Did you see the easy cheese 3D printer that made the rounds last month? Of course you did, the video has almost a million views and appeared on just about every internet news outlet known to man. And that makes sense – pairing easy cheese and 3D printing is a match made in sharing heaven. Honestly, I wish I had thought of it. But I didn’t. Andrew Maxwell-Parish did. He also thought to strap a camera to his head and high five strangers. This is a man we should all know a bit better. And so I asked him a few questions.
What about Leap Motion do you find so appealing? I see you've used it in a couple of different applications - it obviously speaks to you.
And yet is necessarily imprecise (in the sense that it's "free hand.") Traditionally, 3D printing professionals spend a lot of time focused on accuracy and precision. Is there a downside to thinking about additive manufacturing purely in terms of manufacturing?
The Leap Motion and gesture-based interfaces are a really compelling concept for computer interactions until you actually try it. However, using a Leap Motion to control a mechanical machine feels interesting. I've had quite a few people try it out and they are all intrigued but nobody seems to come up with what the truly useful application of it would be.
For my projects in general, I've found myself caring less about the documentation and more trying to push out new ideas in hopes that someone will come up with a useful application of the technology I'm playing around with. My hope is that creating a ridiculous enough video of trying to squirt a bit of cheese on a cracker with that complex of an interface will generate some interesting ideas in the viewers minds.
Most people have a very good understanding of what 3D printing is and that making it more precise is an obvious goal. However, by exploring ideas that most people aren't thinking of, we will begin to generate new ideas for what it could be. The types of innovations that I am interested in are not logical, I'm interested in illogical ideas that open new areas of exploration.
What are your thoughts on this Easy Cheese 3D printer?
And this...um...whipped cream printer?
I haven't seen the whipped cream printer but I'm impressed.
Matt Stultz (who did the other Easy Cheese 3D printer) wrote me an email when he saw my video. I hadn't come across his video before I did the project, so it was a nice surprise to see that I wasn't the only one exploring heavily processed food as an extrusion material. I'm hoping to meet up with him sometime to share a six pack and tell war stories of trying to extrude the stuff.
In typical fashion, some of our engineers prefer moving the can over moving the nozzle so as not to mess with the XYZ. Is that something you considered or are we taking it too seriously?
I always imagined it as a four bar mechanism that moves the nozzle. I realize that there are inherent issues with that design but I prefer it. I feel it does a better job humanizing the machine. When a human user extrudes Easy Cheese, they hold the can rigid and move the nozzle. By making the machine do it the same way and making the mechanism look similar to a tiny arm pulling the nozzle, I feel it anthropomorphizes the machine. I also just really like 4-bar mechanisms. I should start writing purple prose about my love of 4-bar mechanisms and toggle switches.
What's your opinion on 3D printing in general? Does anything in particular excite you about it? Are you leery about it in any way?
I can't think of a technology in the last few years that has sparked as much awe among the masses as 3D printing. I researched 3D printing for about 2 years before I finally decided I had to build a RepRap in 2012. After I got it working, I wanted to show it to anyone and everyone so they could begin thinking of ways it could be used. I remember showing it to an 8-year-old and he stared at it for about an hour and kept saying:
I have never seen anything like this IN MY LIFE!
When I showed it to my grandfather, he had a tear in his eye and told me that he "would remember this day for the rest of his life." It's an incredible position to be able to show someone something as extraordinary as 3D printing and I hope I have been an adequate ambassador.
What's the best way to get kids into 3D printing? After they've printed a few trinkets, how do we get them to design stuff? Do you think that's important?
Even with my previous sentiments, I think that 3D printing is still relatively immature in it's usage. Realistically, I can create most of what I print with some scrap wood, calipers, a band saw, and a drill. Biological 3D printing and low cost metal 3D printing are the disruptive applications of this technology.
I think that 3D printing has done an amazing job at making it worthwhile to learn how to 3D model.
In order to get kids designing ideas, I feel that it is best to show them playful ways of how it can be used. I've learned that easiest way to do this is to design projects that make an 8 year old say, "I want to know how to do that!" with playful and ridiculous ideas. So, that's what I do. The great thing about designing projects for 8-year-olds is that people of any age have an 8 year old self inside of them that also says, "I want to know how to do that!"
I'm converting a tiny old school bus into a mobile laboratory and setting up workshops to teach 3D printing, solid modeling, Arduino, and CNC milling across rural Minnesota this summer. I feel that giving kids early access to this technology can only be a good thing. These kids are going to be the ones that really learn how to manipulate the machines to create new and amazing things. The quicker they get out of the novelty stage we have with emerging technology, the better. As a quick plug, I'm bootstrapping the expedition. I've received an Awesome Foundation grant to buy Arduino kits but if anyone has any usable laptops sitting around that they would be willing to donate to my educational adventure, please contact me.
What types of projects inspire you the most? Are there artists out there that you think more people should know about?
My family and loved ones are always the biggest inspiration for anything and everything I do. I have yet to meet a more incredible collective of creative, intelligent, and witty people.
Barry Kudrowitz has and continues to be a very influential and inspiring to me as a designer, engineer, chef, and artist.
I spent some time as an actor and within any performance there is drama, comedy, or both. So, I really like projects that make me laugh or make me cry. My role at California College of the Arts has allowed hundreds of amazing projects get filtered through my mind. Many have made me laugh but only one has ever hit me in the chest hard enough to make me shed tears. That was a wearable electronics rosary piece by Jasmine Calderon.
How often do you use CAD? Do you have a favorite? Why?
I use it all the time. I've been using Autodesk Inventor since the 2011 edition when I was a research assistant designing and building a photobioreactor for Stephen Hawley's research with the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota.
Lately, I've been using Autodesk Fusion 360 which I like quite a bit. Autodesk is an interesting company. They make much of their software free for students, a policy I have been abusing for years. At one point in time, I even torrented their software. You know what retribution they gave me? They made me the first Artist in Resident to start at their brand new shop at Pier 9 in San Francisco. That was pretty nice of them.
