3D Printing!!!! legitimately one of the coolest creations with the most potential in the last 20 or so years. The ability to take something from the digital and bring it to reality is something science-fiction authors have drooled after since the inception of it’s modern interpretation. I recall in 2020 there was a shortage of some piece necessary for respirators to function. A hobbyist designed and printed the piece using their 3D printer, then made the blueprint free online so that anyone who needed it could have it. It is genuinely my thought that being able to produce (as my grandad would call it) “fiddly-bits” can cut down on consumerism and unnecessary waste. Granted, using plastic to replace more plastic is less than ideal but being able to create your own clasp or pin or buckle could prevent you from having to throw away some larger object that would create even more waste. Furthermore, it would stop some…such as myself…who pick up hobbies frequently and with an intensity. Being able to produce your own materials for such a thing at school could help students who wouldn’t normally be able to afford such things take part too.
For example, the design above is a dice tower that I created as an accessory for playing D&D. Inside there is a flight of stairs that, if large enough, would hopefully roll the dice and then let it out the bottom for the player. In hindsight I don’t think that this design would work because supports would need to be removed. However, I think that this is a super cool expression of the very basics someone can achieve with such a thing. Someone could even make other health related things more accessible to the average person such as these glasses frames that I found online. I am genuinely incredibly excited to see where the medium goes next.
