Weekly outline

• General
  

  General

  
  

  3D Printing  is designed for students of ages 18+. The course is based on the Project Learning method.  An Ultimaker 2+ is available for 3d printing, the Cura software is used to prepare the printing student's creations and the Open Source Blender software for 3d design.

  The purpose of the course is to learn basic concepts of  designing and printing of 3D models.
  

  Students will acquire knowledges including:

  1. the parts and the way that 3d printers function
     
  2. the materials used in 3d printing
  3. the areas of human activities in which 3d printing is used
  4. use of 3d applications and their tools, to design models for 3d printing including tinkercad and blender.
     

  
  Students will also acquire skills like
  
  

  1. operate a 3d printer
     
  2. set the proper properties to the printing software, in order to have a reliable print out
  3.  to prepare their 3d models for 3d printing
     
  4. to recognize and to use productively the basic tools of a 3d design application.

  
  

  At the end of the course students must be able to

  
  

  • name and describe the basic parts of a 3d printer  and the basic printing materials and 3d printing techniques

  • describe the basic services of a 3d printing software

  • describe the capabilities of a 3d modeling system

  • name and describe the common functions of a 3d design software
  • model and print their own creations
    

  
  

  3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), refers to processes used to create a three-dimensional object in which material is joined or solidified under computer control to create an object, with material being added together (such as liquid molecules or powder grains being fused together). Objects can be of almost any shape or geometry and typically are produced using digital model data from a 3D model or another electronic data source such as an Additive Manufacturing File (AMF) file (usually in sequential layers). Stereolithography (STL) is one of the most common file types that is used for 3D Printing. Thus, unlike material removed from a stock in the conventional machining process, 3D printing or AM builds a three-dimensional object from computer-aided design (CAD) model or AMF file, usually by successively adding material layer by layer.

  The term "3D printing" originally referred to a process that deposits a binder material onto a powder bed with inkjet printer heads layer by layer. More recently, the term is being used in popular vernacular to encompass a wider variety of additive manufacturing techniques. United States and global technical standards use the official term additive manufacturing for this broader sense.

  Source: Wikipedia

  Have a look at a 3d printing example:

  
  

  • Help Desk Forum
  • Prosthetic Hands project Page

    
  • The Netiquete Rules File
  • Resources Page
  • 3d printer glossary Page
  • 3d printing glossary Page
  • Questionnaire URL

    
• Applications, Techniques and Performance of 3d Printing
  

  Applications, Techniques and Performance of 3d Printing

  The purpose of these two sessions is the students to name and describe and explain the basic parts of a 3d printer, the most common materials and their use. They will have a first contact with the on line free 3d modelling software 'Thinkercad' and will be able to 3d print their creations in a 3d printer using the 'cura' 3d printing software.
  

  Students will acquire knowledges including:

  1. the parts and the way that 3d printers function
     
  2. the materials used in 3d printing
  3. the available web free 3d design tools
     
  4. 3d applications and their tools in order to design simple models.
     

  
  Students will also acquire skills like
  
  

  1. operate a 3d printer
     
  2. set the proper properties to the printing software, in order to have a reliable print out
  3.  to prepare their 3d models for 3d printing
     
  4. to search the web to find proper 3d applications that cover their deign needs.
  5. to use the mouse and hot keys to operate and move in a 3d design space
     

  
  

  At the end of the course students must be able to

  
  

  • name and describe the basic parts of a 3d printer  and the basic printing materials and 3d printing techniques

  • describe the basic services of a web 3d printing software

  • describe the capabilities of a web 3d modeling system

  • name and describe the common functions of a web 3d design software
  • model and print their own creations
  • Find designs online and create their own
    

  
  

  
  

  • Unit 1
    

  • Introduction to 3d printing Page
  • The most common materials Page
  • 3D Printing Materials File

    
  • 3D Printers, Applications and Attributes File

    
  • Find designs online or create your own Page
  • If you don't own a 3d printer.. Page
  • UserManual_UM2+_EN File
  • Cura quick start guide File
  • cura setup 1 File
  • Unit 2
    

  • 3d printer parts Page
  • Cura-User-Manual File
  • First prints! Page
  • Everyday 3D printing checklist Page
  • improve the quality of your 3D printed parts Page
  • Design the tinkercad house Assignment

    
  • Upload your creations Folder

    
  • Design your own models and print them if you wish. Upload your creations to the folder above.
    

    
  • What did you learn in this week Quiz

    
  • For More Reading and Info you can visit Page

    
• Basic Operations of a 3d Design Application
  

  Basic Operations of a 3d Design Application

  3D computer graphics or three-dimensional computer graphics, (in contrast to 2D computer graphics) are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images. Such images may be stored for viewing later or displayed in real-time.

  3D computer graphics rely on many of the same algorithms as 2D computer vector graphics in the wire-frame model and 2D computer raster graphics in the final rendered display. In computer graphics software, the distinction between 2D and 3D is occasionally blurred; 2D applications may use 3D techniques to achieve effects such as lighting, and 3D may use 2D rendering techniques.

  3D computer graphics are often referred to as 3D models. Apart from the rendered graphic, the model is contained within the graphical data file. However, there are differences: a 3D model is the mathematical representation of any three-dimensional object. A model is not technically a graphic until it is displayed. A model can be displayed visually as a two-dimensional image through a process called 3D rendering or used in non-graphical computer simulations and calculations. With 3D printing, 3D models are similarly rendered into a 3D physical representation of the model, with limitations to how accurate the rendering can match the virtual model.(source: wikipedia).

  Blender

  In these sessions we will go over the basics of modeling and navigating in blender.

  Blender is the free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation. Advanced users employ Blender’s API for Python scripting to customize the application and write specialized tools; often these are included in Blender’s future releases. Blender is well suited to individuals and small studios who benefit from its unified pipeline and responsive development process. Examples from many Blender-based projects are available in the showcase.

  Blender is cross-platform and runs equally well on Linux, Windows, and Macintosh computers. Its interface uses OpenGL to provide a consistent experience. To confirm specific compatibility, the list of supported platforms indicates those regularly tested by the development team.

  As a community-driven project under the GNU General Public License (GPL), the public is empowered to make small and large changes to the code base, which leads to new features, responsive bug fixes, and better usability. Blender has no price tag, but you can invest, participate, and help to advance a powerful collaborative tool: Blender is your own 3D software.

  
  

  
  

  • Unit 1
    

  • Mastering cura Page
  • Schooling 3d printing Page

    
  • Unit 2
    

  • Blender Basic Operations File

    
  • Create a Human Figure Assignment

    
  • Students Creations Folder
  • What did you Learn Quiz

    
  • Further Reading and Practice Page

    
• Modeling and Editing
  

  Modeling and Editing

  In this section we will learn and, we'll cover the basic edit mode (modelling):
  

  
  

  - What is the edit mode?
  - Enter and exit the edit mode.
  - Selecting subobjects (vertices, edges and faces)
  - Basic Modelling tools

  ..and more
  

  
  

  • Unit 1
    

  • Edit mode and modeling File 5.2MB OpenDocument Text document
  • Create a vehicle Assignment

    
  • Unit 2
    

  • 2d image to 3d, Gimp + blender File
  • 2d to 3d Assignment
  • Exercise
    

    Create a house using the techniques of the current session. For help visit the file here

  • Create a House Assignment

    
  • Further Reading and Practice Page

    
• Modifiers and Advanced Editing
  

  Modifiers and Advanced Editing

  • Unit 1
    

  • Tools and Modifiers File

    
  • Create a Cup Assignment

    
  • Unit 2
    

  • Create and Print two cubes to snap each other File

    
  • Cura preferences File
  • Hollow and stud connection Assignment

    
• Character Modeling
  

  Character Modeling

  • Unit 1
    

  • Designing for printability Page
  • Let's print a prosthetic hand Page

    
  • Materials: ABS vs PLA Page

    
  • Unit 2
    

  • character modeling File

    
  • photo1 File

    
  • photo2 File

    
  • Course Evaluation Page