OUGD601 - Context of practice 3 - research for practical element - 3d Printing Seminar @ Design Manchester

In relation to my CoP project, where I am hoping to propose a redesign or a partial redesign of an existing attraction at Walt Disney World, I wanted to look at the possibilities of building an actual model of my designs - and so I am looking into 3d printing.

Last week, I travelled to Manchester Metropolitan University to visit a seminar on 3d printing (27th October 2014). There were exhibitors for all different aspects of 3d printing such as medical, fashion, engineering and of course model building and prototyping. 

The immediate impression I got was that 3d printing really is very expensive. No doubt worth the results but the costs were a lot more than I had previously envisioned. The costs depended on the material used in the 3d printing, the level of detail/ intricacy in the model and of course, size. 

Here are a few photographs I took at the event:

This model was partially 3D printed showing the existing part of the building, and the 2d element was an augmented reality installation to demonstrate the proposed section of the building. This helped me envision other possibilities for showing my designs in a more cost effective manner.

These models are so intricate and were very sturdy, something that vacuum forming or moulding would not be able to achieve.

This piece was maybe no wider than a 30cm ruler and yet its intricacy was astounding.

But as you can see, this model that was maybe the size of 25cm cube cost around £485 which is pretty pricey. If I were to pursue 3D printing as a solution to the model building, perhaps I could create just the ride vehicles with this method and maybe the rest of the model using packaging-style paper assembly, or maybe even laser cutting...

I took a few leaflets and asked a few more questions about the possibilities of achieving what I want to demonstrate out of my designs.

The guys at HOBS said that they were soon to be holding classes in MMU for the 3d software, which sounds like a great idea but maybe not for this specific project. I may attend them anyway to broaden my knowledge on the subject but I don't think I'll realistically be able to master it in time for the project deadline and other solutions need pursuing for this.

• CGI's (3D Visualisation)
• Animations
• Augmented Reality
• Virtual Reality

In HOBS catalogue, it shows that they can assist in making these visualisations possible. At the moment, I think just concept art is the most appropriate and realistic route!