Intro to 3D Printing

What is 3D Printing?

What can be 3D Printed?

· Types of objects

o Small mechanical parts, boxes, faceplates, etc.

o Small statues, game pieces, nick-knacks, etc.

· Size of object

o Generally, less than 6" x 6" x 6"

o On many home printers - less than 4" x 4" x 4"

· Print media

o PLA

o ABS

o Exotic materials:

§ Nylon

§ Carbon fiber filled

§ Stainless steel and magnetic iron filaments - print torroid donut rings!

§ Wood fiber filled

· Other limitations

o Minimal feature size: Nozzel dependent - approximately .4mm

o Designs are "layered", and will always have that a "grainy" appearance

o Can be filled, painted, glued, or used as molds for other materials*. (painting, gluing depends on plastic type)

What do we have at Intel?

Bukabot by Deezmaker

Includes dual print heads and heated bed.

Can print ABS and PLA

Bed size exceeds 6" x 6"

Considerations when shopping for a 3D Printer:

    • Bed Size

      • Should be bigger than 6x6 bed to allow reasonably sized parts

    • Heated Bed

      • Required for anything other than PLA

    • Filament Size

      • 1.75mm vs. 3mm

      • 1.75mm may be easier / cheaper / more reliable to get??

      • 3mm may be more efficient??? Or just more to melt (more head issues?)?

    • Support

      • Support Organization

        • Email, Phone? In the US?

      • Replacement Parts?

      • Expandability

    • Dual Heads

      • Would support 2 colors on same print (??)

      • More easily supports PLA and ABS

    • All Metal Head

      • Desired for ABS and other non-PLA materials

    • Cost

Getting Started with 3D Printing:

1. Get a design

a. Pick something that someone else has already designed.

i. Thingyverse.com

b. Design your own widget

i. Tinkercad.com (bought by Autocad) - WEB BASED - requires no software install

1. By far the easiest way to get started.

2. Limitations:

a. No measurement "ruler" function to measure distances between random points or of random features.

b. Basic shapes provided. Letters are provided, but only upper case.

3. All your designs are kept "in the cloud"

a. You can't take the native file with you (which wouldn't work without their web based software), but

b. Being web based, it's available on ANY computer. Design at home or your desk, download it in the Maker lab for printing.

ii. Sketchup (Google)

1. Install sketchup

2. Google, find, and install the STL export module for sketchup

3. Web site includes a series of great videos to show how to get started.

iii. 123Design (Autocad) (?? Purchase from Autocad ??)

2. Take it to the printer

a. File format: *.stl files

b. Temp Settings

c. Bed Preparation

d. Loading the filament

e. Slicing the print

f. Printing

3. Problem solving

a. "Stringy" prints - generally, head too hot.

b. Warping - bed or head temperature. Most likely not hot enough.

c. Difficulty changing filament - get the head REALLY HOT before attempting to remove or install new filament.

4. Challenges:

a. Printing with both extruders on the same print (print one layer, then offset and print another layer with the other extruder - most likely using two different colors of the same plastic.

b. Printing with exotic materials.