“MyMiniFactory has just launched the FIRST in-browser 3D file customizer,” the company’s Chief Marketing Officer, Salma Elbarmawi, told 3DPrint.com.
“The first of its kind product: the Customizer beta 1.0 allows 3D designers to create “customizer worlds” for their models without code. Consumers with desktop 3D printers can pick interchangeable parts from the selection and 3D print in a single STL file.
“The future of customize-able toys, resizable cosplay and personalized 3D printable content is on the horizon, and we’re excited to share it with the world!”
Makers who either don’t work on CAD software, or haven’t received permission to change a model, have their prints totally defined by the original designer. Another option for 3D designers is to make other models with different parts, or they can offer interchangeable pieces that are later glued and pieced together, which, depending on the 3D printed model’s fitting and size, is no easy job.
The new MyMiniFactory Customizer offers a much better solution to this problem – it’s actually an in-browser tool with a user-friendly interface that allows makers to choose and preview those interchangeable parts of a model before they print it. It was created and launched as part of the platform’s movement to, as MyMiniFactory puts it, “empower 3D creatives purposefully and with freedom.”
The software was build to give users a dynamic, interactive way to customize their 3D printable models. Furthermore, it forms a bond between files so that the model can be 3D printed from just one STL file.
“The focus of the customizer is on the designer and maker experience,” explained Adrian Delgado, the Lead Customizer Developer for MyMiniFactory. “Many designers want to have customized options for their makers to pick and choose from but unless they’re willing to code the entire environment, customization is a fairly dry experience showcased primarily using photos. Now if designers want a customizer they don’t need to write code for one.”
The Customizer requires no coding, bouillon union operations, physical fittings, or technical positioning, and doesn’t interfere with a model’s functionality. It’s easy to use – designers just need to come up with a new design, or work off an existing model. Then, they request the particular settings and environment for the model from MyMiniFactory’s Customizer Team, which they use to create a ‘customizer environment’ so designers can upload each part separately. They can then get to work on the design, and make a test print of the model. Finally, 3D designers can publish the MyMiniFactory Customizer in a functional UI to form a dynamic interaction between the 3D model and the maker.
Once this environment has been published by the designer, makers simply select the parts they want, and how the parts will be interchanged, in order to personalize the model, which can then be downloaded as a single STL file and 3D printed.
The software also negates the need to incorporate correct tolerances and transition fits in order to join together parts. The tool adapts to changes with relative positioning and structural adjustments so that the model’s parts fit properly together without any overlap. So instead of having to modify the whole model to change just one part, which is what normally happens during the design phase, the MyMiniFactory Customizer allows you to print a personalized model in one piece from the one 3D printable STL file that the software generates.
You can test the Customizer Beta 1.0 out on a few select 3D printable models, such as a robot, house, gyroscope, and cake. I tried out the Customizer with the robot design, and it’s definitely very easy to use. In the future, MyMiniFactory plans to keep releasing new accessible, open, and functional tools so that designers and makers can keep creating. For instance, MyMiniFactory states on its website for the Customizer that designers will soon be able to customize their own environment, rather than emailing the team and having them do it.
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[Images: MyMiniFactory]