The good news for newbies is you can download free files from places like Thingiverse and use other people’s designs. This accelerates the learning process because in most cases, the designers breakdown the process. Where this isn’t the case, you can still read the files which is great if you’re a visual learner.
One area where 3D printing is seeing gains in popularity is home use as a tool to create furnishing prototypes. However, the cost of 3D printers is still high. So, when we heard about design studio HomeMade Modern’s use of 3D printing to design concepts for the DIY projects they publish for other people to try, we thought what a great idea – they’re doing the thing DIYers can’t do themselves for them. And it’s completely free.
We were intrigued to hear that founder Ben Uyeda grew up with a passion for design. He setup HomeMade Modern to fulfil his maker passion and bring great DIY projects to other people’s lives. 3D printing helps achieve that, by creating prototypes and concepts at a low cost. They use Robo R2 and Robo C2 3D printers to get the job done.
3D printing for DIY
The HomeMade Modern team use their 3D printers to develop and create moulds and fixings. So far, they’ve created custom knobs, stands, fixings, brackets, hooks and other simple products. The custom moulds they make allow them to work with any pourable material, be it concrete or silicone. One of the most complex projects was a custom paver.
“It’s extremely costly to make moulds and prototypes through traditional methods.” says Ben, “Now, we use Robo R2 and C2 3D printers to make prototypes or moulds that can be used over and over again with inexpensive materials like concrete.”
Imaged above: A 3D printed drill bit accessory kit.
Prior to utilising 3D printing, Ben would use traditional manufacturing methods to create affordable DIY projects. However, the time to create parts varied from days to weeks. It also cost a fair chunk. 3D printing has reduced the manufacturing time per part considerably, as well as cost. He’s also found that the parts printed are perfectly accurate and true to design, an important feature for DIY projects because every millimetre counts.
“What’s really incredible about the Robo R2 is that it prints straight out of the printer are already clean. There’s minimal clean-up and no sanding.” Ben has made his Robo 3D printers a mainstay in how workshop and plans to continue to use them well into the future. We invite you to check out his latest projects here.
3D Printer: Robo C2, Robo R2
Materials used: White ABS
This information was first published on the Robo website. You can check out more product design case studies like this one here. Looking for model making? Check out these case studies.