As you know, we sell 3D printed home goods made from recycled plastic right on site in our Austin ReStore. But how do we get the models we use to print? The beautiful, futuristic shapes of the vases and planters, the custom made lampshades for donated lamps, and the fun trays that come in different shapes and colors all have one thing in common: somebody has to design them. But who?
Well, we acquire our models from a few different sources. Some of them come from Re:3D, our supporting partner. Some are license free models sourced from various online sites, and some are designed directly in house.
That’s right, we have our own designers!
While ReCreateIt is a small team, each of us has a variety of skills. A few of our associates learned how to design 3D models after being brought onto the program. They are given a lot of freedom to try out their designs by test printing, and successful prints eventually make their way to the floor and into customers’ homes.
The main program we use to design models is Onshape. Onshape is an online, cloud-based CAD program that allows easy access and storage. All the lampshades you see on the floor are designed by our team using Onshape. When we find a lamp without a shade, we can print one customized to its size. Isn’t that super convenient?
Our in-house design capability also allows us to produce seasonal merchandise. We did some fun things this past Christmas, including 3D printed ornaments and Christmas tree shaped trays.
You may have also noticed something new appearing from time to time: cute animal figurines. While Onshape is a professional-grade tool for product design, it is really hard to create organic shapes like animals with it. These kinds of figurine models require a process more like clay modeling or sculpture. So how are they made? That’s right, not with a CAD program, but with Blender.
Blender is a free program mainly used for 3D animation. It is very versatile when it comes to modeling, especially for fun characters and organic, artistic forms. In addition to traditional shape and line based modeling, it also allows you to sculpt. You can sculpt a figure in Blender just like working with clay.
With Blender’s sculpt mode, you can make almost anything you could with real clay: animals, human characters, or even detailed heads and busts. This is where modeling becomes more free and artistic.
The first animal figurine designed with Blender was the blue cat. It started as a test model for sculpting practice and turned out great. Although it is now discontinued, a second version has taken its place. Another well-loved Blender model is the squirrel, recognizable by its curled-up tail. Apart from those, we have also produced rabbit, turtle, and bird figurines.
Although Blender sculpting is a lot of fun, not all models print well in our Gigalab. Due to the limitations of our source material (waste plastic), certain features do not come out very well, such as:
- Sharp corners
- Pointed tops
- Very small layers
When it comes to animal modeling, this means things like vertical, pointed ears can be difficult to print. In fact, we once had a rabbit model with ears pointed straight up. Very cute, right? But during printing, the two vertical ears were so close together that they merged into a blob. The plastic simply did not cool fast enough to hold the shape. To fix this, the model was redesigned as a droopy-eared rabbit. This is also why our squirrel model has lower ears.
Because of the material’s long cooling time, printing separate layers at the same height is not ideal either. The nozzle can drag uncooled plastic across empty space, creating spider web-like strings between different parts of the print. That is why, even though we would love a squirrel with a big, tall, fluffy tail, we lowered the top of the tail to reduce that risk. It actually worked out nicely. The squirrel now has a cute, curled-up tail that is very unique.
Making our own 3D models is a lot of fun and a rewarding learning process. It also allows us to create unique new products all the time. So keep an eye on our shelves. You never know when we will release something fun and new, all while saving plastic waste from the landfill!
