I’ll be giving a 2 hour demo/workshop on 3D modeling this Wednesday at 3rd Ward in Brooklyn – see event announcement here. We’ll be using Alibre Design, a program that’s comparable to Solidworks and other expensive 3D modeling software but has a free demo version and a capable standard version for just $97. You can use 3D modeling to work out the details of a mechanism, then directly export the files for 3D printing or machining. Alibre also lets you create 2D profiles of 3D parts that you can export and send directly to a laser cutter.

If there is enough interest at this free workshop it will likely turn into a 4 week class similar to their other digital design classes. This demo and class are a spin off of my class at NYU, and preparation for writing a section on CAD design with Alibre Design in Chapter 10: Making Things and Getting Them Made.

UPDATE: This event has been postponed