Week #6 (3-D Printing)

I was able to meet with Professor Siek again this Tuesday and we worked on 3-D printing the Jeep that I designed using Tinkercad. Before I could print I needed to download the apps Slic3r and Pronterface and also download my Jeep from Tinkercad as a .STL file. After completing all of the necessary downloads, Professor Siek explained how to use Slic3r to adjust the 3-D printer settings, position the object I want to print on the 3-D printer board, and export the G-Code that would give the 3-D printer directions for how to print my object. After using Slic3r we loaded the G-Code onto Pronterface and connected my laptop to the 3-D printer so we could print my Jeep.

Before printing the Jeep we ran a test print to verify that the 3-D printer board was level and that the 3-D printer was functioning properly. During the test print we discovered that the printer’s filament was broken but we were able to resolve the issue and print my 1 cubic inch Jeep. It took about 20 minutes to print the tiny object. In the end it turned out pretty nicely and had most of the detail from my original design on Tinkercad, but the bottom did become a little bit distorted after scraping it off the 3-D printing board.

IMG_1669

I learned from my first experience with a 3-D printer that 3-D printers are slow, difficult at times, and have plenty of room for improvement. Despite this, I still thought it was impressive to see the 3-D printer at work and I look forward to using it in the future.

Project:

This week my project was to design a 3-D enclosure for my Lilypad board using Tinkercad. I measured my Lilypad Arduino board and made an enclosure which consists of two identical pieces with cylindrical bottoms and holes in the sides for the wires that will connect inputs and outputs to the board to pass through. Here’s a look at one of the enclosure pieces and what the finished enclosure should look like.

3-D Enclosure Bottom

3-D Enclosure