Through the growing availability of desktop 3D printers and the rapid development of 3D printing technologies, consumers are starting to get more involved in the creative process of making things. Currently, this involvement is generally with luxury items, fulfilled by a service, rather than a proliferation of everyday objects that they make/use at home. However, this author believes that this is the direction things are headed, and a current debate centres around how far it will go and what, exactly, will they create?
According to the founders of the new Project3dprint website, they will create electronic devices. And they are set to prove it, demonstrating that is is already possible. The idea behind the website is, in my opinion, right on target: there are so many objects and 3D models database available now but what 3D printers (as in people who 3D print) need is not quantity but quality, that is to say, objects that are really useful and end up costing less when manufactured at home than when bought in a store, with the added satisfaction of making it themselves.
So Project3dprint does not go for quantity but quality, launching with just two projects and two more coming soon. At least one of them is probably something many people (especially iPhone users) could use: a USB Backup Powerbank — a portable battery to use for your smartphone and tablet. This sort of product rarely costs less than 50 euro/dollars so – if you do already have a 3D printer – it is worth looking at this, since it will end up costing you $18.50 with an added couple of dollars for the filament.
All you have to do is download the free .stl file from Thingiverse, then purchase the electronics kit from Project3dprint. In this case the kit will include one PCB board, a 18650 battery holder, and a USB – Micro USB 5V charging cable. The $18.50 option also includes a 2200mAh 18650 lithium-ion battery (otherwise the cost of the kit drops to $13.50). It will give a full charge to an iPhone and even work as a LED flashlight.
Project3dprint makes good use of all the online tools available to makers and inventors: along with Thingiverse for the .stl file, it will direct you to an Instructables page for full video instructions on how to put your new gadget together. As it turns out, it is not easy, but probably a whole lot easier than you thought it would be.
As said, Project3Dprint is in a very early phase. The only other item currently listed is a Portable Laptop Cooler Pad. However some really interesting gadgets are coming up soon that exploit the latest trends in technology: a Stereo Bluetooth Speaker (if you don’t have one yet it might be a good time to get one) and even a Heart Rate Monitor Watch. In the future I bet we are going to see Google Glass related projects and other wearable electronic items (even more so when someone succeeds at developing functional conductive filament), with the added benefit of discovering that they are not as complicated from the inside as they seem from the outside.
