5. 3D printing and scanning¶
This week I worked on 3D scanning and 3D printing.
We had 3 main assignments
- Testing the 3D printer as a group
- 3D scanning using two different methods
- Designing and printing a 3D object
3D Printing Group Assignment¶
We were first introduced to the 3D printer and how it operates. We learned about different materials, and how each has a different printing temperature. We were also shown some samples and how different printing settings affect the printed object, as well as some things that can make the printing better or introduce defects. We then printed a design we found on Thingiverse to learn about the printing process.
More details about the group assignment can be found on Tefla’s page and on Sayed Ali’s page
3D Scanning¶
Qlone¶
Qlone is a smartphone application that uses the phone’s camera to scan a 3D object.
To scan an object, one needs first to download the a mat from their website, on which you put the object you want to scan. The mat is needed so that the software can detect the scanning region and recognize the angles of the object being scanned. The mat should be printed at a size that is bigger than the scanned object.
This is a picture of the mat
After that, you use the application and scan the object from all possible angles. In this process, you will see the software showing you some time of dome to guide you through the scanning process.
This is a picture from the web. Link
When the scanning is complete, the application does some processing to construct a 3D image of the scanned object. Then, the image can be exported, or an additional scan can be done, which might help to improve the first scan, or it might make it worse.
The first object I scanned was a boat. I chose that object to test the effectiveness of this application, since the boat had openings, meaning more depth, which I thought might challenge the software.
This is the boat
and this is the result. I did a second scan after the first which actually improved the result.
This is a gif
The second object was a figure of the head and shoulders of Batman. I scanned this object because it looked cool.
This is the object
I did two consecutive scans, and this is the result of the first
As can be seen, the scanned object looks a bit disfigured, and the face looks like it moved a bit forward. Also, the horns look a little disfigured, but they are still pointy.
and this is the result of a second scan,
This is a Gif
This scan looked even worse. Everything looks disfigured, and for some reason, the scanning mat got into the final result.
I believe the reason for the bad results is that the figure I scanned was all yellow, which might not have helped the software very much in differentiating the details and the different depths. This however, is just a guess.
Xbox 360 Kinect¶
The second method we used was an Xbox 360 Kinect. The device was connected to a computer and a program called Skanect was used.
This is the Kinect
Image from this website
This is the software used
We start by clicking new then we choose the type of scan we want. For example, body is used for scanning a person a 1x1x1 scan. One can also scan a room, or some other option.
We used Body and then hit start, and then we click the red button and a countdown from 3 starts, and then the scan begins.
After that, we start rotating slowly, so that the camera can get a scan of us from all angles.
Then, when the scan is over, we can look at it and edit it a bit if we like.
To edit it, we go to the process tab, where we may correct some things.
Here, I filled the holes, which were there since the camera could not scan the top or bottom my head, it is as if it only goes around me, since I am just rotating. After doing that, the holes were filled nicely.
After that, I hit colorize to add some color to my scan.
The software gave me good colors that matched the real colors well, except for the top of my head where the hair color became white. Suddenly, I am 30 years older :) .
In the end, we exported the scan as an stl. file.
3D Printing (Individual)¶
For this part, the task was to design a 3D object that could not have been made subtractivly and print it on a 3D printer.
In the beginning, I wasn’t sure what should I design, but I wanted to print some sort of a figure before, so I decided to design just that.
I used Fusion360 for my design, I started by doing a 2D sketch where I kept each part of the figure separated similar to what appears in the next photo
The point of this was that I was going to extrude every part, such as the torso, the head, the arms, etc. with different dimensions.
Then, I extruded the parts and filleted them for two reasons. First so that the I decrease 90 degree angles in my design, and the second is to get a more beautiful 3 dimensional shape. Then, I joined them and I got my final design, as appears here
After that, I saved my file to prepare it for printing.
To do that, you go to body, then save as mesh.
I used the stl. format.
The next step after that, is to slice the design to make it ready for printing.
We used the software Ultimaker Cura.
This is the software
We then add our printer
This is the printer
Then we adjusted the settings
This is the configuration, in which we attempted the first print. Naturally, a lying down position is better and more stable for printing this type of figure.
We then hit slice
This is the printer being prepared
We tried to improve the print and prevent damage to the plate by taping it. This failed, because the printing material couldn’t stick to the tape surface.
We discovered we had a problem with the material filament, since it did not stick to the surface with or without tape, no matter what we tried. It appeared the material was corrupted and no longer usable. The instructor explained this might be due to bad climate and humidity. Therefore, we replaced the material with some nice black carbon fiber PLA material.
We then started the printing process. This is the printer at the start of the print.
This is the print at a later stage
since i am just rotating
Unfortunately, the print failed at the middle. The reason was that when the SD card was loaded to the printer, it was pulled from the printer too soon before the file was fully loaded to the printer. This resulted in the printer stopping halfway through.
This is the unfinished print
The next session we redid the print using a different printer.
These are some pics during the second print
We used this printer, because it is more advanced and faster, so that the model can be printed quickly.
I am yet to see the final results, but I know it won’t be much different from before, just complete and maybe with more accurate details, since the second printer is more advanced.