The Wow Factor of 3-D Printing

Link via NYTimes.com

To successfully print 3-D objects on your own machine, you need design applications and tools to tweak your creations.

All the machines I’ve seen require that you use design software that saves objects in the STL, or stereolithography, format.

There are free design packages like Blender and Google SketchUp and myriad commercial computer-aided design, or CAD, packages from the likes of Autodesk, Alibre Design and SolidWorks.

Google SketchUp, SolidWorks, Autodesk, and Alibre Design products are available at an educational discount price from Creation Engine.