5. 3D printing and scanning¶

This week I worked on 3D scanning and 3D designing and printing.

3D Printing¶

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a method of creating a three dimensional object layer-by-layer using a computer created design. 3D printing is an additive process whereby layers of material are built up to create a 3D part. This is the opposite of subtractive manufacturing processes, where a final design is cut from a larger block of material. As a result, 3D printing creates less material wastage.

Group Assignment¶

In the group assignemnt, we had to choose a ready-made 3D design and print it using two different 3D printers, Prusa i3 MK2 and Creality Ender.

Downlading UltiMaker Cura¶

First of all, we downloaded UltiMaker Cura, a powerful and easy-to-use 3D printing slicing software that allows users to prepare and slice 3D models for printing as well as customise and optimise print settings for a variety of 3D printer and material combinations.

Choosing and Downloading a 3D Design¶

We picked a 3D design of a boat from thingiverse

Setting Up for Printing¶

We openned UltiMaker Cura to upload the STL file we downloaded. Then, we added the printer we are going to use, this matters for the specific 3D printer bed size dimensions and how the application presets will be.

Next, we adjusted the settings for our print.

After choosing all our settings, we clicked on Slice to see Cura’s estimate for how long the print will tak

3D Printing¶

To download our models for printing with their settings on the 3D printer, we had to convert this information into GCODE so that the printer could understand our instructions. We did this by inserting SD card and saving a GCODE to it from Cura.

We selected Print from SD in Prusa and Print from media in Ender to have the machines read our print infotmation

Final Product: Prusa VS Ender¶

Prusa machine took less time than Ender to prrint the design.
3D printing quality was different between the two printers. Prusa printer showed better quality than Ender.

After testing the two printers, we learned how each of them works, what are the important settings that must be specified before starting printing, and how each printer operates. In addition, we were able to choose which printer to use for the individual task after comparing the quality of the result for each of the two printers.

Individual Assignment¶

This week’s individual task entailed designing an object that could not be recreated with a 2D cutting device, such as laser or CNC cutters. To achieve this, I decided to use Fusion360 to design my own product, which is a monster-shape candle holder.

Design¶

I designed the holder using Fusion360 following thses steps:

I drew a circle with a diameter of 60mm, then extruded the circle up to a height of 70mm to get a cylinder.

In the same layout, I drew another circle with a diameter of 40 mm inside the first circle and then extruded it down to make the cylinder hollow.

I have rounded the edges of the cylinder using the Fillet tool.

I started new sketch, then I drew two hands using the rectangle shape.

I extruded the shapes, moved the hands to the sides of the cylinder using the move tool, and combined all the shapes together using the combine tool.

I made sketches with the monster face details (eye and mouth), finished the sketches, and extruded the sketches at suitable heights.

Slice¶

After finishing the design I exported it as stl file to do the next step which is slicing.

I uploaded the design’s stl file in Cura, specified the printer to be Prusa i3 Mk2 and the material to be generic PLA.

I modified the setting as shown in the images bellow.

I clicked slice for the estimated time to appear, then I clicked on Save to Disk.

Note: This design could not be done easily subtractively becuase it is not flat. The main shape was 3D whic is a cylinder.

Print¶

To print the holder I uploaded the gcode file in SD card and insert it in the 3D printer.
After that the file is loaded, and the filament was instaled in the printer.
The printer used was Prusa i3 MK2.

After probably loading the file, the printing finally finished.

Final Result¶

This is the result after removing the extra parts and sanding the object:

This is the final result after coloring the holder using acrylic colors:

3D Scanning¶

3D scanning is the process of analyzing a real-world object to collect three dimensional data of its shape and possibly its appearance. The collected data can then be used to construct digital 3D models.

Individual Assignment¶

In 3D scanning, we were required to scan a body or an object using Skanect

Skanect¶

Skanect is a 3D scanning program that allows you to use a sensor, such as an Xbox 360 Kinect, to scan objects, rooms, or even people and recreate them as computer-based 3D models.