I’m happy to name the “Shredded Skull,” and designer James Alday, the winner of the newly created Fusion 360 Model of the Month award.  You’re probably asking “What is the Model of the Month” or “How do I receive this great honor”?  The Model of the Month is the one model selected by a dedicated committee that bases their selections on a number of criteria such as creativity, complexity, manufacturability and community involvement.   That and for this month, I like Halloween.  Take a shot at earning this title in November by posting your designs to the Fusion 360 gallery and showing off your creative side.  And James, keep an eye out for the October champions prize headed your way!  Now, a little bit about our designer, his works with design, and 3D printing in his own words.

“I live in Orlando FL, married father of 2 little girls.  I have a boring blue collar job as a water treatment operator, though I’ve always been tech minded.  My current 3D journey started around February of this year.  A long term friend of mine, Mark Leonard, has a job with a local faux artistry company called Aztec Scenic Design (check out some of their amazing artwork!).  Mark had been ranting on and on over for months about 3D printers. “Man you gotta check these out,” but I always thought it was something that was out of our reach!  Then in February he came to me and told me that he had a 3d printer and I should get one too.  His employer Aztec Scenic Design had a vision of making an entire ceiling 3d printed.  They were cool enough to let me join in on the fun.

I very quickly was thrown into the world of 3D!  I purchased a MakerFarm Prusa I3 8”.  Aztec Scenic Design at the time purchased several printers of their own.  I was first introduced to Autodesk 123D Design in February of 2014.  I spent every waking minute learning all I could about 3d design.  It took a few days to come up with my first printable model! And soon after, a few models made it into the final 3D ceiling.  It was a whirlwind of an experience.  3D printing and modeling gave me the greatest feeling in the world.  To create something digitally then see it come to life layer by layer on a printer in your garage!!! Truly amazing.  From then on I was hooked.  Me and my buddy Mark Leonard and Mark’s fellow coworker, Austin Butler, became 3D printing buddies.  Exchanging ideas and modeling strategies, spending countless hours troubleshooting and tearing apart our printers, challenging each other with who could print the coolest model!

We primarily used 123D Design and MeshMixer in the beginning. It was a very easy to use program that created excellent models for 3D printing.  The latest game changer for us was the discovery of Fusion 360.  This program really opened the doors for our creativity.  We quickly learned all we could about T-splines!  Fusion 360 gave new life to our models.  It allowed for more organic looking structures and surfaces.

During this time I created a number of models to learn Fusion 360 which can be found on the gallery.  My latest creation is what I call the “Shredded Skulls.”  The skulls were modeled using a t-spline plane that has been thickened then circle pattern copied 360* about 20 times.  Convert the 360* of splines to STL.  You then can used this shape to Boolean-intersect combine any of your favorite models by placing both models on top of each other and selecting combine-intersect.  I used 123D Design for the combining.

The skulls have just finished a 3D model competition at myminifactory.  It’s been extremely popular and I’m hoping to win first place and get a new printer!

I’ve recently started my own business IMMERSEDN3D LLC.   So in addition to learning new software and 3d printing hardware I get to figure out how to run a company.  It’s proven to be a lot of work but I’m ready for the challenge.  I’ve had the pleasure of working with some amazing local artists.  I’m just trying to find my place in this exciting industry.  It’s amazing how fast the technology is advancing.  I can’t wait to see what my young daughters will be 3D printing when they are my age!!”

Are you interested in seeing more of James’ designs?  Check them out on the Fusion 360 gallery or on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/ImmersedN3D.  He even provides a walkthrough on how to create some of them.  If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to him directly on Twitter (@ImmersedN3D)

If you’d like a shot at the Model of the Month in November, make sure to post your designs to the Fusion gallery and add some details like letting us know how it is made, write up some design steps, or make it a turkey (or pilgrim, or turducken…).  Can’t wait to see what you come up with for next month!