Beginning Design for 3D Printing

Beginning Design for 3D Printing

by Joe Micallef
Released October 2015
Publisher(s): Apress
ISBN: 9781484209462

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Book description

Beginning Design for 3D Printing is the full color go-to-guide for creating just about anything on a 3D printer. This book will demystify the design process for 3D printing, providing the proper workflows for those new to 3D printing, eager artists, seasoned engineers, 3D printing entrepreneurs, and first-time owners of 3D printers to ensure original ideas can be 3D printed.

Beginning Design for 3D Printing explores a variety of 3D printing projects. Focus is on the use of freely available 3D design applications with step-by-step techniques that will demonstrate how to create a wide variety of 3D printable objects and illustrate the differences between splines, polygons, and solids. Users will get a deep understanding of a wide range modeling applications. They'll learn the differences between organic modeling tools, hard edge modeling, and precision, CAD-based techniques used to make 3D printable designs, practical products, and personalized works of art.

Whether you are a student on a budget or a company exploring R & D options for 3D printing, Beginning Design for 3D Printing will provide the right tools and techniques to ensure 3D printing success.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents at a Glance
  5. Contents
  6. About the Author
  7. About the Techincal reviewer
  8. Acknowledgments
  9. Chapter 1: What’s Possible with 3D Printing?
    1. Enter a New Era of Design with 3D Printing
      1. The Importance of Universal Access
    2. New Creative Possibilities Emerge with 3D Printing
      1. 3D Printing Everyday Things
      2. Reinventing Common Objects
      3. 3D Printing in Schools
      4. Pushing the Boundaries of Sculpture, Structure, and Form
      5. 3D Printing to Complement Traditional Sculpture
      6. Engineering Impossible Objects
      7. 3D Printing for Architecture
      8. 3D-Printed Jewelry and Luxury Items
      9. 3D-Printed Fashion and Wearables
      10. The Independent Manufacture of 3D-Printed Toys
      11. 3D-Printed Drones and Robotics
    3. The Migration to 3D Printing
      1. Evolving Material Technologies
      2. Advancements in Software Design
      3. Open Source Initiatives
      4. Crowdfunding Driving the Development of New Machines
      5. The New Maker Culture
    4. New Ventures Grow with 3DP Democratization
      1. Design Collapses
    5. Additive vs. Subtractive
      1. Growing Objects
    6. The Paradigm Shift in Design and Manufacturing: Is This the Beginning of a Manufacturing Renaissance?
    7. Summary
  10. Chapter 2: Exploring Design Techniques for 3D Printing
    1. You Become the Factory
    2. Reviewing Your Design Options
    3. Generating Ideas for 3D Printing: Where to Begin
      1. The Importance of Sketching to Developing Ideas
      2. Take Advantage of Online Model Databases to Create and Modify Objects
      3. Reverse Engineering Is Essential
      4. Mashup Manufacturing and Kit Bashing
      5. Explore Artistic and Organic Sculpting Techniques
      6. Using 3D Scanning to Modify Preexisting Objects
      7. Photogrammetry
      8. Lidar Scanning
      9. Remember: Shape Complexity Is Free
    4. Getting Started with Free 3D Modeling Software
    5. A Summary of the 3D Software Used in This Book
      1. Autodesk Tinkercad
      2. OpenSCAD
      3. Microsoft 3D Builder
      4. FreeCAD
      5. Autodesk 123D Design
      6. Pixologic Sculptris
      7. Autodesk Meshmixer
      8. Blender
    6. Additional Skills Needed for 3D Printing
    7. Summary
  11. Chapter 3: Begin with a Box
    1. Tools of the Trade
    2. Beginning with Essential Building Blocks: Boxes, Spheres, and Cylinders
    3. Designing a Basic Box in Tinkercad
      1. Tinkercad: Getting Started
      2. How to Use Tinkercad
    4. Building the Box in Tinkercad
      1. Drag a Cube onto the Work Plane
      2. Scale the Cube to the Proper Dimensions
      3. Duplicate the Cube to Create the Hollow Box
      4. Duplicate Objects in Tinkercad
      5. Scale Down and Align the Cubes
      6. Create the Lid by Duplicating the Larger Cube
      7. Scale Down the Larger Cube
      8. A Note on Using Color Coding to Aid in Selecting/Identifying Parts of the Model
      9. Create an Inset on the Lid
      10. Use Tinkercad’s Hole Operation to Perform a Boolean Difference Operation
      11. Add a Handle to the Lid
    5. Designing a Basic Box in OpenSCAD
      1. OpenSCAD: Getting Started
      2. How to Use OpenSCAD
    6. Building the Box in OpenSCAD
    7. Summary
  12. Chapter 4: Preparing the Box for 3D Printing
    1. The 3D-Printing Production Pipeline
    2. Four Paths to 3D Printer Access
    3. Ensuring That 3D Models Are 3D Print Ready
      1. Software Preconfigured (Plug and Play) to Work with 3D Printers
    4. Final Design Considerations to Ensure 3D Printing Success
      1. Consideration 1: What Type of 3D Printing Process Will Be Used?
      2. Consideration 2: Final Output Size
      3. Consideration 3: Orientation of the Parts on the Print Bed
      4. Consideration 4: Supports
      5. Consideration 5: Material Type
    5. Testing, Exploration, and Experimentation
    6. Software Tools to Validate 3D Models for Printability
    7. Getting the Box Ready to 3D Print in Meshmixer
      1. Using Meshmixer
    8. Getting the Box Ready to 3D Print in Cura
      1. Navigating in Cura
    9. Getting the Box Ready to 3D Print in MatterControl
      1. Navigating in MatterControl
    10. Getting the Box Ready to 3D Print in Slic3r
      1. Navigating in Slic3r
    11. Using Netfabb to Correct Mesh Errors
      1. Navigating in Netfabb
    12. Summary
  13. Chapter 5: Creative Applications for Simple Shapes
    1. Begin with Base Shapes
      1. Letters, Numbers, Symbols, and Extras
      2. Extra Shapes
      3. Hole Shapes
    2. Shape Generators
      1. Text Generator
      2. Voronoi Shape Generator
      3. Image Embossing Generator
      4. Extrusion Generator
      5. Ring Generator
    3. Creating Your Own Shape Generators
      1. Favorites
      2. Tinkerplay
    4. Importing Your Own Shapes
    5. Remember: Simple Shapes Are Your Friends
    6. Quick Ideas Using Tinkercad’s Vast Library of Shapes
    7. Additional Ideas
    8. Summary
  14. Chapter 6: Design Strategies for 3D Printing
    1. Design Guidelines for Successful 3D Printing
      1. Part Heights
      2. Build Orientation
      3. Overhangs and Angled Geometry (the 45-Degree Rule)
      4. Repeated Overhangs
      5. Part Thickness
      6. Connected Parts
      7. Fine Details
      8. Chamfers
      9. Recesses and Holes
      10. Work with Gravity, Bridges, and Arc
      11. Pinnacles
      12. Dividing Objects Into Pieces and Creating Assemblies for Best Outcomes
      13. Smooth vs. Hard-Edge Parts
      14. Hollow Parts
    2. Summary
  15. Chapter 7: Basic Solid Modeling Techniques
    1. The Benefits of Solid Modeling
    2. Discovering 123D Design for Solid Modeling Techniques
    3. Using 123D Design
      1. Navigation
      2. Creating Geometry in 123D Design
      3. Sketch Profiles in 123D Design
      4. The Construct Menu: Extrude, Loft, Sweep, and Revolve
      5. The Shell Tool
    4. Projects Using 123D Design
      1. Creating a Desktop Organizer
      2. Creating a Picture Frame
      3. Creating a Funnel
      4. Make a Paper Clip Bookmark
      5. Create a Mini-Shelf
    5. Summary
  16. Chapter 8: Organic Modeling Techniques
    1. Organic Modeling with Sculptris
      1. Sculptris: Getting Started
      2. Freeform Design in Sculptris
      3. Levels of Detail
      4. A Breakdown of the Sculpting Tools in Sculptris
    2. Combining Parts in Meshmixer
    3. Summary
  17. Chapter 9: Customization Techniques
    1. Adding Variation
      1. Optimizing High-Resolution Files in Meshmixer
    2. Combining Hard-Edge and Organic Modeling Techniques
    3. Summary
  18. Chapter 10: 3D-Scanning Techniques
    1. Getting Started
    2. How to Use 123D Catch
    3. Summary
  19. Chapter 11: Intermediate Solid-Modeling Techniques
    1. Designing Articulated and Mechanical Objects in 123D Design
    2. Solid Modeling in FreeCAD
      1. FreeCAD: Getting Started
      2. How to Use FreeCAD
      3. Navigation in FreeCAD
    3. Summary
  20. Chapter 12: Advanced Techniques Using Blender
    1. Exploring New Ideas with Blender
      1. What Can Blender Do?
    2. Blender: Getting Started
      1. How to Use Blender
      2. Blender’s Interface
      3. Navigation in Blender
      4. Use Blender to Create 3D-Printed Polyhedrons
    3. Summary
  21. Chapter 13: Working with 3D-Printing Service Bureaus
    1. What Is a 3D-Printing Service Bureau?
      1. Independent Service Bureaus
      2. Online Service Bureaus
    2. Checklist When Submitting Files
    3. General Best Practices
      1. Get to Know Your Service Bureau
      2. File Formats
      3. Optimizing File Size
      4. Making Meshes Watertight
    4. Summary
  22. Appendix A: Timeline of 3D Printing Design Milestones
  23. Index

Product information

  • Title: Beginning Design for 3D Printing
  • Author(s): Joe Micallef
  • Release date: October 2015
  • Publisher(s): Apress
  • ISBN: 9781484209462