Live from the SoCal MakerCon show floor, author Joe Micallef details how he started in the 3D print industry and began to write his book, “Beginning Design for 3D Printing.” Beginners are introduced to 3D model design and creation with easy to follow tutorials for many free CAD software programs. There is a critical need for CAD designers and 3D print experts in the growing 3DP economy.

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Humanitarian Makers at Field Ready volunteer their time and expertise to solve real world problems faced by those in war torn or natural disaster affected areas such as Haiti, the Sudan, and Nepal. Dr. Eric James shares how 3D printing speeds up the traditional emergency relief supply chain and details some of the unique challenges of using this technology in remote areas where power supply can be hard to come by.

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Suz Somersall of KiraKira has created an online platform for girls to develop their 3D modeling skills by creating free courses and curriculum for 3D print STEAM education. KiraKira provides lessons and projects that ignite and inspire young girls to work on projects in what is widely a male dominated area of learning. As students of today grow and come to understand that over 86% of retail purchases are done by women, it’s key to understand what women want to buy and to design with them in mind.

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Celebrating our 400th WTFFF?! episode with a few 3D print predictions for 2017 and some resolutions the industry should make and actually try to keep. Tom and Tracy Hazzard share their own 3D print design resolutions for the next year and what’s to come in the next year on 3D Start Point. What companies are going to fade away in the next year and what companies will keep their footing and see continued success?

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Getting a new 3D printer is an exciting moment, but it can be rather daunting to figure out what the FFF to do first with it. We’ve come up with a few ideas and projects to ensure first time print success for first time 3D print users, especially those still working on building their CAD modeling skills. There are some great ideas out there, but they do still need to be approached with caution and expectations should be managed when it comes to what your first 3D print should be.

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As a free CAD 3D modeling program, TinkerCAD checks a lot of boxes when it comes to the basics of what is needed to learn how to create 3D models suitable for 3D printing. For beginners and espeically younger students, this program is a great place to start to gain CAD modeling skills, but it can quickly be outgrown. As an entry point into 3D printing, it’s a wonderful tool to use, espeically when combined with tutorial videos that help guide the first time CAD user to design their first 3D print.

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Additive manufacturing is turned on its head with adaptive manufacturing in the case of 3D printed insoles by Wiivv Wearables. CEO and Co-founder, Shamil Hargovan, explains the mind blowing process that brings these custom fit orthotics to life through 3D printing with unique materials and marrying adaptive manufacturing techniques with traditional ones. We dive into how custom 3D printed products fit into the marketplace, where to put the price point at to stay and remain competitive, while also being profitable – even considering a hybrid 3D printed final product for a mass customization market.

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The Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo in San Diego this year featured many companies and speakers that were focusing on real world applications of 3D print technology. We got the inside scoop from many different companies how they are leveraging digital fabrication and actually making profits from 3D printed products – not just talking about the possibility of it. With these new startup companies there is a new trend of being loyal to the consumer rather than the materials and manufacturer, and we have to say it’s a great direction to head in. Aside from that, we’ve found a potential machine that could be used for end-use products and looked at a few 3D printing companies that seem to be stuck in a terminal start up stage that leave us with a few predictions on the big shake out to come in the 3DP world.

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Switching from our series of CAD software reviews to a few slicing software reviews, and kicking it off with Slic3r. Slic3r’s slicing software is one of the original slicing softwares out there, but it has kept up with 3D printing’s advances and remains an on-going open source project. As the baseline standard for 3D print slicing software, it has certainly come a long way and we have much to say about its features and options for beginners and experts.

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Ring Cam uses 3D printed parts to capture that moment when she says, “yes.” Scott Brandonisio shared with us how he used 3D print prototypes to get the Ring Cam box just right, and making new iterations of it on the fly based off real time customer feed back. This episode is an excellent real world example of how 3D printing can play a critical role on the road to business success. Check out our initial thoughts and interview with Scott here.

To send us a message, go to 3dstartpoint.com or shoot us a message at [email protected] or on our facebook or twitter! Its absolutely free, so ask away and and don’t forget to subscribe so you can hear more on our regularly scheduled Thursday podcast episodes!