“This post is from guest blogger, JF Brandon. He works with Enrico Dini and the DShape. He likes 3D Printing, Naïve Architecture, Open Source, Mass Customization and Hockey. He lives in Vancouver, Canada.”
3D printing is part of my job. When I tell people this, I usually get the response “Oh, I heard about that stuff on TED/YouTube/The Economist/the EvD podcast… how does a 3D printer-ma-thingie work? I can’t wrap my head around it’s awesomeness.” Yes, sometimes it’s a bit difficult to explain, so to help, we cooked up a useful primer. We here at SolidSmack want to help you become better designers and part of the job is explaining what you do and how you do it. What better way than through Native-American hand gestures.
How to Explain 3D Printing
These are a few manners in which we could explain the 3D printing process, from computer model to physical object. In my experience, visualization helps immensely and I often find the best approach to explaining complicated processes is through hand gestures, and in this case, forgotten Indian hand gestures. All of these pictures were taken from a list of common Native-American (The Sioux, to be specific) hand gestures and signals. (Confirmed for accuracy with an official signer.) Isn’t the Internet just awesome?
- First, point to yourself and perform this gesture, letting them know you are going to explain something to them. (Hold extended right hand, back down, in front of, close to, and little lower than mouth, fingers pointing to left; by wrist action move hand outwards a few inches. To be spoken to or explained to, reverse the action, moving hand towards face.)
- Next, you take a 3D model. Equivelently, the sign for Rock. (Make the sign for HARD, and indicate shape.)
- Then, you divide (cut) it up. (With flat left hand, back upwards, held in front of left breast, use right flat hand as though to cut slice off palm of left, and repeat.)
- Now, you either extrude plastic or selectively bind a layer of powdered plastic with a laser, ‘printing’ each divided layer. (Both hands backs up in front of body, the right resting on the left. Then raise the right more or less above the left.)
- Then, layer by layer, you recreate the model. (Place right flat hand on palm of left in front of body, and lift them upwards several times in moves of about 3 inches, to indicate piling up.) Add the sign for Rock here again to recall the model.
- After you are done, have a drink.
All images from Manataka American Indian Council.
