My foray into the world of 3D printing and my learnings and insights so far. This is work in progress and will continue to be edited.

3D Printing: A Journey into a Promising, Yet Challenging Field

Back in around 2015, I stumbled upon 3D printers during their nascent stage. The potential was clear, but the technology wasn’t quite there yet, and it was relegated to a niche space for tech enthusiasts. As a UX designer, my curiosity was piqued, especially considering the initial buzz surrounding its potential impact on ecommerce and logistics. However, being based in India at the time, affordability, availability of replacement parts, and local support were significant barriers to entry.

Fast forward to 2023, I was blown away by an amazing YouTube video showcasing a user designing and printing all the shelves he needed for his desk, as well as custom SD card holders. This experience resonated with me, reminding me of the excitement I get when visiting a hardware store or a craft shop, imagining the possibilities of creating useful things. I was eager to explore this technology further and get my hands on a 3D printer to discover what I could create.

The Right Printer for Me: Balancing Usability and Performance

As the 3D printing industry evolved, so did its focus on user experience. Although there are numerous resources available online for fine-tuning printers, many models offer excellent results straight out of the box.

In terms of the printing technologies, I narrowed down my choices to Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) and Vat Polymerisation (VP) printers due to their popularity in the consumer space. VP printing introduced some unique challenges like the need for ventilation and dealing with smells arising from resin. Given that I wanted the printer to remain in my study, I opted for FDM. After thorough research, I selected a printer that offered ease of assembly, maintenance, and accessibility to support. The Bambu Labs X1 and Elegoo Neptune 4 Plus stood out, but ultimately, I went with the Neptune 4 due to its lower cost and absence of proprietary parts.

Unboxing and Setting Up: Overcoming Challenges Together

The delivery took around a month due to pre-ordering, arriving during Christmas holidays, offering ample time for me to delve into learning about 3D printing. The setup was straightforward, but there were some complications like ensuring the correct cables were connected and checking voltage settings on the printer bed. Although these tasks weren’t particularly challenging for a technologically inclined user, they required careful attention and a bit of research to ensure a seamless experience.

Despite the occasional hurdles, the experience was rewarding, as I was able to build my 3D printer from scratch with all necessary tools supplied. The desktop software that came with the Neptune 4 pleasantly surprised me with pre-installed printable files of a tool stand for the printer!

Designing: The Gap in the UX of 3D Modelling

The design process in 3D modelling is complex and requires a good understanding of visualising 2D cross-sectional shapes to create 3D objects. Sculpting tools like Blender are suitable for creating aesthetically pleasing, non-functional designs, while functional 3D design tools like OnShape offer the best capabilities for product designers.

OnShape, a cloud-based platform, boasts responsive and great tools that keep users updated with the latest features. However, the pricing could use improvement to cater to hobbyists and make entry into this space more accessible. Simplifying design tools by incorporating user-friendly features specific to 3D printing would further enhance the overall UX.

Design Marketplaces: Tools and Toys for Everyone

Websites like Printables and Thingiverse offer a wealth of user-generated designs, allowing anyone to download and print objects using their 3D printers. This sense of power to create and own is truly exhilarating, enabling users to go from ideation to tangible results in a matter of hours! However, there are challenges like inconsistent quality checks and potential issues with new designers’ designs not being fully optimised for mass consumption.

Improving the user experience could involve implementing better quality control measures or allowing experienced designers to review and approve new designs before they are released to the public. Additionally, providing more comprehensive information about dimensions, filament requirements, and print time would significantly improve the overall experience.

Printing: Turning Ideas into Reality

Printing in 3D isn’t without its challenges – files need to be converted from design formats (usually STL) to Gcode using slicing software like Cura before being printed. This step involves setting various parameters that determine the quality, strength, and speed of the final print. Although these steps are essential, they can be complex for new users. It is also not apparent to users that they may affect the final look of the object with the changes made to some of these settings.

Streamlining this process by incorporating it into authoring tools would greatly improve the user experience. Until then, there are numerous resources available online to help users learn the intricacies of 3D printing, allowing them to enjoy the satisfaction of turning their ideas into tangible objects.

Conclusion: A Promising Future

The potential of 3D printing is immense, and I’m confident that significant improvements will be made to address the unique challenges in this space while keeping user experience at the forefront. Like with all the challenges solved in the 2D printing world, I envision 3D printers becoming an integral part of every household or as more likely, in the neighbourhood print shop. The key to realising this lies in simplifying the design authoring tools and making them accessible to everyone.

Hurdles and Insights

• The plugging in of the cables for the gantry motors still requires some amount of understanding of connectors. This could be further simplified in future versions.
• The printer plate travels outside the frame of the printer itself which allows a user to make the mistake of placing it too close to a wall and having to learn during printing that it needs to be moved. This could be explained as well.
• Going from 2D to 3D is incredibly difficult and staying in the 3D space from the start would be ideal, but the tools we have today are limited in their ability to express these ideas.
• Marketplaces are currently aimed at those that own 3D printers, whereas they should be aimed at the end-users of the products that are available on the sites.
• There are two outcomes to the world of 3D printers, they will either become a part of every household of the future as 2D printers today are, or they will become a part of every neighbourhood print shop.