Bringing Design to Life<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nWright-Gidley provided detailed dimensions of the Seawall from the museum\u2019s archives, which Nipper was able to convert into a detailed digital 3D design model. The main challenge, he said, was to create a model large enough to show detail, but small enough to be held and handled easily and that could be printed on any standard 3D printer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe tricky part was the length of the seawall being 60 feet long, converting the scale down made the wall about 12 inches long,\u201d said Nipper. \u201cI knew most 3D printers aren’t equipped with that large of a build area, so what I suggested was to split a wall section in half, to 6 inches, yet keeping the tongue and groove alignments on each side so that the prints would still mimic the full scale of the seawall but be in two parts.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re always happy to help bring projects and ideas to life,\u201d said Alex Nipper, program coordinator for the Innovation Hub-Makerspace. \u201cAll of our shops are equipped with tools, equipment, and experts to help anyone in or outside Texas A&M with projects they might have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n