Wanted: great ideas! (YouMagine)

[valcrow 144]

because i think 10 times yesterday i accidentaly typed into internet explorer... youimagine.... :sad:

 

That's funny because I kept typing thingieverse for the longest time. and then thingiverse...

 

[Daid 306]

Thanks for listening. I hope my comments weren't personally offensive to anyone. And yes, I get that putting the banner together must have been a fair technical hurdle - and deserves appreciation. As Ian said, I don't mean to complain, but to be constructive.

 

My complain was with a smile ;-) don't be offended by it. The updated layout from Erik already looks cleaner.

The signature generate isn't a huge technical hurdle. The YouMagine upload tool I'm working on in Cura is a lot more complex.

 

[ErikDeBruijn 15]

That's funny because I kept typing thingieverse for the longest time. and then thingiverse...

 

I remember reminding Zach Smith to register thingyverse.com (now that I read it, it looks strange, but that's what I'd been typing back then). But that was before Makerbot was founded.

 

Thanks, David, Erik... everyone.

The changes have already helped a lot :smile: I spend a lot of time on here every day, so even subtle changes make a big difference :smile: I was a bit overwhelmed yesterday, but fortunately y'all were able to articulate the issues better than 'Aaaaargh' which was all i could, unhelpfully, manage at the time... :smile:

Regarding the posting of updates from YouMagine, I do have some further ideas. :smile:

I feel like the weakest part of this forum system is the handling of multipage posts, especially when those get over 3 pages, and the page navigation buttons become a bit cumbersome. So I think it's better to avoid those where possible. I also like to try and keep the clutter in 'New Content' view to an absolute minimum. I try to make sure that I read everything that I might be able to contribute to, so I'm always aiming to have nothing unread in the New Content page.

While having a separate YouMagine forum is a help, it still doesn't go quite far enough, because this post is also in that section - so now I miss this discussion, from my 'new content' list, if I try to filter out the thread about new posts (which, yes, is low traffic at the moment, but hopefully will get busier).

So what I'd suggest, is having a separate 'forum' (as each of these topic areas seem to be called) just for the automated postings. That way I can ignore them all at once, and still get everything else :grin: Lock it down so that no one can start new topics in it, if possible. You could even then switch to one posting per item... that would solve the multipage problem, and actually showcase stuff better (while still allowing the whole thing to be filtered out). I don't mind browsing it sometimes... i just don't want it to overwhelm the discussion/help threads.

If you really wanted to get adventurous - I wonder if it's possible to write/buy/enable a layout plugin for that forum, so you could display the posts as thumbnails? More of a Pinterest look, so that people can browse the posts visually, and then click into, and comment on, whatever is of interest to them?

That would also be a great way to display the 'What have you MADE?' section. And again, while I'm on that subject... what do folks think about locking down the now 548 post-long 'Post Your Latest Print' thread, and encouraging people to start new threads. While it was a great conversation starter... now that it's gotten so long, I don't think that having to click through multiple pages to get to something that is better browsed visually is a particularly good way to showcase what our community is doing.

 

If I understand you correctly, the whole way to showcase graphical things should be done differently. When I think of it, more and more do I think a small embedded html-widget that is intended to show latest new YouMagine content graphically, would be the easiest. Modifying the forum is probably quite difficult, but writing the widget and figuring out how to show it somewhere would be easier. Or perhaps we should post design updates into a gallery (but it would remove the option to include links and easily show the name of the designer and other details).

Just know that the volume of new designs will probably not outpace the individual frequency of replies. And they will not require an answer, only some feedback if you feel like giving feedback...

 

[illuminarti 18]

I think that's quite nice, and might be a great way to show off both prints and YouMagine uploads in a basically forum-like setting...

I guess we could transition to using the 'Gallery' feature, but it's just never seemed very well integrated into the rest of the site. For instance it's a major pain that you can't add a new photo into a forum post on the fly, without invoking a totally separate workflow.

 

pinterest lay-out seems possible. it would look something like this

http://ipblounge.com/board/index.php?app=tcovers&module=list&section=list&forum=16

 

 

I remember reminding Zach Smith to register thingyverse.com (now that I read it, it looks strange, but that's what I'd been typing back then). But that was before Makerbot was founded.

If I understand you correctly, the whole way to showcase graphical things should be done differently. When I think of it, more and more do I think a small embedded html-widget that is intended to show latest new YouMagine content graphically, would be the easiest. Modifying the forum is probably quite difficult, but writing the widget and figuring out how to show it somewhere would be easier. Or perhaps we should post design updates into a gallery (but it would remove the option to include links and easily show the name of the designer and other details).

Just know that the volume of new designs will probably not outpace the individual frequency of replies. And they will not require an answer, only some feedback if you feel like giving feedback...

 

[SandervG 1,521]

At first i didn't know what advantage this pinterest-plug in would bring, but after reading the topic i understand.

(Alexander showed me already).

I could see it happen, but i think there should be a difference between finished products / photo's and

uploaded STL's etc. Sometimes you just like to browse through and get inspired, and sometimes you are looking for new prints. On both occasions you are browsing with a different mindset, so i would keep those uploads separated.

I agree with what someone said that the gallery didn't really integrate in the workflow of the forum.

Personally i don't find the albums very contributing. Well, at least the way they are on display if you browse to gallery.

It is not very appealing to browse through, as you don't know what to find and you probably are wasting a lot of time because you probably won't find what you are looking for. So what i am trying to say is that i kinda miss the overview of it all i think.

 

[illuminarti 18]

I could see it happen, but i think there should be a difference between finished products / photo's and

uploaded STL's etc. Sometimes you just like to browse through and get inspired, and sometimes you are looking for new prints. On both occasions you are browsing with a different mindset, so i would keep those uploads separated.

 

Yes, I was envisioning it as a similar way to treat two separate areas of the site that have similar needs, rather than suggesting they should be integrated.

 

[illuminarti 18]

That would be great!

 

[janpieter 0]

- no iphone cases

- no shopping trolley tokens

- no intricate 3d-models that could never ever be printed with FDM

Things I dislike the most about Thingiverse: all the 'noise', the dozens of iterations on the same design, too many useless notifications on the Dashboard. It's a bug in many social platforms: spamming users with too many things they don't want to see but have no option to control the amount of (or turn off completely). For instance, I dó want to see when a specific user posts a new design, but I do nót want to see when that user just likes or comments on a design. Often it's all or nothing, but I like my options more granular.

 

[ian 32]

still cant upload.... :-(

tried again.

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/6546

site wont add the files and wont show me any renderings... nothing....

ian

 

[ErikDeBruijn 15]

Right now, fixing this bug is on top of a list of 20 issues to be worked on in the next 12 days...

Sorry it isn't fixed already, but it will be fixed FIRST

 

[ian 32]

Thanks Erik !

Just have a bit of free time at the moment in the office and would love to load up everything I have... One Project out the door and the new one cooking up now... :-)

Have a great day !

Ian :-)

 

[scottvader 0]

Of course the best 3D printer company should start the best object repository.

Gold standard for user interface should be Solidworks IMHO. Dassault may even help given companies like 3D Systems are bringing out competitive design products.

Feature wishlist extrude, revolve, sweep, loft, fillet, shell, mirror and intersection.

Tool to weld objects together.

Common parts close at hand and easy to modify ex. hinges, gears, common motor mounts, joints (I just published a bayonet joint)

High quality graphic feedback based on the target 3D printer, nozzle size and settings to show quality of surface, missed fine details, dropped overhangs, etc.

Published objects include the best setting and orientation info for a fast or a high quality print based on material used ex Natureworks 4043D and should load up automatically into Cura.

I hope that's useful!

Scott Vader

[YouMagineUser=scottvader]

 

[artanicus 0]

I was just wondering if there would be any interest to enable source code management integration? In more practical terms what I'd love to do in one shape or another is to host a git repo on GitHub, Bitbucket or where-ever (no need to limit it to anything specific, they all speak git) and somehow "link" that into a design on Youmagine. Features that could derive from that;

- tagged revisions auto published as new versions of design

- perhaps a very simple version history and diff-since-last-tagged -feature?

- optionally a link back to the repository so anyone more interested in the source could go and have a deeper look

This would promote the openness you guys seem keen on but also offload some of the tricky parts onto other systems that are already great at it. Also, make it really easy to manage designs for those already used to SCM.

 

[ian 32]

just a little idea...

on the front page you have the link SIGN IN...

why not just put a little formula box in the same position where users can quickly type in their username and password. Would save on one more phase in the logging in process.

Ian :-)

 

[ian 32]

bloody underpants !!!! the website still wont let me upload... girrrrr..... :-(

 

[ErikDeBruijn 15]

@illuminarti @janpieter @artanicus @ian:

Just to let you know you're not talking into a void! We're working really hard on the background... Thanks a lot for all the feedback. It is read and will be taken into account for future development of YouMagine!

 

[ian 32]

ok cool erik ! cant wait ! :-) im building up cities of 3d models for youimagine... it will be great to see which youmagine user can print the best DRESDEN city centre ;-) lol

Best wishes.

Ian

 

[ian 32]

little question. wanted to find a simple car model to print quick on youmagine... why is there no search option on the front page ? I was looking and looking and then found there was a search option under Discover option..

Ian :-)

 

[ErikDeBruijn 15]

The search function will return to the front page, it's lower on the TODO list I mentioned (IE10 support is higher), but it's there.

 

[3dcase 37]

oh oohw, just uploaded a model, but it's pretty empty. :shock:

Could use some outside iMAGINation, to get the pictures and stl files through the wire....

 

[ErikDeBruijn 15]

Hi 3dcase,

Right now if the model is very big and takes longer to upload, the upload sometimes fails. I've been working on an upload method that will fix this and make uploads up to 30-40 times faster for ASCII STL files, and about 5 times faster for binary STLs. But it's not integrated into YouMagine yet... Right now you can find my temporary conversion service at: http://remesh.it/

It will not send your model to a server, it will work in your browser.

Is the file you tried to upload an ASCII STL? If so, you should convert it before uploading. These are about an order of magnitude larger in file size, which increases the likelihood of failed uploads (right now).

Also, right now, to get a preview of the STL file, it should be a lowercase extension. This will hopefully be fixed in a couple of days if all other bug fixes go as planned.

 

[3dcase 37]

Hi 3dcase,

Right now if the model is very big and takes longer to upload, the upload sometimes fails. I've been working on an upload method that will fix this and make uploads up to 30-40 times faster for ASCII STL files, and about 5 times faster for binary STLs. But it's not integrated into YouMagine yet... Right now you can find my temporary conversion service at: http://remesh.it/

It will not send your model to a server, it will work in your browser.

Is the file you tried to upload an ASCII STL? If so, you should convert it before uploading. These are about an order of magnitude larger in file size, which increases the likelihood of failed uploads (right now).

Also, right now, to get a preview of the STL file, it should be a lowercase extension. This will hopefully be fixed in a couple of days if all other bug fixes go as planned.

 

Thanks Erik,

First I used IE 10.0.9200.16660 (for the Debuggers:)).

The site did not even try to do an upload, not with 64 kb jpeg nor with the stl's.

Did n't see the upload status bar at all.

I tried Chrome and it worked!!! Hires stl was 33mb.

regards kees

My first upload hihi...

 

[billdempsey 0]

One of the most frustrating things about Thingiverse for non-techies is the fact that a large number of the models were designed for SLS or photo resin printing, but they aren't marked in any way. They just don't work when you try to print them using FFF. Most of us who create models easily recognize when somebody else's model just won't print right using FFF and we skip them. As more laypersons get into 3-D printing, though, they will need significant guidance in this area. Despite what the popular media portray, you can't just print whatever you can imagine using FFF. There are physical limitations, particularly on sealed objects which need to be hollow, where you can't remove the internal supports. For example, try to print a 50 mm completely hollow cube with thin walls. The top of the cube will be melted all over the inside, not on top.

My suggestion would be to mark objects with different "printability" ratings. For example, there could be ratings like - "FDM/FFF with no supports," "FDM/FFF with external supports," "FDM/FFF with internal and external supports," and also perhaps "photo resin or SLS printing only." Perhaps users who print the object could certify that the object successfully printed without supports by checking a "verified" box next to that category.

 

[chopmeister 0]

Ok, after playing with youmagine a bit, here's some stuff I noticed, in no particular order:

1. I miss an "instructions" section, which should either be collapsible (and collapsed by default) when viewing a design, or a separate tab. A good deal of stuff requires assembly and/or other parts or tools in order to function. It's really bothersome to include it in the single "description" section. If a separate tab, it should only appear if there really are instructions for the design.

2. "Documents" should really be renamed to just "Files". There will be all sorts of files there, and most of them won't actually be documents, so it's unnecessarily confusing.

3. I would really like the "Featured", "Trending" and other categories to be links to expanded lists of said categories. I usually don't care for the latest 6 designs, or the three most popular, rather I would like the option to scroll through more models based on the selected category.

4. The preview button doesn't work (at least not in Opera or Chrome) but you probably know that one already . Sometimes it throws out the error page, sometimes it's just blank.

5. The unpublished designs have no reason to clutter the main page. Ever. It makes you think that you published an unfinished design by accident every time. I get the "invisible" icon and all, but it's really useless. I won't be browsing the main page in order to stumble upon my own unpublished design.

6. For us nerds, it would be nice to have the default avatar resolution written somewhere around the "upload avatar" button, so that it looks nice and sharp. (this isn't really top priority, I know, but I just can't help it )

7. "Designers" needs some sorting capabilities. (alphabetical, newest, number of designs, random, that sort of thing)

8. The titles of all the designs are a bit on the thin side, it's a bit hard on the eyes. Kick it up a notch.

9. I'm not really a fan of the whole "yellow on blue" STL preview color scheme. Your new "cyan on white" combo would work much better I imagine.

This is all mostly functional stuff, nothing really innovative, but general user friendliness could be improved a bit, at least in my humble opinion.

Otherwise, as I'm sure I've already said somewhere, congrats on taking up this project. I'm sure it will grow into a big, happy and open place.

 

 

[ian 32]

can some one put in a progress bar onto the loading page ...

i am adding my model files from thingiverse over to youmagine and I would really like to see the progress of my uploads.. :-)

also is it possible to upload multiple projects onto my youmagine account ?

Ian