We stopped Adam McDonnough, 33 from Northwest Arkansas, for a short interview.
What is your Printshops name on Cubee?
Bearnicorn 3D Studio
What are you up to when you aren’t 3D printing/designing?
I work as a packaging and display designer. At home, I spend time with my wife and help raise our 2 year old.
What type of 3D printer/s do you have? What design software do you use?
I run two printers for the time being, a Prusa MK3S+ and a heavily modified Atom 3Lite. My primary design software is Blender.
What brought you into the 3D world?
I studied packaging and 3D design in college but I didn’t get into it personally until a coworker brought in his printers and let me play around with them.
How many 3D printing hours do you think you have under your belt?
I’ve logged over 10,000 hours between my two personal printers.
How has this occupation affected your home/personal life?
I receive a lot of requests from friends, family, and coworkers for me to design or print things. It’s come to be just a part of my life that yields benefits for everyone around me. I will admit that I’ve talked my wife’s ears off about 3D printing and the 3D community but she continues to support it because she knows that it means a lot to me.
What is your favorite print/model ever?
I’ve made a many different things in the last year and a half so it’s hard to choose. I recently printed the Mini Rumble Truck by Clockspring and just had to make one for everyone in my family. They’re cute and they really work well.
What is the weirdest thing you ever printed or designed?
The weirdest thing I’ve ever printed is a set of Croc Spurs for a coworker. I’ve also designed and printed several Yoga wheels which are a fairly niche product.
what was your latest 3D print?
The Pueblos of New Mexico by MiniWorld3D
Tell us something about 3D printing that not everybody knows.
3D printing comes with a really empowering community. I got into it because I liked the idea printing objects, but what keeps me interested is the people and all the cool stuff that it lets me learn. I’ve learned how to work with electronics, basic coding, and robotics, carpentry, adhesives, and materials science, 3D design, marketing, and branding and so much more. All of these are extensions of the base interest in making cool stuff with a 3D printer.
What would the world of 3D printing look like 10 years from now?
3D printing has completely changed in the last 10 year. It went from an extremely niche and expensive hobby to something really accessible to an average tinkerer. In 10 years, I don’t think everyone will be printing, but the machines and materials will advance enough that you could call them a reliable means of production. You’ll see a lot more companies selling hard to produce component kits along side 3D models for you to print at home.
