3D Printing

What Is It?

3D printing is a manufacturing process where a digital model is turned into a physical object by adding material layer by layer. This process is controlled by a computer and commonly uses materials like plastic, metal, or resin to create a wide range of objects, from prototypes and tools to final products.

Key Concepts

Printer Types

3D printers come in several types: FDM extrudes melted plastic; SLA and DLP use UV light to cure resin; SLS and SLM fuse powdered materials with lasers; and and PolyJet uses jets to deposit materials, allowing for high precision and multi-material prints.

Each type is suited for different applications and materials.

Key Concepts

FDM Printers

Cartesian

Delta

Core XY

Conveyor Belt

Key Concepts

FDM Materials

Strategies

Considerations

Build Volume

Support Material

Infill Percentage

Layer Orientation & Resolution

Part Orientation

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Strategies

Building by Layers

Because you are stacking melted plastic on other extruded plastic, 3D printing is like building a sand castle. Your castle shape must stack sand on other sand underneath it.

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Strategies

Building by Layers

If the design you create causes the 3D printer to float melted plastic in the air, without supporting plastic layers underneath it, your print will fail.

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Strategies

Overhangs

A 3D printer can generally print overhang layers to a certain angle (~45°) before the quality of the print begins to be affected.

Newer printers, with more sophisticated cooling systems, such as the Prusa MK4S can print at much steeper overhangs, up to 75° or greater

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Strategies

Support Material

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Supports can later be broken off of the completed print

If the design requires overhangs, supports can be generated by the  3D printer software to hold up the overhanging material.

Strategies

Part Orientation

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Whenever considering using supports, first question if rotating the part

on the print bed would allow a print without supports.

When printing a difficult shape, like a sphere, consider splitting the shape 

into two pieces (two domes) which would allow an easy print with no supports. 

The orientation (rotation) of a print can also affect its quality. Standing this part vertically is a better orientation.

Strategies

Infill and Layer Resolution

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3D prints are not solid. They are an outside wall of plastic with an “infill” pattern that can be set to very empty to very dense.

Similarly, 3D prints can be printed with different layer heights, leading to more refined and smooth surfaces at the cost of time.

3D Printing Pipeline

The 3D printing workflow is a process that starts with a 3D model in a CAD software that is exported to a 3D printer slicers software, which prepares the file for the printer.

CAD Software

Online Database

Slicer Software

3D Print!

CAD Model

Fusion 360

Rhino

Tinkercad

Onshape

Thingiverse

Myminifactory

Printables

GrabCAD

Cura

Prusa Slicer

Simplify 3D

Chitubox

Prusa

Bambu Lab

Creality

Anycubic

3D Printing

Custom Models vs Downloaded Content

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vs

Thingiverse

Custom Designed Model

Applications

Slip-Cast Ceramic

Zoom Widgets

Molded Bioplastic

Hand Drive for Wheel Chair

Polar Bear Cake

Pressed Paper Pulp

A Few Applications

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MK1

MK3

MK2

MK4

Case Study

Persephone VR Headset

Case Study

Persephone VR Headset

Jade

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)

• Provides flexible and soft 3d prints for increased comfort
• Slightly harder to 3d print at high quality
• Extremely durable
• Used in headset face padding

Case Study

Persephone VR Headset

Ratchet Adjustment

• A ratchet that automatically unlocks through the dial being counter rotated
• Offers extremely simple and fast adjustment
• Significantly more durable than previous solutions

Case Study

Persephone VR Headset

Leverage curiosity of your students!

Make the machines accessible - lower barrier to entry for beginners

Encourage a balance of downloaded content with custom models

Catalog and discuss failures - they will happen!

Set clear guidelines are print-time and material use

Encourage peer to peer training with students

Use 3D printing to support other fabrication workflows

Insights on supporting

3D Printing in your makerspace

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Step By Step : 3D Printing

3D Printing

• Export your 3d design as STL file

• download 🌐 PrusaSlicer
• Choose i3 MK3S & MK3S+

• import your STL file

Use this tool to move the object

Use this tool to scale the object

Use this tool to rotate the object

Use this tool to place a specific object's face onto the ground.

Use this tool to cut the object

Infill is how much you want the object to be filled from the inside

Choose the printer you are going to print this design on

Supports provide stability and prevent overhangs during the printing process.

Choose how detailed you want your model to be, keep in mind;

more details = more printing time

Finally, Export G-code and copy it to an SD card

By sliding this slider, you can see all the layers of the design

That's it!



Now you can take your SD card to the 3d printer

Insert the SD card into the 3D printer's SD card slot on the left side.

Choose print from SD card

Choose your G-code file

Nozzle temperature

Bed temperature

the process of printing in percentage

File's name

It will start by getting rid of a the plastic in the nozzle

To edit the setting you can go to "Tune"

printing speed

Nozzle temperature

Bes temperature

Fan speed

Material Flow

Now we wait