How to 3D-print. A guide.

  1. Things to remember about the Model: 

Able to fit in the machine

 Maximum size for the:

  • ZCorp: 254x203x203 (xyz)
  • Connex3: 342x342x200 (xyz)

Huge and very expensive models are only made after a  discussion.

A "normal" size could range from a pencil to a tea cup. 

Set the Size
Rotate -and -adjust -Size -with -Meshmixer _240px (59 sec) 

 

3D-printable? Check for errors

  • Drag and drop your STL-file into   Netfabb Basic (free)
  • Click the Red Cross for repair
  • Click Update in the control panel that appears
  • Confirm that you have;
    • Border edges: 0
    • invalid orientation: 0
    • Holes: 0
    • Shells: 1
       It safest with 1 but it might work well with several shells also... 

 

Check for problems!
Check _In _Netfabb _240px(34 sec)

 

Clearance

If you want to fit a pin in a hole you need some "air" between the parts.
ZCorp: 0.5 mm      Connex3: 0.3 mm
 If painting the parts you need more!

Enough strength

Walls should, if possible, not be less than:
 ZCorp: 3 mm The plaster is very fragile.
Connex3: 0.3 mm

Knife-like edges should be rounded!

Surfaces and Meshes outwards

Set the surfaces normals before exporting from a surface tool like Alias or Rhino

Autodesk Alias:
With the Surface Normal tool everything should be blue  and not yellow
With the Mesh Normal tool everything should be gray and not yellow
Netfabb:
The mesh should be completly green. If red try to flip it with right-click -> Extended -> Invert Part

2. How to export your Rapid Prototyping STL-files 

The amount and size  of the triangles (polygons) in a STL-files sets the quality. You want as many triangles as possibly without creating ridiculous big file sizes. Decide by looking at a rounded silhouette and judge the smoothness. But try to keep your files under 20 mb. Above 50mb is probably overkill!

Export from:

  • McNeel Rhino (from Stratasys / Objet Company)
  • SolidWorks (from Stratasys / Objet Company)
  • Autodesk Alias
    • File > Export > Rapid Prototype...
    • Drag pick and select your surfaces on the screen
    • Set the stitch tolerance to 0.01 This is the size of gaps that will be accepted and glued together by the polygons created.
    • Click Accept to make a leakage test. (If you get yellow boundaries you can try to change the stitch tolerance). If nothing is yellow you will probably have a water tight and closed polygon model in the next step.
    • Now you can adjust the Quality with Tolerance and Max Edge Length. Click Create Mesh to get a preview to examine.
    • If it is to rough then adjust Tolerance  and Max Edge Length. And click Update to create a new mesh preview.
    • You have a possibility to make Wall thickness and also to flip normals (if it shows up completely yellow) if you like.
    • Click Export and save your Rapid Prototypably STL-file :)
    • Important! Check that you have a file size well under 20 mb.
    • Good work! Now you can get your stuff out in real life.

Always check and possibly repair your STL-file:

3. Copy the STL file to the right place

Copy it into "_STL files for Rapid Objet" or "_STL files for Z-corp Rapid" on the S5-server in a folder with your own name.
Send an email to: Patrik: patrik.mattsson@umu.se and to David: david.risberg@umu.se

with information about:

  1. filename(s)
  2. If it is done private or in a project
  3. kind of presentation it will be used at.(example "TD2 examination")
  4. You will recive info about the building time and price.

If your model is not ok then go back to step no 1 again :)

Interesting repair softwares;

Softwares to check your STL-file with;

 

 



Umeå Institute of Design - a part of Arts Campus at Umeå University