Is 3D Design Any Harder Than Colour Management… ?

[The Hat]

Firstly let me say that Print Colour Management can never be mastered, because the parameters keep on moving, and the colour professors can never agree on "What exactly Perfection is". It's a forever changing standard..

On the other hand, What is "3D Perfection", well (It doesn’t exist either) but you can make a start when you personally design and print something, anything, that will be an original one off that might not be perfect but who cares.

3D design is so different from colour printing because you don’t have to please anyone other than yourself, so critics are neutralised and don't have a say in whatever you make, because they don’t matter.

Basic 3D designing is pretty easy to pick up when starting out, you just have find one of the many Applications that are free and are the most suitable for you to work in, just remember there is plenty of help on here and elsewhere when you need it, and given without any criticism.

Is it time to rethink 3D printing as an alternative to colour printing ?, it’s not that big a step..
O’ beware because I’m a 3D Printaholic so this post is very bios…

 

[Nifty]

Hmm... curious comparison.

I never got into color management. I know some are purists and spend a lot of time calibrating, etc. I guess the same can be said for some people that really fine-tune their 3D printers (stepper motors, feed rate, etc. etc. etc.), which isn't stuff I do either.

I think I'm just too impatient, and (like my dad) just want to get the project "done" and working.

It's probably why i never got into model airplanes, figurines, or anything else that required a lot of attention to detail, patience, etc.

 

[stratman]

It's probably why i never got into model airplanes

I was with you till that.

Fond memories of 7th grade afterschool model airplane building club: Fokker Sopwith Camel, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, P-51 Mustang, Sr-71 Blackbird (not guaranteed to be exact because still hush-hush).

Good times. Wish I still had them.

 

[The Hat]

Fond memories of 7th grade afterschool model airplane building club: Fokker Sopwith Camel, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, P-51 Mustang, Sr-71 Blackbird (not guaranteed to be exact because still hush-hush).
Good times. Wish I still had them.

You still can @stratman with a 3D printer, but this time made to any size you like..

 

[Steve J]

Two totally different things.

To do color management well, you need to be able to profile your monitor and printer. For that you need a colorimeter or spectro. Then you need a monitor that can be profiled (many of then cannot). Expect to spend at least $1200 for a monitor that can be profiled. If you try to profile a cheap monitor, it won't profile very well, and your colors will be off. You also need to produce good profiles for your printer/paper combination. Sometimes the manufacturer's profiles are good, sometimes not. If not, you will need a custom profile, either you do it with the spectro, or pay to have someone else do it. Color management is a learning curve and if you want great color, it can get expensive. I have an i1 Pro 2 for a spectro and a NEC PA series monitor, which can be profiled. I also have a Canon Pro-1000 printer, which will reproduce great color.

3D Design is a different animal. To do 3D design, you need good modelling tools to produce the 3D model you want. I use Alibre, but everyone has their preference. You build a 3D model the same way you would build the part-piece by piece. A free 3D modelling tool is FreeCad, which is fairly good. Printing that model is another story. You first need a good slicer (I use Simplify 3D), which gives me good output for a printer. There are lots of free slicers around, but for the printer I currently have, this seems to work the best. Then you need a good printer. Some cheap printers may be good, but I would look at the reviews. I just ordered a Prusa I3, which is supposed to be a decent printer. With 3D printing, depending on what you want to do with the thing you just printed, you need to research filament types and how to print them. Most people like to use PLA, which is easy to print, but doesn't make for a very strong, robust part. Other filament types are more difficult to print, but the parts are stronger. There are lots of good resources on the web for this, as well as getting good prints. The parts I typically print have some functional use, but other people download part files from the web and print those. Everyone has different requirements. If you find a part on the web that does what you need, and you can download the .stl files, you don't need a design tool.

I should point out that I have several engineering degrees, so none of this is complicated for me.

If you are a newbe on both of these, you have a lot to learn. There is lots of good information around, but you have to dig it out.

Steve

 

[racing_green]

I just want to say that I know very little about colour management, but 3D design is way more than modelling a hobbit in blender 3D for home print. Industrial 3D modelling ranges from modelling small stuff where you need to know i.e. certain angle won't work when doing forms for plastic injection to 3D models of whole factories with details down to single small valves done by large teams according to certain industry regulations (safety, access, maintenance) and coordinated with clients. And then you can add parametric 3D modelling which requires is completely different set of skills as the design has to react to change of dimensions. I'd say both can be easy/hard depending how deep you want to dig.

 

[The Hat]

3D modelling which requires is completely different set of skills as the design has to react to change of dimensions. I'd say both can be easy/hard depending how deep you want to dig.

Does that go for just making a toilet roll holder.. ?...

 

[stratman]

toilet roll holder

You knew I would have to give you a Like.

 

[Steve J]

Depends what material you make the toilet roll holder from. Using Alibre Design Expert, I could model a toilet roll holder in about 10 minutes so you can 3D print the pieces, but then, I am very familiar with a powerful tool.

3D design can be VERY difficult or not so difficult depending on what you are designing, and what is the end product of your design. If you are designing for 3D printing, it can be fairly straightforward. If you are designing for injection molding, it can be very complex. If you are designing a model of a house and not using the proper tool, it can be VERY complected. Actually, except for simple things, to do 3D design well, you need a really good tool, i.e. a feature-driven parametric modeller, which can get pricey.

I did some of that early on, and you can go to www.hangatablet.com to see the results. This was modelled for injection molding. Unfortunately, the company that was supposed to do the molding just took our money, and delivered nothing, so there is no product for sale. I could find someone else to try and make it, but at this point, I am too old to get involved in a new enterprise.

Color management can be easy or hard, depending on the effort you want to put into it, and the results you want to get out of it. If you have a 3-color printer, don't bother even trying. If you have a multiple color printer (I have a 12 color Canon Pro-1000), and you want really great color, color management is important. You need a monitor that can be color managed, a calibration tool, and patience. You also need a good understanding of the process and how to do it.

Pretty much the same goes for 3D design. It can be easy or hard, depending on what the final results should be, and what type of tools you have.

 

[The Hat]

@Steve J, You are taking, making things in 3D all out of context and you’re doing the same with Colour Management, you don’t need to be become an expert just to enjoy things.

Firstly 3D for the home user is and will always be for fun and if someone tries to make it complicated then the fun goes out of it, just like the way they do for colour management.

Most if not all newbies started out with a two cartridge printer, I know I did, because that’s all there was available at that time, and you can get great colour prints from the 3 colour models, I always allowed my printers to control colour, it isn’t complicated.

The same goes for 3D printing, a cheap 3D printer will give you as much pleasure as an expensive one will, you get out what you put in and that is all achievable by the level of your knowledge and experience or lack of, it doesn’t matter.. We all need to take the kerfuffle out of life..