Driving the establishment of 3D printing courses at Clemson University, the artists behind these courses have some impressive and well-designed examples to share.
Background in Decorative Design
Insun Kwon understands the value of every step in the digital art and 3D printing process. Insun is a professor at Clemson University, with an MFA in Animation and many years of experience guiding undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students.
He incorporates his sculptural background into digital spaces and classrooms as a hobby, creating some truly remarkable 3D designs - like his 'Predator' sculpture showcased at this year's Construct3D conference.
Insun's 3D printed Predator Close-up of Predator
After a decade of traditional sculpting, which ignited his passion for art, Professor Insun Kwon transitioned to digital modeling after moving to the United States. Insun wanted to share this process with his students.
"I remember how excited I was when I was able to create my first 3D print from my digital model."
He said: "It felt very different compared to creating digital images, and I hope my students can be inspired by the same interest by creating physical models from their own CG works."
Insun's goal is for every student to see their work completed from start to finish, as he finds that they are more willing to excel in the design process this way. He noted the high level of interest students showed, indicating they hoped Clemson would offer 3D printing courses, which Professor Insun Kwon hopes to provide immediately.
Insun's Predator sculpture with intricate details
While Insun previously focused on creating beautiful images from 3D models, he is now more focused on creating exciting 3D prints, demonstrating his ability as a designer with complex forms. For this, he needed a reliable quality 3D printer.
Bringing 3D Models to Life with Ultimaker
When Insun was deciding how to produce his detailed digital models, he found resin printers to be an expensive option due to the price of materials. By choosing Ultimaker,
he is now able to print high-quality models using inexpensive materials, saving costs and time.
He began his 3D printing endeavors with an Ultimaker 2+ and later upgraded to an Ultimaker 3, which prints 24 hours a day when he’s working on a complicated model.
"Ultimaker is easy to use and provides great quality with low-priced materials. I think this works perfectly for educational purposes."
Professor Kwon has tried a variety of materials - ABS, PLA, and flexible filaments like TPU - though he mostly opts for PLA as he finds it works best for his
needs.
While he uses his Ultimaker 3 for personal projects, like a striking 3D printed model of a velociraptor perched on a Tyrannosaurus skull, Insun says that Clemson
students are able to use the school's printers as needed.
A 3D printed dinosaur model designed and created by Insun
Multiple departments at Clemson currently integrate 3D printing into their curriculum, from Art to Architecture and Digital Production.
Although there is not yet a formal class on 3D printing, Professor Kwon enjoys sharing his personal printing experiences with students and fellow faculty members.
Bringing models to a "print-ready" stage is a very important concept to Insun when it comes to teaching, as is helping students build up their portfolios with design work.
Close-up of Insun's 3D printed dinosaur
Preparing for Employment After Graduating from Clemson
Professor Kwon says that ease of use and fast printing times are crucial for an educational environment. He hopes to teach Clemson students to invest time
and effort into producing high-quality models, highlighting his last print example - which required about 700 hours to print 100 different parts.
"I believe that understanding how to use 3D printing will provide students with more future employment opportunities," Insun said. Looking ahead, as more industries consider 3D
printing as a cost and time-saving option, this key knowledge is very important for young people entering the workforce! !
Original source: https://ultimaker.com/en/stories/50333-sculpting-the-future-of-3d-printing-at-clemson-university