When we invested in Shapeways at USV, one of the trends we liked was that 3D design tools were getting cheaper and more accessible. I am happy to report that Tinkercad is now an amazing entry level and free tool that runs right in your browser.

This Sunday afternoon from a standing start all five of us (Susan, myself and our three kids), each took the excellent Tinkercad tutorials and then designed a model, uploaded it to Shapeways and ordered it. All of that in under two hours and you could probably compress it into 60 minutes if you were in a real rush.

Here is what I designed – a ball trapped in a cage (word of warning: it involves one shell (a ball) trapped inside another, so I am not sure yet how well it will print in materials other than strong & flexible plastic). I am excited about the upcoming unboxing event where we all receive our products from Shapeways!