{"id":2904,"date":"2020-08-26T00:55:13","date_gmt":"2020-08-26T00:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/?page_id=2904"},"modified":"2026-02-09T11:27:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T18:27:24","slug":"getting-started-with-3d-printing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Started with 3D Printing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Here&#8217;s what I know and who I think you can confidently listen to on the topic of 3D printing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>But first, why should you care?\u00a0 What has 3D printing got to do with assistive technology?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To answer these questions, I have to first distinguish between two concepts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>mass production, <span style=\"font-size: revert;\">and<\/span><\/li>\n<li>mass customization.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We&#8217;ve all benefited from the advantages of <strong>mass production<\/strong>.\u00a0 The reason why you can purchase inexpensive products with confidence that the particular one you take home with you will perform as you expect is that some companies put a tremendous amount of thought into the design of that product and then determine the most cost-effective way to produce it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>All of that work was done up-front, before the first component of that\u00a0 product was molded, machined, soldered, welded, or painted.\u00a0 The machines were all purchased, and the workers were all trained exactly how to do their work, with no wasted effort or materials.\u00a0 Every widget that comes off the manufacturing line looks and behaves exactly like every other one.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This process really shines when the customer market is large and uniform in its needs and desires.\u00a0 Many years ago, there was a saying that the telephone company would be happy to give you any color telephone you want, as long as you wanted a black one.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Mass production cannot accommodate late changes or customization, as doing so would require creating additional, expensive production lines or returning to square one to redesign, reconfigure, and retrain the factory.\u00a0 That would be even more costly.<\/p>\n<p>The disabled community is neither large nor uniform.\u00a0 Every disabled individual is a unique amalgam of needs and desires.\u00a0 The market for assistive technology doesn&#8217;t have a &#8220;sweet spot&#8221;.\u00a0 Therefore, there&#8217;s no place to target your mass production process.\u00a0 This community needs highly customized, personalized products.\u00a0 \u00a0This market requires <strong>mass customization<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>There is a new category of technology that is completely general-purpose.\u00a0 Nothing in the shape and function of a 3D printer will give you a hint as to what it can or will create.\u00a0 The 3D printer itself doesn&#8217;t know, or care, whether the item that it will create next is in any way like the item it just created.\u00a0 Unlike other machines and manufacturing methods, the 3D-printing process is good at producing something in this run that is &#8220;slightly different&#8221; or even &#8220;completely different&#8221; from what it just produced.\u00a0 Iterating on a design to achieve the best fit, look, and function is a process of incremental improvement through small changes.<\/p>\n<p>Now combine that inherent characteristic of the 3D-printing process with the fact that the printers themselves are cheap, easy to use, involve inexpensive materials, and are not reliant on other machines or technologies.\u00a0 The result is the ability of non-technologists to create new devices from scratch.\u00a0 That work can be done close to the device&#8217;s user.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The fact that one can iterate quickly and inexpensively on a device in close proximity to the end user enables a cooperative design process between the service provider (e.g., therapist, caregiver, teacher) and the service recipient (the individual with disabilities).<\/p>\n<p>Volksswitch aims to make this easier by supporting the device design and iteration process with easy-to-use design tools that include customization and personalization.<\/p>\n<p>Given that foundation, read on to learn more about 3D printing.\u00a0 Look at the following list and jump in at the first topic you&#8217;re unfamiliar with &#8211; then read on from there.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"What is 3D\u00a0 Printing?\" href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/what-is-3d-printing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What is 3D\u00a0 Printing?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/what-are-the-flavors-of-3d-printing\/\">What are the flavors of 3D printing?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/who-can-i-turn-to-on-youtube-when-i-want-to-learn-more\/\">Who can I turn to on YouTube when I want to learn more?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/what-3d-printers-do-you-currently-recommend\/\">What 3D printers do you &#8220;currently&#8221; recommend?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/what-filaments-do-you-recommend\/\">What filaments do you recommend?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/how-do-i-obtain-3d-printed-devices-if-i-dont-have-a-3d-printer\/\">How do I obtain 3D-printed devices if I don&#8217;t have a 3D printer?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/3d-printing-caveats\/\">3D-printing caveats&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"_idgpn_87\" href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/is-3d-printing-safe\/\">Is 3D-printing safe?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"_idgpn_101\" href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/where-should-i-look-for-things-to-print\/\">Where should I look for things to print?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"_idgpn_103\" href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/how-can-i-start-designing-my-own-3d-objects\/\">How can I start designing my own 3D objects?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h1>\u00a0<\/h1>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s what I know and who I think you can confidently listen to on the topic of 3D printing.\u00a0\u00a0 But first, why should you care?\u00a0 What has 3D printing got to do with assistive technology? To answer these questions, I have to first distinguish between two concepts: mass production, and mass customization. We&#8217;ve all benefited &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Getting Started with 3D Printing&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"folder":[],"class_list":["post-2904","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Getting Started with 3D Printing - Volksswitch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Getting Started with 3D Printing - Volksswitch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here&#8217;s what I know and who I think you can confidently listen to on the topic of 3D printing.\u00a0\u00a0 But first, why should you care?\u00a0 What has 3D printing got to do with assistive technology? 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