I read a book on writing once that said the life of a writer is a solitary one. That statement might be true for novelists, but for technology writers it’s completely unfounded. I’m fortunate to have a lot of folks to talk with and share ideas, and many of them are directly responsible for making certain my books look good and are as error-free as possible. My colleagues at Pearson continue to make writing about technology enjoyable, and I’d like to thank Rick Kughen for taking the most basic of ideas (“It’s a book about 3D printing, but written for beginners who might not even know what a 3D printer is...”) and letting me run with it. Along the way, I’ve had a great support staff of editors that include William Abner, Barbara Hacha, and Mandie Frank. Just turn back a few pages and take a look at all the names of the people involved in making this book a reality—if you like what you read, please take a moment and email them a note of thanks.
In 2012 I had the good fortune of backing a 3D printer designed by Brook Drumm and sold through his company, Printrbot. Printrbot continues to grow, and Brook has been so generous in providing me with technical assistance, hardware, software, and just plain moral support. Jeremy Gallegos is a Printrbot employee who was always available to me, and I’d like to thank him for the phone calls and email support as I built the 3D printer used in this book. Both Brook and Jeremy were amazing resources to have, and I cannot recommend Printrbot’s products enough. (I’m now up to two models of Printrbot 3D printers.)
Finally, I have to thank my wife, Ashley, and my two boys. I do this with every book I write, but the sincerity behind my thanking all three of them for their support only increases with each finished writing project.