User talk:Eky5006
Part A:
After browsing thingiverse I found the following designs which I think are the most useful, artistic, pointless, funny and scary:
1. Useful: Measuring Cup http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:36980
This measure cup can be used to measure liquids up to 2 cups. It’s a useful kitchen tool that can be used in everyday life, as long as it is printed without leaks.
2. Artistic/Beautiful: Nautilus Gears http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:27233
The spiral design combined with its ability to actually function like gears makes this especially intriguing. It’s certainly not very useful, but it’s nice to watch.
3. Pointless/Useless: Finger Plate http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:24601
When would I ever need a tiny plate on my finger to hold food? Never.
4. Funny/Weird: Cat Space Helmet http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:38652
If I had a cat, I would definitely print this for my cat to wear. I can’t pass up the opportunity to have my cat space-ready.
5. Scary/Strange: Occulus http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:42028
It’s a one-eyed monster creature. Shouldn’t have a problem scaring small children.
Part B:
I am a tinkerer to some extent. Many times I try to fix my electronics on my own if something goes wrong. I also have family members and friends who I would consider to be tinkerers as well. I personally believe that the DIY tinkerer attitude should be preserved. What big corporations are doing to stifle this is wrong and without people who tinker I feel like the country will fall behind in terms of innovation.
As for David Kelly, his design theory is unique. It’s definitely unorthodox combining the talents of a huge variety of disciplines when creating designs, but I can certainly see why it would be helpful. His concept of observing how people behave and making designs that help the user is not new, but it is definitely a necessary component for design success. When I saw that he too was working on a 3D printer project, it gave me further reassurance that 3D printing is the next big thing. His idea of bringing people of different backgrounds together in order to create synergy is perfectly applicable to the open source environment. The Rep Rap open source printing movement embodies this idea of collaboration from all sorts of people.
