Book Review: 3D Printing with Rep Rap Cookbook

3D Printing with RepRap Cookbook was written by Richard Salinas for the reader who has a Rep Rap 3D printer and is ready to learn how to print better models.  The author guides the reader through numerous printing exercises involving calibration, flow rate and test models.  Numerous color photos show print results using ABS and PLA filaments.

Chapter one shows the reader how to take photos of an actual object and stitch them up with 123D Catch to make a 3D model.  I enjoyed reading chapter three which shows how to install a David Laserscanner using a webcam and a common laser to scan small objects.  I also found clear images of host interfaces like Repetier which you install on your computer to control your printer. The author also compares slicing programs Slic3r and Skeinforge interface as well photos of the printed results.

Richard describes 3D modeling with TopMod to create organic forms with carefully designed support meant to be strong and easier to remove from the printed model which is knowledge that can only be gained by experience.  He shows how to fix mesh problems with MeshLab for manifold issues, inverted mesh, as well as reducing the amount of polygons of dense models.  He adds textures to his lovely starfish model with meshmixer.  The author shows the lattice technique to prevent printed filament from curling up and distorting the model.  He also discusses trouble shooting the actual 3D printer and common issues like a loose heatsink.

You can find more information of this book by clicking on 3D Printing with Rep Rap Cookbook
as well as this link  http://bit.ly/1jAyZ2U
You can find more information about Richard by visiting his website http://www.3dprintedsculpture.com/

My first game asset

I recently made my first game asset. I crafted a low poly model which I named Ralphy using Blender 3D.
I used a texture from a digital artwork I made a while ago using GIMP to modify a photo of a geranium to look like gold leaf.  I added my texture to the UV map.  I planned for a simple animation using only three keys and twenty frames.  I then exported my .blend file as a Collada file with a .dae extension to a Unity folder named models and inserted Ralphy to a tropical scene.
Next I plan to further my modeling skills by sculpting a spaceship in Blender 3D.