SolidProfessor Sets Sights on the White House


|
By

SolidProfessor submits design for 3D printed ornament to be showcased in White House and Smithsonian.

SolidProfessor is helping the White House deck their halls for the holidays by donating an original ornament design for their 3D Printed Ornament Challenge, sponsored by Autodesk, Inc. Winning designs will be hung in the East Wing of the White House during the Holiday Season. The contest, promoted by Instructables, is the first-ever maker challenge for the White House.

Winning designs selected for display at the White House will also be featured on the Smithsonian’s state of the art 3D data platform and will join a small collection of White House ornaments in the political history division of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Earlier this year, President Obama called for 10,000 new engineers in the United States to meet growing demand for technically skilled professionals in American companies. The 3D Printed Ornament Challenge is one example of the progress being made to encourage growing engineering skills.

“We’ve made incredible progress on education, helping students to finance their college educations, but we still don’t have enough engineers,” said Obama.

President Obama’s plan to train 10,000 new American engineers every year was developed with the help of his Jobs and Competitiveness Council. That presidential commission has 26 members, including CEOs at several tech firms: Paul Otellini, the CEO of Intel; Ursula Burns, the CEO of Xerox; John Doerr, the venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers; and Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer at Facebook. The chairman of the Jobs and Competitiveness Council is Jeffrey Immelt, who is chairman and CEO of GE.

The SolidProfessor White House ornament was created using a revolved surface, which was then trimmed using a split line created from an intersection curve. The curvy sliver was thickened, stars were cut out, and the sliver was then patterned in a circle. The interior bulb is a lofted surface with a snowflake shape cut out of it using the Split Line and Delete Face features. The ornament is finished off with a swept loop at the top for easy tree attachment. See the entry at https://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Printed-Holiday-Spiral-Ornament/ The winning designs will be chosen by White House staff and printed at the Autodesk Pier 9 workshop.

Start your Free Trial!

Create a free SolidProfessor account and preview our comprehensive library of CAD/CAM and BIM training courses featuring downloadable part files, interactive projects, skills assessment testing, and much more.


John Farmer
About the Author

SolidProfessor Digital Marketing Manager and keeper of Rahn, the office dog.