Beginning Google SketchUp for 3D Printing

Chapter 12. Exploring 3D Printing Alternatives

Throughout most of this book, you have spent a majority of your time learning about Shapeways and SketchUp. Both work well together when designing and developing models for 3D printing. The ease of using SketchUp and the ability to effortlessly upload and 3D print models are amazing. In this chapter, we switch gears and introduce a few other tools and services for designing and manufacturing your models. We start with an introduction to Ponoko and learn how to use this service for laser-cutting parts. We then briefly go over a few other 3D printing resources available online (Redeye, QuickARC, Xardas, and AlphaPrototypes). These services offer different material, apply different printing techniques, ...