Cataloging the 3D web: the availability of educational 3D models on the internet

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-09-2015-0088
Date20 June 2016
Published date20 June 2016
Pages239-258
AuthorMichael Groenendyk
Subject MatterLibrary & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology
Cataloging the 3D web:
the availability of educational
3D models on the internet
Michael Groenendyk
McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Abstract
Purpose The number of 3D models available on the internet to both students and educators is
rapidly expanding. Not only are the 3D model collections of popular websites like Thingiverse.com
growing, organizations such as the Smithsonian Institution and NASA have also recently begun to
build collections of 3D models and make these openly accessible online. Yet, even with increased
interest in 3D printing and 3D scanning technologies, little is known about the overall structure of the
3D models available on the internet. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach To initiate this project, a list was built of 33 of the most widely used
3Dmodelwebsitesontheinternet.Freelydownloadablemodels,aswellasmodelsavailableforpurchase
or as 3D printed objects were included in the list. Once the list of 33 websites was created, the data for each
individual 3D model in the collections was manually assembled and recorded. The titles of the 3D models,
keywords, subject headings, license information, and number of views and downloads were recorded,
as this information was available.The data were gatheredbetween January and May 2015,and compiled
into a CSV database. To determine how online 3D model content relates to a variety of educational
disciplines, relevant subject terms for a variety of educational disciples were extracted from the EBSCO
database system. With this list of subject terms in hand, the keywords in the CSV database of model
information were searched for each of the subject terms, with an automated process using a Perl script.
Findings There have been many teachers, professors, librarians and students who have purchased
3D printers with little or no 3D modelling skills. Without these skills the owners of these 3D printers are
entirely reliant on the content created and freely shared by others to make use of their 3D printers.
As the data collected for this research paper shows, the vast majority of open 3D model content
available online pertains to the professions already well versed in 3D modelling and Computer Aided
Design design, such as engineering and architecture.
Originality/value Despite that fact that librarians, teachers and other educators are increasingly
using technologies that rely on open 3D model content as educational tools, no research has yet been done
to assess the number of 3D models available online and what educational disciplines this content relates to.
This paper attempts to fill this gap, providing an overview of the size of this content, the educational
disciplinesthis content relates to and who has so far been responsible for developing this content. This
information will be valuable to librarians and teachers currently working with technology such as 3D
printers and virtual reality, as well asthose considering investing in this technology.
Keywords Digital libraries, Technology, Online cataloguing, Education, Digital preservation,
Technology infrastructure
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
While the increased interest in 3D printing technology in recent years has led to a
much wider exposure of web-based collections of 3D models (Robertson, 2015), it is
important to note that, since the late-1980s, 3D models have been collected and op enly
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 34 No. 2, 2016
pp. 239-258
©Emerald Group Publis hing Limited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/LHT-09-2015-0088
Received 10 September 2015
Revised 1 November 2015
1 December 2015
Accepted 20 December 2015
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
The author of this paper would like to acknowledge the significant editing assistance of
Dr Bertrum MacDonald of the Dalhousie University School of Information Management, as well
as the feedback and additional editing assistance provided by Dee Winn and Rajiv Johal of the
Concordia University Libraries.
239
Cataloging
the 3D web
shared on the internet. These collections have long held an important place in
education, too, especially in relation to the subjects of computer science and
engineering (Funkhouser et al., 2003).
With the growing popularity of 3D printing, and to a lesser extent, 3D scanning
technology, interest in 3D models is now greater than it has ever been. This interest is
especially notable in higher education, where biologists, chemists, historians, librarians,
and many others have taken an interest in both the digitization of physical objects via
3D scanning technology as well as the reproduction of 3D models using 3D printing
and similar on-demand manufacturing technologies (Krassenstein, 2015).
For those unfamiliar with 3D printing, 3D printing is essentially a manufacturing
process that takes a 3D model and turns it into a physical object by recreating the 3D
model layer by layer, with each additional layer built upon the previous one (after the
first layer has been set). 3D printing is similar to other on-demand manufacturing
technologies such as Computer Numeric Control (CNC) machines and laser cutters, in
that these technologies all create physical replicas of digital designs. The notable
difference with 3D printing, though, is that it creates objects through a proces s of
addition, adding material to already existing material, whereas other on-demand
manufacturing methods work through methods of subtraction, carving out a smaller
design from a larger object such as a block of wood. 3D printing is also notable for its
accessible price point, with lower-end 3D printers retailing for around US$500
(Groenendyk and Gallant, 2013).
As part of the overall makerspace movement, 3D printers have become regular
fixtures in universities all over the world, and faculty members are increasingly relying
on 3D models as instruction aids for their course lectures and assignments (Kurti et al.,
2014). As 3D models begin to take a more important role within higher education,
however, thereis still little known about who controls the 3D modelsbeing shared online,
who is creating them, how many of the models are actually suitable for educational
purposes, and how many of the models can legally be used as teaching tools.
This paper addressed each of these questions. First, by providing a detailed list of all
major providers of 3D content online. Next, by assessing each of the collections, and
then, finally, by describing what portion of the collections could be of potential use to
higher education.
1.1 A brief account of the early history of 3D models on the internet (1980s-2005)
3D models have a long history on the internet. The earliest examples of websites
providing sizeable collections of 3D models date back to the late-1980s. At that time the
collections often included models in based on the Virtual Reality Marketing Language
(VRML) format. This language debuted in 1994 as a way for web designers to share 3D
content online through websites (Luttermann and Grauer, 1999). As part of the early
enthusiasm aboutVRML technology and the promise of a 3D web, a number of websites
emerged with the sole purpose of providing designers with free VRML models, in the
hope that free models would help encourage the adoption VRML technology.
Early examples of larger 3D model collections include the website 3dcafe.com,
which first appeared in 1989 and offered about 100 freely downloadable models.
The target audience for this collection was animators and webmasters (3DCafe, 1997).
Amazing3D.com, which debuted in 1997, also offered around 100 downloadable models
for free and about another 2000 models for sale. The Avalon Public 3D Archive, which
was launched in the same year, offered approximately 1,000 3D models at no cost.
While the Avalon Public 3D Archive seems to have gone offline around 2004/2005, its
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LHT
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