3D Snowflake

Today you will print a 3D gyroscopic snowflake.

Keywords

Gyroscope: a wheel that spins quickly and is held in a frame that allows it to tilt in any direction (from Merriam-Webster.com)

Thingiverse.com: an online library of user-created and user-shared 3D models. You can share anything you create in TinkerCad to Thingiverse

STL: stereolithography, or, standard tessellation language (type of 3D model file). STL is at the end of the file name, just like .doc or .svg

PLA: polylactic acid, a plastic made from renewable resources

Visit Thingiverse

In a new tab or new window, open http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:200526.

You will find yourself on the page below (image):

Thingiverse.com is an online library of 3D models. They are user-created and user-shared. You can:

• • Download files

  • Search or browse objects

  • Give attribution if you remix someone else's files

  • Give feedback on a creation

  • Create a "collection" of things to print or things you like

  • View photos of printed files before committing to printing something that might not have been printed

  • Share your own files (This is very easy to do especially if you use TinkerCad.com)

  • Join the community and share with and learn from others

Marco's Profile

Download the file

Click Download This Thing! Select the Save option. It will automatically save in the Downloads folder.

Open Downloads

Find your downloads folder. You should see a file named

Gimbal_snowflake_star_small_hole_OPT.STL. We highly recommend using NetFabb Studio Basic to make sure your file is ready for printing! NetFabb will catch flipped faces or holes, and repair them for you. When you open the snowflake, you will see a green model with no alerts in the lower-right corner. This file is ready for printing.

For 3D printing on a MakerBot, you will need to use MakerWare

MakerWare is a free downloadable program that converts STL and OBJ files into X3G, which is the set of instructions (or file format) the MakerBot is designed to interpret

Drag and drop “Gimbal_snowflake_star_small_hole_OPT.STL” into MakerWare

Click Make

This menu controls the print temperature, resolution, and density of your object. Read more about these settings @MakerBot.

CPL Maker Lab Rules of Thumb

• • Resolution: Low is faster, with thicker resolution (.34 mm layer height)

  • The Raft helps taller objects stand firm

  • Supports prevents right-angles and similar features of an object from being droopy

  • Infill is solidness/density of the object. You won’t see it, but less will be a faster print

Use the default, and your snowflake will be done in 15 minutes!

Can you think of a design you’d like to make based on this? If so, don’t forget to give attribution!

Survey

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