  There can be just the tiniest flattening at the top of larger holes.  But, it is miniscule and inconsequential to the point where designing a hole in a vertical wall, once something I cautioned against, is now unleashing some new design possibilities.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Frankly, I attribute the remarkable improvements in my recent Cube prints to two things... commitment and resources. 

From the very first I know, without a shadow of a doubt that 3D Systems was committed to making the Cube and subsequent 3D printers the best that they could be for the cost of the printer.  Obviously, a Cube is never going to deliver the quality of an SLA 3D print.  But, for the technology that it uses, it has continued to improve with each software and firmware update. 

And, that is where the resources come into play.  One of the big reason why I am no longer interested in 3D printer kits is that once built, there are few resources from the kit packagers for major improvements.  Software takes expertise, money and man hours.  Buying a 3D printer from a company that has both commitment and resources brings the kinds of results all Cube owners will be seeing as they take advantage of the new updates.

The print my Cube is delivering even as I write this, validates Staple's decision to select the Cube as their first foray into personal 3D printing.  These recent major improvements in the Cube's ability to deliver quality prints demonstrate, at least to me, that, like Staples, I also made the right choice in selecting a printer to not only use; but, suggest to others to use.  I had faith that 3D Systems would continue to do everything they could to make steady improvements in the printer I'd chosen.  And, they've continued to deliver.

It's one thing to have the resources to sell a lot of printers and quite another to have the commitment and resources to continue to make those printers even better.  My heroes at 3D Systems are the engineers and product managers that continue to make me a VERY happy Cube user.  :)

Firmware & Cubify Client Updates Noticeably Improve Print

Latest firmware at the time of this writing is V2.08.

The combination of 2nd Gen Cube's firmware update V2.08 and the latest Cubify Client update offer what appears to me to be remarkably improved print quality.

While I do not know all the improvements that have been implemented, I do believe that I see much smoother curved surfaces.  There are other LCD user interface changes as well. 

I STRONGLY suggest that all 2nd Gen Cube users take the time to apply both updates.


It is my understanding that CubeX owners will benefit by the most recent updates for the CubeX firmware and Client software.  I don't have a CubeX, so I can't verify that in person.  But, if the improvements are as nice as those I'm seeing on the Cube, then it's worth checking it out.

Kudos to 3D Systems for keeping on top of improvements as well as they have.  The 2nd Gen Cube that I have today is performing even better than when it was taken out of the box and that is a testament to 3D System's strong commitment to it's owner base.

While I'm praising 3D Systems, let me also give them credit for the improvements in the readability of the LCD screen itself.  I have 2 2nd Gen Cubes and the most recent one is much easier to see in bright light situations.  It's nice to see that 3D Systems is also listening to buyers and willing to make incremental hardware changes within the model line from time to time.  Nice.

Pinhole Camera - 3D Printing & Creatively Recreating Classic Film Fun

I love blogging because it puts me into contact with passionately creative people.

Last night was a case in point.

A young man named Paul emailed me about his step-father's 3D printing project on Kickstarter.

It wasn't a new 3D printer.  It wasn't a new highly technological marvel of never-before-conceived innovation.  It wasn't even a $10 breakthrough in scanning technology.  But, it still got me excited at seeing what 3D printing can do.

Now, this post is not specifically about something created on a Cube 3D printer.   But, I still think it is entirely appropriate to be discussed on these pages.  That is because this project perfectly illustrates that 3D printing can permeate every level of our existence in ways that bring satisfaction even in simplicity.

The Kickstarter project is a 3D printed pinhole camera... revitalizing old technology through new technology!

Clint O'Connor's Kickstarter campaign set modest goals and exceeded them in short order.  There is a reason for that.  Not only is the concept creative; but, the entire Pinhole Kickstarter presentation demonstrates a level of understanding of the search for emotional and intellectual satisfaction that drives creative people.

He not only presents the object that he has designed and prints.  He digs deeply into the emotional and aesthetic  benefits of his own passion... pinhole photography.  To me, this is exactly what the entire 3D printing experience is all about, finally being able to bring into reality tools that benefit our psyche.  One only has to see the image of the Queen Mary to understand why Clint is so taken with pinhole photography.  Very cool.

I plan to use Clint's Kickstarter page in my classes with "At-Risk" students because he presents one of the most powerful lessons that 3D printing can teach us.  Failures are not final.  They can be  simply steps on the way to final success.  Clint's picture of his 35 iterations makes the point loud and clear.

Clint O'Connor's Pinhole Camera Design Iterations

Until they are exposed to 3D printing, most of the former high school dropouts that I now teach through YouthQuest Foundation's 3D ThinkLink Innitiative have felt that failures define us in entirely negative ways. It really is remarkable to see them realize that if their initial design is less than perfect, they can easily do a redesign and print a better one.  I am thankful to Clint for communicating this on his Kickstarter page.

I don't yet know if his design can be printed in the Cube's 5"x5" print platform.  But, I do know that I want to try one of his pinhole cameras.  It's the kind of thing that keeps those nearing 70 feeling young again!  I plan to have some fun reliving my youth... a time when pinhole cameras were very popular.  Sounds like fun! :)

Animating Cubify Sculpt Objects Just for the Fun of it.

I have a very old copy of COOL3D that at one time was marketed by Ulead.  Ulead ended up selling all their products to Corel, which appears to have abandoned COOL3D.  Too, bad, because while it is admittedly buggy and tempermental, it was also the easiest way to create animations and motion titles.

In fact, all the openings for the videos that I create for this and other blogs are created in COOL3D.

As I played around with Cubify Sculpt, I began to have some fun creating fantasy creatures and objects that really weren't as suitable for 3D printing as they are for useless; but, fun animations.

So, I decided to throw a few of them into COOL3D and see what would happen.  Here's the result.

Cubify Sculpt's DRAW CURVE and PIPE work together in a very powerful way to create unlimited ornamentation and/or appendages.  ALL of the characters and objects in the above video were made possible due to DRAW CURVE and PIPE.

The whole process was enormously enjoyable.  Expect to see more Cubify Sculpt creations finding their way into future titles or independent animations.  It's just too much fun not to do it!

Sculpt Tutorial #7: Mashup - Unlocking the Power of Cubify Sculpt

OK, so we're getting things a little out of order here.  Tutorial #6 was suppose to go over the usefulness of changing the shapes of the primitives (Cube, Sphere, Cylinder & Cone).  But, I became so excited about extending that concept to creating NEW primitives that I just had to show you that first.  We'll get to #6 as soon as possible.  :)

First, a side topic that you may find interesting.

Before trying Cubify Sculpt, I tried any number of sculpting applications.  Each of them were decent.  And, among the best is Sculptress... IF you are a true artist!!!  I tried it again just to see if I'd learned something since trying Sculptris that had made it easier to learn Sculpt.  The answer is, "No!"

I was no better at Sculptris this time around.  It is DEFINITELY an artist's tool and not for me.  There is nothing wrong with the product.  I just get lost in it.

What that means...

It means that there is something fundamentally different about Cubify Sculpt that is making it easy for me to accomplish more than I have with any other sculpting program.

But, there is more!

I already understood that I was able to get more done and better with Cubify Sculpt.  But, then something dawned on me that blew the doors wide open.  And, that is that I do NOT have to create everything about an object from one single primitive.  I can save the basic primitives in multiple forms and bring them back into my working environment multiple times if needed.  And, THAT little realization boosted my ability to create with Sculpt exponentially!

It made it possible for me to create, in a reasonably short period of time, these Hippo models.  My granddaughter LOVES Hippos and I have been trying for YEARS to create a 3D Model of a Hippo that even remotely looked like one.  The proportions aren't perfect.  But, as you can see by this very short video that I made for her, they at least don't look like fat cows!  LOL!

The Breakthrough

The breakthrough for me was the realization that I do NOT have to create a form from a single primitive that is stretched and pushed into submission.  I can create PARTS as standalone pieces and then assemble those parts together as a MASHUP, or mixture of parts.

I could never, in a million years, have created the above hippos from a single shape.  But, by using different primitives for the body, head, ears and legs, the process was not only doable; but, relatively quick.

So, here is the process that I am talking about.... Tutorial #7, Mashup!

By the way, there is WAY more to cover when it comes to creating new primitives, like the Torus in this video.  I'm really excited to show you what that is all about in Tutorial #6... even if the order is a bit disconcerting!  :)

Sculpt Tutorial #5 - Repairing Poor STL Files

There are a number of developing ways to create 3D objects based on already existing items.  Scanning, while expensive now, is destined to both drop in price and yield more useful results.  Another way that several companies, including 3D Systems, are pursuing is turning a series of 2D images into a 3D object that can then be printed on a 3D printer.

But, all of these techniques can have difficulty capturing things like hair or highly reflective surfaces.  This is where an application like Cubify Sculpt can be invaluable.  As a test of these capabilities, I decided to see what I could do with an object that I created several years ago using the beta version of 123D Catch (Then called Photofly).

The item captured was a hair styling manikin.   I sometimes use these to test new photo lighting configurations. 

Styling Manikin Head

123D Catch did a great job on the facial features.  But, the hair didn't turn out as well.  This is common in 2D to 3D capturing.  The defects in the hair made for a poor 3D print.  Until Cubify Sculpt was released I had no way to correct the problems.  I've been waiting for an application that could fix the head so that it printed well.  So, it was natural to bring it in to Cubify Sculpt and see what we could do with it.

Here is a video that explains the process and shows the outcome.

While we do not need to paint objects that are to be printed with the Cube 3D printer, I decided to go ahead and see what I could to color the head.  The painting functionality of Sculpt is pretty basic.  So, it turned out to be the most difficult part of the process.  My primary criticism has to do with the inability to make the bush small enough.  And, my primary suggestion would be that the developers add the ability for us to place an image, for each axis, in the background to help select colors and refine shapes.  What does help is to use the BLENDING function to create the appearance of finer features.  

It was a lot of fun tackling this one.  And, it encourages me to look into Cubify Capture to see if it will allow me to capture members of my family to create 3D printed sculptures.  There wasn't much point for me to attempt to use Cubify Capture before this because I know that it would probably have the same issues with hair, etc.  But, now that I know what Cubify Sculpt can do to repair that problem it just might be time to give Capture a try!

Cubify Sculpt - Yes, We CAN Do It!

It's a given that those with true artistic talent can use Cubify Sculpt to create art.  But, what about us.  What about NON-ARTISTS.  Will we be able to create items that even come close to creating anything even resembling art?

I have to tell you.  That was one of my biggest questions as I downloaded and installed Sculpt.

After all, over more than a few attempts at various sculpting applications, I had struck out on all counts.  I loved Cosmic Blobs and CB Model Pro.  But, try as I might, I never even came close to creating anything that remotely resembled a human head.

This short video answers the question in the affirmative in a huge way for me.  No, the head I was able to sculpt is NOT great.  But, it CAN be recognized as an attempt at creating a human head.  And, believe me that is a huge leap forward from all of my previous experiences.

Two factors, I think, helped me feel more confident about my ability to effectively use Cubify Sculpt.  The first is that the designers have come up with just about the perfect set of controls for non-artists.  There are not too few.  Nor are there too many.  And, each of the controls seems to complement the others.  It's not perfect.  But, it certainly is useful and relatively easy to learn.

The second factor is that I ordered and received the 3DConnexion SpaceNavigator.  Being able to quickly position the working piece is an enormous help.  Again, we cover that in this video.

If you, like me, are a non-artist trying to do artistic things, I hope that this video is an encouragement to you.

The results of our artistic pursuit does not have to be great to be rewarding and fun.  And, I had a LOT of fun trying to create my "Bearded Rustler" character from the default sphere.  He's rough, just like my rendition.  But, that's OK.  He's better than the last guy I tried to sculpt.  A WHOLE lot better.  And, that is why he was a rewarding project.