Getting Started With 3D Printed Design

Workshop Outline

1. What is 3D Printing?
2. Design an Object
   1. Introducing Google SketchUp
3. MeshLab Manipulations
4. NetFabb Tools
5. Slicing Fabjects
6. Printing to MakerBot Machines
7. Printing to RepRap Machines
8. Using the ArtEngine MakerBot Cupcake

What is 3D Printing?

• What is 3D?
  • 2D: Drawings, paintings.
  • 3D: Sculpture, things we use.

• What is Printing?
  • Depositing material. Paint, graphite, ink.

• What is 3D Printing?
  • Depositing material to make a 3D object.

• How does a 3D Printer work?
  • Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
    • Cost: Very High
    • Tech: High-power lasers fuse any meltable material, from plastics up to metals like titanium.
    • Advantages:
      • Produce replacement parts on demand for your fighter jet on an aircraft carrier.
      • Fused material might be recyclable.
    • Disadvantages:
      • See Cost.
  • Ink-Jet Powder+Binder
    • Cost: Medium
    • Tech: Lays down layers of powder and "prints" the design using a glue-like binder.
    • Advantages:
      • Can do colour.
      • Model structures are self-supporting via unused powder.
      • "Green" parts can be infused with materials from glue to molten metal to strengthen.
      • Unused powder can be reused.
    • Disadvantages:
      • "Green" parts are fragile.
      • Hollow parts will trap binder if no exit holes are designed in.
      • Fabricated objects may be difficult or impossible to recycle back into machine inputs.
  • Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
    • Cost: Low
    • Tech: An extruder head deposits melted material (like plastic) or pastes to build up an object layer-by-layer.
    • Advantages:
      • Cheap.
      • Can be completely hollow and air-tight.
      • Can be vestment-cast with molten metal.
      • Simple machine design.
      • For thermoplastic and similar materials, fabricated objects can be melted back down and reused.
    • Disadvantages:
      • Large overhangs require support material.
      • Multiple colours and/or materials require complex multi-head extruder designs.

Links

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing

Design an Object

Introducing Google SketchUp

• Download: http://sketchup.google.com/

Basic Shapes

• Creating shapes
• Creating rulers for precision
• Snap to lines, shapes, rulers.

Useful Operations

• 2D to 3D
  • Extrude: the Pull operation.
• 3D Text
• 3D Boolean Operations

Troubleshooting

• When is a mesh not solid?
• Tricks to fixing meshes so they're solid.

Exporting

• STL - Get Plug-in: http://www.guitar-list.com/download-software/convert-sketchup-skp-files-dxf-or-stl
• Collada (DAE)

Other Resources

• Video Tutorials: http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/training/videos.html
• Beginning Google SketchUp for 3D Printing: http://my.safaribooksonline.com/book/animation-and-3d/9781430233619

MeshLab Manipulations

• Download: http://www.meshlab.org/

• Useful for:
  • Checking models for manifoldness
  • Basic fixing operations
  • Basic scaling operations

NetFabb Tools

Useful for semi-automated and fully automated repair of meshes, particularly for submission of data to fabrication services such as Shapeways and Ponoko.

• Online mesh repair: http://cloud.netfabb.com/
• Offline netfabb Studio Basic: http://www.netfabb.com/basic.php

Slicing Fabjects

ReplicatorG

• Download: http://replicat.org/

• Basic STL positioning and scaling operations.
• Hooks into Skeinforge (included).
  • Turn on skeinview
• Read the resulting GCode.

GCode Visualization (Optional)

• For Mac: http://www.pleasantsoftware.com/developer/pleasant3d/index.shtml

• For Blender GCode reader plug-in (all platforms): https://github.com/zignig/blender-gcode-reader

Printing to MakerBot Machines

• Print Direct
  • Cupcake: Only print direct for simple designs. The serial link bogs down too easily when there are lots of small movements as found in curves and circles.
  • Thing-O-Matic: No issues printing directly.
• Print Buffering to SD Card
  • Cupcake: Preferred over direct printing. Necessary for stand-alone operation.
  • Thing-O-Matic: Optional. Necessary for stand-alone operation.
• Print to File (aka SD Card in USB reader)
  • Cupcake: Faster than dumping data over serial link. Useful for preparing files for multiple "identical" machines.
  • Thing-O-Matic: Faster than dumping data over serial link. Useful for preparing files for multiple "identical" machines.

Printing to RepRap Machines

Paul add stuff here.

Using the ArtEngine MakerBot Cupcake

See http://artengine.ca/modlab/index.php/MakerBot

Resources

Design Flows on a Budget

Modelling Software

• 3DTin
  • Baby Steps
  • Site: http://3dtin.com/

• Google SketchUp
  • Layman's CAD
  • Site: http://sketchup.google.com/

• Blender
  • B(u)y the Book(s)
  • Site: http://blender.org/

• OpenSCAD
  • The Coder Way
  • Site: http://openscad.org/

Visualization, Assembly and Mesh Repair

• MeshLab
  • Site: http://www.meshlab.org/

• netfabb Studio and Cloud.
  • Site: http://www.netfabb.com/ and http://cloud.netfabb.com/

• Pleasant3D (Mac Only)
  • Site: http://www.pleasantsoftware.com/developer/pleasant3d/index.shtml

• Blender (STL and GCode Plugins)
  • Site: http://www.blender.org
  • GCode Plugin: https://github.com/zignig/blender-gcode-reader

Slice'n'Dice

• Skeinforge (Python based)
  • Cryptic but Necessary
  • Development and Stand-alone (outside ReplicatorG) Builds: http://fabmetheus.crsndoo.com/

• SuperSkein (Processing based)
  • Download: https://github.com/MaskedRetriever/SuperSkein
  • Not heavily developed.
  • Handy for experimental slicing, generating DXF slices for 2.5D modeling.

• Slic3r
  • Site: http://slic3r.org/
  • Targeted at RepRap machines.

Printer Interfaces

• ReplicatorG
  • Site: http://replicat.org/

Models and Mash-Ups

• Thingiverse
  • http://www.thingiverse.com/

Printers

Open Source - Parent Projects

RepRap Project

• Site: http://reprap.org/
• Machines:
  • Darwin
  • Mendel
    • Prusa Mendel

Open Source Hardware - Commercial

MakerBot

• Site: http://www.makerbot.com/
• Machines:
  • Cupcake CNC
  • Thing-O-Matic
  • Replicator

MakerGear

• Site: http://www.makergear.com/
• Machines:
  • Prusa Mendel Kit
  • Extruder upgrades for RepRap, RepStrap and CNC machines.

Ultimaker

• Site: http://www.ultimaker.com/
• Machines:
  • Protobox v1.0

3D Printing Services

• Ponoko
  • http://www.ponoko.com/

• Shapeways
  • http://www.shapeways.com/

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