Maker Spotlight: MakerViking - From Tevo Tornado to Building a Maker Community Platform
By MakerViking
Published
Updated
8 min read
Category: Maker Spotlight
I was surprised on how great and supportive this community is, and I had no idea of how important it would be for me when I started 3D printing, and in a large way it has changed my life, and helped me get through hard times.
<h2 class="font bold" <strong Discovery & Journey</strong </h2 <h3 class="font bold" <strong How did you first discover 3D printing, and what was your "aha" moment that made you realize this was more than just a hobby?</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" I think the first time I heard about it was around 2010 2012 somewhere, and it was really interesting, but way too expensive for me, I kept reading about it once in a while though. In january 2018, I started looking more closely at it, and I realized that it finally was cheap enough to test it out. After extensive research within my budget, I was going a bit back and forth between if I should get the Tevo Tornado or the Creality CR10, and I ended up on the Tornado, due to it having an AC bed and thus quicker heatup times. I got the printer delivered late february, and I was quickly hooked, so two weeks later I bought an Ender 3. Since then I've only dived even deeper into the different parts of the niche, and I quickly realized how great the Maker community is, and I've made many friends here.</p <img src="https://api.tinkeratlas.com/storage/v1/object/public/project images/articles/70aec187 0e8f 4711 b925 a50e749f3deb/1760325232572 flcyz1.jpg" alt="" height="auto" <h3 class="font bold" <strong Walk us through your current workspace setup what machines, tools, and software form the backbone of your making process?</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" Most of my work is on a PC, either in Fusion or Zbrush, but these days I mostly focus on developing this site! :) The printers I currently have is a Bambu A1 Mini Combo for Multi color prints, A flashforge 5MPro as an allround printer, and I also have a Qidi Plus 4, TwoTrees Sapphire S, TwoTrees SP5, Anycubic Kossel Linear Plus, Creality Ender 3, all in various stages of getting upgraded. I've redesigned many new parts for them, and I'll get back to that eventually. I'm also as some of you know working on two custom designs like the Fenrir CoreXY, and Ymir CrossXY, which I will eventually finish, but have no set date for.<br </p <h3 class="font bold" <strong What's the project you're most proud of, and why does it stand out among everything you've created?</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" Well, I'm so focused on this site these days, and I'm very proud of it and the amount of work I've put into it, I've worked way more than full time on it since I started. My vision is that is should be where makers and tinkerers want to be, to share their projects, collaborate, meet new friends, track their projects, find maker related info, and find interesting articles. I'm doing my best to make it as good as I can, and with the help of our users we'll get to where it needs to be. I so appreciate the help I've got with spreading the word about the site, give me feedback, bug reports etc. For those of you who has supported financially, I'm incredibly grateful, because this site wouldn't exist without you, at least not in the state it is today, as it's not easy to afford the expenses with servers, databases, caching, email service, and the devtools, the costs add up. If you want to help out you can find out how here: <a target=" blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="text blue 600 hover:text blue 800 dark:text blue 400 dark:hover:text blue 200 underline cursor pointer transition colors" href="https://tinkeratlas.com/site posts/tinkeratlas needs you" https://tinkeratlas.com/site posts/tinkeratlas needs you</a <br </p <h3 class="font bold" <strong Describe a spectacular failure or challenge you've faced in your making journey and what it taught you.</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" One of my biggest challenges is probably that I'm coming up with too many ideas and start on them all before finishing the previous one, especially when they are big projects. Luckily I've gotten better at focusing and finishing the different projects, but I still have some catchup to do in regards to especially Fenrir and Ymir, which I feel bad about in regards to people waiting for them.</p <img src="https://api.tinkeratlas.com/storage/v1/object/public/project images/articles/70aec187 0e8f 4711 b925 a50e749f3deb/1760325257401 7lrwuw.jpg" alt="" height="auto" <h3 class="font bold" <strong What misconception about 3D printing or making do you find yourself constantly correcting when talking to newcomers?</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" Well, one thing that comes to mind is that all designs should be free I guess, many people don't realize how much time and effort it actually takes to design many of the designs out there, and if designers make money from it, they will have more time and incentive to create more designs. I can of course understand that it can be hard to afford stuff, since I don't have much of an income myself, but I also understand the economic side as a designer, and the need to get enough money in to, especially for those that are full time designers, people needs to survive.</p <h2 class="font bold" Technical Deep Dives</h2 <h3 class="font bold" <strong What's your go to troubleshooting process when a print goes wrong, and what's the most unusual fix you've discovered?</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" I look at what the symptom is, then use logic and experience to figure out how to fix it. It is an advantage to having done this for so long and having built, tuned and upgraded a bunch of printers, so you have a deeper understanding of how things work. I guess that experience won't come the same way for many people anymore, because the quality and ease of use on many of the new printers doesn't make them figure it out. Of course, this is partly due to that many of the newcomers to our fantastic community aren't that interested in tinkering as you had to be previously to get a successful print.<br </p <h3 class="font bold" <strong How do you approach the design to print workflow? Do you design everything yourself, remix existing models, or combine approaches?</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" I prefer designing from the ground up, I've never really remixed models.</p <img src="https://api.tinkeratlas.com/storage/v1/object/public/project images/articles/70aec187 0e8f 4711 b925 a50e749f3deb/1760325511433 1rucba.png" alt="" height="auto" <h3 class="font bold" <strong What material or technique do you think is underrated in the maker community, and how do you use it in your work?</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" I think most materials have a place, due to their different characteristics, and I mostly use PLA for the artistic prints, and ABS/ASA for technical designs, of course it's fun to print with other materials too.</p <h2 class="font bold" Community & Philosophy</h2 <h3 class="font bold" <strong How has being part of the maker community shaped your approach to creating and sharing your work?</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" I was surprised on how great and supportive this community is, and I had no idea of how important it would be for me when I started 3D printing, and in a large way it has changed my life, and helped me get through hard times. I love to share projects I've done and get feedback from the community. It is the community that is the reason I've created TinkerAtlas!<br </p <h3 class="font bold" <strong What advice would you give to someone who's interested in making but feels overwhelmed by the technical learning curve?</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" I would tell them that it isn't that hard anymore, due to printers being way easier to get running properly these days, and if an issue shows up, the community is amazing and you'll find the help you need.<br </p <h3 class="font bold" <strong Where do you see personal fabrication and 3D printing heading in the next 5 years, and how are you preparing for those changes?</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" Well, we're starting to see the emerging of cheaper options in Toolchangers this year, so that will become more and more normal going forward. (I so want a Snapmaker U1 or Prusa XL) I think we'll see printers with even more toolheads and possibly even smarter solutions, and for sure more automation.</p <h2 class="font bold" Personal Touch</h2 <h3 class="font bold" <strong What's currently on your workbench or in your print queue that has you excited?</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" Well since so much time is going into TinkerAtlas, there's not much ongoing projects at the moment, but a project I'm especially am looking forward to finish, is the Fenrir CoreXY. I've put so much time and energy into it that seeing that finished will be an amazing feeling!<br </p <h3 class="font bold" <strong Outside of making, what influences or inspires your creative process?</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" I like many kinds of art, and beautiful nature scenes. Luckily I live in a country with lots of beautiful nature, which I've appreciated more and more as I got older.<br </p <h3 class="font bold" <strong If you could only keep three tools/machines in your workshop, what would they be and why?</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" My PC first of all, then probably the Flashforge 5M Pro and the Bambu A1 Mini Combo. The PC because it's where most of my work is done, be it sculpting, modelling, or coding. It also is the place where I hangout and communicate with my maker friends. The 5M Pro, because it's a workhorse, that prints really well and just works. The A1 Mini is my only Multi Color printer at the moment, and I need it especially when I create multi color versions of my sculpts, and it's also fun to print designs from other designers.</p <h2 class="font bold" Lightning Round</h2 <h3 class="font bold" <strong Favorite filament brand and why in 10 words or less:</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" Polymaker. Good quality, lots of choices in color and material.</p <h3 class="font bold" <strong Most underrated tool under $50 every maker should own:</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" Calipers</p <h3 class="font bold" <strong STL/model website you visit most frequently:</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" MakerWorld</p <h3 class="font bold" <strong Dream tool or machine you'd buy with unlimited budget:</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" Prusa XL 5 head</p <h3 class="font bold" <strong Most played podcast/YouTube channel while working in the shop:</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" Probably Steven Poole68 on Twitch</p <h3 class="font bold" <strong First thing you ever 3D printed vs. most recent print:</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" A spool holder for the Tevo Tornado, since I didn't want to continue using a broom handle. Most recent is parts for a Haunted Halloween Carousel by xxhouse on MakerWorld</p <h3 class="font bold" <strong Slicer of choice and one setting everyone should tweak:</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" Orca slicer and setting Inner/Outer for Walls printing order.</p <h3 class="font bold" <strong Biggest "maker sin" you're guilty of:</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" Probably messy workspace.</p <h3 class="font bold" <strong One maker/creator everyone should be following right now:</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" 3DPrintSOS, Wekster</p <h3 class="font bold" <strong Your maker superpower in 3 words:</strong </h3 <p class="mb 2" Lots of ideas</p <img src="https://api.tinkeratlas.com/storage/v1/object/public/project images/articles/70aec187 0e8f 4711 b925 a50e749f3deb/1760325379451 fnmdlc.jpg" alt="" height="auto" <h3 class="font bold" </h3 <p class="mb 2" <br </p
