Rejoice!

Rejoice!

TinkerCAD is BACK!

I was so excited a few months back to have found TinkerCAD. I had great plans for blog posts, tutorials, even having my mom "test" it out to show how easy it is (not to mention teaching the kids at work a thing or two about 3D design). All of these plans were dashed when TinkerCAD announced their closure.

I canceled my paid account and moved on to trying to find something else with what little free time I had. I had very little free time and found nothing. I'm not sure which is to blame: my lack of free time or the lack of resources.

Well, then came the email. TinkerCAD found a home at Autodesk.  OMG!  I was so excited (as was Justin - He has done some AMAZING things using TinkerCAD). TinkerCAD is back!

"The shutdown plan has been rolled back and effective immediately new users are again able to sign up for the site. Even better, at the request of Autodesk, we have supercharged the free plan. You can now create unlimited designs, all import and export functionality is enabled and ShapeScripts are turned on for free accounts. We have automatically upgraded all existing free accounts to this new powerful plan. This account will be offered for a limited time only so make sure you sign up as soon as possible."

Again, I ran into the problem of too little free time. Trying to finish up finals AND finish planning a wedding (at the same time working) takes a lot of time. And energy.

The wedding is this coming Tuesday, after which I will be free to play with TinkerCAD (and M0rt)

Like I've said previously, TinkerCAD is an amazingly powerful tool. Justin has used it to create parts for NERF blasters. He's currently working on a super rad project for our wedding next week.

I was all ready to go and finish up some work to get prepped for some stellar jewelry that I am making for my bridesmaids.  I logged in and lo and behold, my account status is suspended. I had a paid account that I cancelled upon the news they were closing down.  Apparently the fix is as easy as emailing support, but it's after midnight and I'm sure I'll have to wait until sometime tomorrow to get my status back to unlocked.

An important part of the message from TinkerCAD that is quoted above is the announcement that the free plan is basically "unlocked" to allow you to create unlimited designs, import/export features are fully functional and ShapeScripts are enabled. When I signed up a few months back, those options were paid account only, so I signed up. At $20 a month, I sort of balked at the payments. I didn't really have enough time to get to know the program to take full advantage of the paid account, but I really didn't want to be limited to ONE design at a time.

Even if you don't have a 3D printer, do yourself a favor and sign up. Learn how to use it. Develop your ideas. You know someone who has a 3D printer and we're here to help.  LaserGnomes helps fulfill dreams. Use your imagination and let us help you fulfill yours!