SBU The Next Generation, otherwise known as SBU TNG, takes 3-D printing to a whole new level. President of TNG Ian Rippy, a senior engineering science major, shows the club and its members the ins and outs of the design and technicalities of three-dimensional printing of dildos, butt plugs and any other sex toy of you can imagine.

SBU TNG is dedicated to informing the campus community about active consent, general safe sex and primers on BDSM safety, as well as promoting a positive perspective on sex.

Using the freedom and flexibility of this new innovative outlet of creativity, anyone can personalize a piece of playful plastic.

The first step of this printing process is retrieving the materials. Rippy suggests using an ABS plastic. ABS plastic stands for Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. This type of plastic is known for its impact resistance and toughness, and it is commonly used for molding at high temperatures.

“People think that ABS is not particularly safe,” Rippy said. “But the odds are that if you own a sex toy that is made of plastic, it is most likely made of ABS already.”

According to Rippy, when you 3-D-print a sex toy, the surface is a curve and it is going to be very rough. This would not be the ideal sex toy.

To fix this issue, it can be dipped in a solvent in order to smooth it out. Another option is to sand the toy down and then spray it a few times with a silicone solvent that will seal the toy.

According to Rippy, 3-D-printed objects are porous, which makes them vulnerable to harvesting bacteria. Therefore a solvent is necessary in the production of the sex toy.

Rippy suggests applying a condom on top of the toy for precaution and hygiene.

“Don’t cut yourself on a really rough 3-D-printed toy,” Rippy said. “Don’t infect yourself with a groody toy.”

There are various dildo-designing outlets online, some free and some a little pricey.

Dildogenerator.com is a design program that charges 150 euro for each sex toy. For professionals, Solid Works is a program used in engineering departments and can be used in sex toy design as well. It is an intricate program that may need a skilled set of eyes to navigate the system.

The program used in TNG’s tutorial is a free program called Sketch Up. It gives the user the freedom to manipulate and mold the sex toy of your dreams with ease.

“That’s the cool thing about 3-D printing, you can create shapes that you couldn’t carve and even some you can’t cast into,” Rippy said.

In order to save your sex toy to scale, you must save your file as an STL file. STL stands for stereolithography. STL files are commonly used for 3-D printing as well as computer aided manufacturing.

When designing your sex toy, take into consideration the safety and precautions of the particular design you are going for. The wrong design can mean the opposite of a happy ending.

According to alumni and fine arts major Dakota Eye, a sex toy with a cavity in the tip that emulates a bottle can turn an anus inside out. That would not be a very fun toy.

Rippy also suggests when designing anything that penetrates the anus, add a wide flared base to your design to stop excessive penetration.

Humed, a junior physics major and club member who declined to provide his last name, said “I think 3-D printing is pretty useful in general and the fact that it can be utilized in this way is cool because it is available and gives you freedom in that kind of respect.”