Ii am a 70 year old retiree and a life long Airstream enthusiast. About 18 months ago I was looking for a hobby to occupy my time and I read an article about the Shapr3d CAD program being used on an iPad. I wondered if I could use this program to design and build an Airstream travel trailer.
My experience with any type of design is a semester of 8th grade drafting but the article I read made it seem pretty easy to create a 3d model so I started my journey. I used the free version for about a month then moved to the subscription based program. I admit to a little help from someone at Shapr3d on using the Loft tool to create the unique shape of the body but other than that it has been online tutorials and trial and error.
Now if I can master the 3D printer… Old dogs can learn new tricks.
15 Likes
Denny, welcome to the Shapr3D forum. I’m a retired senior as well. I have several 3D printers. If you don’t have one already, the Bamboo Labs X1C is getting rave reviews, particularly from my 3D Printing mentor.
Nice job on the trailer. McD
Nice work Denny.
I’m not too far off retirement, and there are a few other old dogs here doing great things with Shapr3D.
Never too old to learn new things 
Hello Danny. I am certainly not retired yet 
but also a hobbyist who enjoys creating and printing 3D designs with Shapr3D. Have fun drawing and welcome!
Looks like you have tamed Shapr pretty well. Looks like A 3d printer should be no problem for you. Now you just need to decide “Do I buy one ready to go or build one from a kit”. Both are great. Ready to go and your printing your first Benchy in an hour or two. On the other hand a kit gives you hands on understanding of your machine and helps significantly when you need to tune and tweak it. What ever you choose we are here if you need to ask a question or need help with shapr or you printer.
Thank you all for the kind words. I do in fact have a 3d printer (Flashforge Adventurer 5M Pro) which is what I used to print the Airstream in the final photo I posted. It is just there is a lot to learn when it comes to printing a quality part with the slicer, the printer hardware and the various filaments. I am working my way through it and will have fun doing it.
Shapr 3D opened this world for me and I am having a lot of fun. I don’t know if this last photo will appear but it is my latest project for my grandson. Created with Shapr3d and printed on my 5M Pro
8 Likes
Unfortunately it appears that the parametric based modeling platform will not work for me. I guess direct modeling just worked in my case. I now have to wait at minimum of 2 minutes for each segment to load. Then the sketches for that segment are permanently tied to the existing segment making load time for that segment even longer. I am trying but it isn’t working.