3d Printing

[Bromgard]

I use 3D printing all the time both for prototyping stuff for my business and just for fun.

Nowadays, there are lots of inexpensive shops that will print your CAD files and ship them to you. With a relatively quick turnaround, I might add. And the services they have available are worlds above what in-home printers can offer in terms of quality and variety (different substrates, scale, etc).

I recommend www.shapeways.com

The biggest challenge you will have is generating your digital 3D model in some CAD format (probably .STL). Even if you are able to obtain the right software, 3D modeling is not a skill you can pick up as easily as something like Photoshop for example. Not in my experience, at least.

There are ways to get your 3D models made for you by a designer, sometimes very cheaply, but that is a more involved discussion about sourcing labor that I won't get into. You can even do this through Shapeways website, but you will pay a huge premium over contracting a freelancer directly.