Dougherty Co. library offers 3D printing

ALBANY, GA (WALB) - For those still searching for that last-minute perfect piece to finish off a Halloween costume, it could be a good idea to head to the library.

Dougherty County libraries are letting people use its 3D printers.

The library was able to purchase two of the Ultimaker 3 printers through a Sabal Trail grant. There's one at the Central branch and one at the Northwest branch.

The printer is able to take ideas and transform them into actual objects.

Every aspect of the item's design can be customized by the creator.

"If you just go to the store and purchase whatever, they have to design a mask for a man, woman, one size pretty much. Not much customization. With this, pretty much, with the files, if you get into the CAD (computer-aided design) software, you can lengthen, shorten, change everything around," said Rodney McElveen, the library's head of reference.

The library says the 3D printers are also great for whatever else you can think of from bookmarks, prosthetic, or even for recreating kitchen cabinet knobs.

The price to use the printer starts at $1 plus 20 cents per gram.

Any 3D drafting software can be used to create a design as long as the file can be saved in .stl format. The library recommends the following programs: Tinkercad, SketchUp and Blender.  Sites like the Smithsonian Institution Digitalization, Thingiverse, and MyMiniFactory offer free downloadable 3D object files.

For more information, call the library at (229) 420-3200.

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