3D Printed Rings (Halloween)

In this workshop you will create a 3D printed ring. For time's sake, we are providing a template set to choose your ring image from.

The images come from OpenClipArt.org, which makes images available through Creative Commons licensing. You will be using TinkerCad for 3D modeling, and MakerWare to set up your print.

TinkerCad

Create a TinkerCad account by clicking TinkerCad.com and registering for an account.

TinkerCad is free
It autosaves your work
It is easy to share your work to Thingiverse.com
Importing SVG files, as in the template, is easy
It includes short lessons you can practice later

Download an SVG

Choose one shape from the image template above. At the bottom of the page are the individual corresponding files. To the right of the file names is an arrow pointing down. This is the download link. Right click on the desired file, Save as, and select the Desktop.

TinkerCad

Go to New Project or New Design. Many of our shape and tool options are on the right.

Click Import to bring in your design

Change the Height to 5mm

The design will be large. Mousing over the small white cubes in the corners will give you the shape's dimensions.

Here is a Google conversion for 1, 2 and 3 inches to give you a better idea of how large the object is.

As you can see, the apple above is close to 4" on the small side and over 4" on the big side. Use the white cube to scale down the big side to between 2" and 3". While holding down the Shift key, click and drag a corner white cube in to resize the shape.

Perfect!

Addng the ring

Click on the solid dark gray cube to jump down to geometric shapes. Scroll down and click on the Tube thin.

The default size is 20mm, which is small for a ring. Use the white corner cube to increase the size to 22-25mm. Hold down CTRL to keep the ring proportional.

Use the curved arrows to flip the tube 90° so it is standing up. Then turn the ring so it is aligned with the shape'. Use the black cone floating above the ring to lift it so it is about 1mm above the work plane. Center the tube.

Adding the rooffor one size fits all

Click and drag a Roof to the work plane. Squish it so it's a narrow roof. Place it at the top of the ring. Using the roof, you will subtract its shape from the ring to make the ring "One size fits all." Once the roofis centered, from the Inspector Menu, select Hole. It will turn invisible.

Click and drag around the ring to select all. Click Group. The shape and ring are now the same color and you're almost ready to print!

Name and Download

Click on Design. Select Properties to rename your file. When finished renaming, select Download for 3D printing. Select STL. Save your file. We'll collect files for processing in MakerWare and for printing.

Survey

Surveys are here: https://sites.google.com/site/cplmakerlab/surveys

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