Voila: the “3D Printing and Digital Fabrication Resource eBook!”
We’re in a new industry. (Well, okay, we know it’s actually more than 30 years old…but, 3DP still didn’t get much respect — if you weren’t into rapid prototyping or reverse engineering — until the advent of the affordable and effective desktop 3D printer approximately five years ago: thank you, RepRap). As a result, the entire industrial segment is still relatively thin on the ground.
Now — because 3DP is so novel to so many — a relatively new player here in New York City, 3DP4E (or “3D Printing For Everyone”) has decided to make it easier for 3DP newbies and the uninitiated (a VERY large population of wannabes) to access the knowledge bases of our booming 3DP industry.
(Besides 3DP4E’s new Resource eBook — a stand-alone PDF package — its beautifully designed website with a high-styled and effective user experience presents a Beginner’s Guide online… among many, many other curated and categorized, web-based paths to 3DP knowledge.)
In particular, 3DP4E is interested to empower schools, enable teachers and educate students around 3DP and Digital Fabrication. (Aside: If we were to start all over from the beginning of 3D Printing, we would want to use this last term — “Digital Fabrication” — as this is really the most accurate and inclusive term of art IMO. BUT, “3D Printing” — soon to be supplanted by “3DP” — has won the mindshare of various communities at large and is now the “public brand” of choice. No use arguing with memes…)
Ron Rose — a successful businessman and entrepreneur in an entirely different field — has (like so many others) been bitten by the 3DP bug. Building on his passion — and certainty in 3DP’s beckoning future — Ron launched 3DP4E LLC on January 1, 2014.
CEO Rose’s all-inclusive company mission/profile/goal statement reads: “3DP4E will strive to empower through design, technology and entrepreneurism. Our website is designed to be a comprehensive resource for the 3D Printing and Digital Fabrication Community, with an emphasis on education and community. Our primary goal is to bring 3D Printing and Digital Fabrication to schools, museums and libraries.”
With the release — at the end of last week — of the free “3D Printing and Digital Fabrication Resource eBook,” which can be downloaded here, 3DP4E has taken a giant stride toward opening 3DP knowledge-accessibility to all and sundry. The eBook was authored by the company’s Chief Engineer Ajay Chandrashekar — a nuclear engineer by trade. It seems 3DP has a tendency to seduce everyone…
In its eBook, 3DP4E has chosen to research, curate, enhance and present the diverse streams of data that already exist in our worldwide 3DP ecosystem. Employing the ethos of Open Source, Mr. Chandrashekar compiled information from prominent 3DP websites and freely acknowledges the contributions of others and then delivers the compiled 3DP knowledge to those who need it most.
Here’s how 3DP4E Communications Director Noah Waldman describes the company’s community of interest: “Our target audience is in the name: 3D Printing for ‘Everyone.’ Primarily, this book is for the people — without much experience — [who are] first looking to start learning about 3D printing. To that end, one of our favorite pages in the book is the “Free 3D Modeling Software” page. We feel it’s a great place for newcomers to really get hands on experience with working in three dimensions. But, we hope this book is also useful to professionals — who might be looking for new and better tools to help them get the most out of 3D printing.”
The primary innovations of “3D Printing and Digital Fabrication Resource eBook” — and the reason the effort is new and noteworthy — are several in number. They include: (1) multi-source curation; (2) clean, inviting and accessible product design; (3) free, easily available and conveniently packaged (PDF) content; and (4) a pledge to “ever-green” evolution of the subject matter. This last is key to the on-going usefulness of 3DP4E’s eBook — as nothing in tech is changing as fast as 3DP.
3DP4E is positioned to keep its eBook up-to-speed, up-to-date and regularly enhanced — because the company is really a media house covering a wide spectrum of 3DP interests. One side of the house informs the other.
3DP4E is making accessible 3DP knowledge its core deliverable. Those joining the swelling 3DP parade — present and prospective — should look forward to 3DP4E’s flag flying high as a leader to follow toward 3DP effectiveness. And, their next great 3D printed object…thoughts to things…
