After two months on the road, the 3DRV: Driven by Design road tour has begun to uncover the variety of ways that companies and individuals are using 3D design, reality capture, and fabrication technologies to shape the world around them.
TJ McCue, host of the 3DRV tour and author, is also raising awareness about 3D and educating the public on how to take advantage of these technologies, many of which are free or available at a very low cost.
“From consumers to business owners, people find 3D (scanning, printing, design) fascinating, and sometimes perplexing. When we start to talk about it, they are always curious, engaged, and most are genuinely interested to learn more,” said McCue.
The 3DRV road tour—which kicked off on May 16th, 2014, and is sponsored by Autodesk, Inc., HP, NVIDIA, Stratasys, FARO and Jayco—will make more than 100 scheduled stops across the United States over the course of eight months. A sampling of stops from the first leg of the journey reveals the diverse use of 3D technologies throughout the country such as Maker Faire, building a lunar lander and 3D printing in space, modeling for clean air in operating rooms; personal manufacturing with Monkey Likes Shiny and laser scanning a Starbucks; free 3D design apps and 3D printing used by artists, and 3D design and simulation to improve bridges and roads.
”There’s innovation happening in all corners of the country that can shed light on where the future of making things is headed,” said Amar Hanspal, senior vice president at Autodesk. “This tour is right in line with our aim to help everyone design and make anything they can imagine.”
In 69 days, McCue has racked up 4,627 miles, 32 stops, 207 cups of coffee and 33 blog posts. “There is a strong pulse out there, for sure. A pulse that quickens when someone senses that we’re on the cusp of a real revolution in making and that it is open to them. From government agencies to business owners, people find 3D in all its forms—scanning, printing, design—a fascinating area to embrace,” added McCue. “After six weeks on the road, it’s clear that ‘manufacturing’ is no longer limited to factories or traditional industrial settings. Today’s affordable and accessible technology enables anyone to be his or her own designer and manufacturer.”
For a condensed summary, check out TJ McCue’s observations from the road in Lessons From The Roadtrip: Update One Follow along at www.3drv.com and #3DRV, and see ongoing posts from the road here.
