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Blind and Visually Impaired Community

Full History - 2021 - 03 - 19 - ID#m8ja0c
10
3-D printing (self.Blind)
submitted by appollo2020
Does anyone know if it’s possible to 3-D print if you’re completely blind? There are a lot of useful products and fun ideas, but, not sure how accessible the actual process would be if you can’t see.
Has anyone heard of anyone doing this or any tips for getting started if this is possible?
skillfulrabbit 3 points 2y ago
Yes. I work at See3D, a nonprofit that 3D prints for the BLV community. If you submit a request at See3D.org we will make what you need for free. I will also DM you my email address if you want to know more about what my blind coworkers use.
pm_ur_whispering_I 1 points 2y ago
Can I volunteer to print stuff?
skillfulrabbit 1 points 2y ago
Yes! If you go to see3d.org and click on get involved there are directions on how to join our slack.
square_cylinder_123 2 points 2y ago
Sighted person so I have no idea but a lot of 3d printing is debugging because the printers tend to be finnicky (at least at first). Once they're tuned in and you have the slicer parameters all set, you can get reliable prints (though some models will generally be problematic). Still, identifying and fixing problems might require help. Also there's a hot-end that moves around the bed and reaches temperatures of 200+ Celsius, which you'd have to watch out for. Note that all this is for FDM parts. I don't have experience with SLA printers but I can tell you they have their own unique quirks/problems.

If you're designing your own parts in CAD such as OpenSCAD or other software (OpenSCAD involves 'programmatically' creating your models (think text-editor) but idk how accessible other software is), I see no reason why you can't design parts.
appollo2020 [OP] 1 points 2y ago
Thank you so much! I will take a look at those programs at the very least to see how accessible creating parts would be
square_cylinder_123 2 points 2y ago
Great! OpenSCAD is literally programming with shapes to combine/cut/etc shapes so it's less of an accessibility issue and more of can you imaging what you're building and the way to do it with basic shapes and a few commands. Sight still plays a role since previewing helps you identify any logical mistakes you've made but if you get enough experience (maybe trial and error with help from a sighted person), you can build entire models without previewing the model. It's a free, open-sourced software you can get from here:

$1
appollo2020 [OP] 1 points 2y ago
Wow! Thank you! I’ve downloaded it and taking a look at it. So far it actually seems accessible enough! I’m super excited to get started but unfortunately I have to get to work. After I get off though thank you for sending me down this rabbit hole I am super excited to go down :p
square_cylinder_123 2 points 2y ago
I'm glad to have helped! Let me know if you need any help debugging or reviewing parts.
yourmommaisaunicorn 1 points 2y ago
The biggest issue is finding a program that works with JAWS. A lot of them have you draw something on the screen and then do a bunch of manipulations to make it printable.
appollo2020 [OP] 1 points 2y ago
Do you know of any off the top of your head?
yourmommaisaunicorn 1 points 2y ago
No. :(
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