3D Design and 3D Print

The third week is over! The topic was "3D Design and 3D Print" and it was a lot again:

• We have got a short overview about the different types of 3D printing an the used material:

1. Additive Manufacturing

   is also known as 3D printing and refers to a range of layer-upon-layer manufacturing technologies used to synthesize a three-dimensional object both for prototyping and manufacturing purposes. The process involves the successive forming of material layers under computer control, allowing complex components to be manufactured. Here is a list of some printing technologies and also some impressions, what you can print:

2. Subtractive Manufacturing

   is a process by which 3D objects are constructed by successively cutting material away from a solid block of material. Subtractive prototyping gives you the opportunity to design, prototype, and manufacture in end-use materials. It is an appropriate choice for parts used for small and large volume production runs, to obtain specific finishes, or to obtain specific mechanical properties.
• We also talk about the aim of Preprap, which is to develop a 3D printer that can print most of its own components and be a low-cost 3D printer. RepRap is short for replicating rapid prototyper and all of the designs produced by the project are released under a free software license, the GNU General Public License. The project is now made up of hundreds of collaborators worldwide.
• We also got an indroduction in the programms we use to 3D-print files. The first is FreeCAD, a free and open-source general-purpose parametric 3D CAD modeler. The second is Cura, it prepares and slices your 3D models for 3D printing.

My own Project

We also should create our own 3D file with FreeCAD. I tried to make a tea-light holder. So first I opend a new file and created a cylinder (Radius 42mm, Height 82mm). After that I created a second cylinder (Radius 40mm, Height 80mm) and lift it in the z-position for 2mm. Then I made a cut of two shades: After that I added a new cube and put it to the position (36; -5; 20) and I filled the edges of it (Radius 2,5). Then I created a polar array (6 items) and made again a cut of two shades: And then I added some else objects and repeat the progress to my final result: But I had some problems: I could not save the file, there was always an error, that some elements of the project could not be saved and I still do not know why. But I could export my tea-light holder to an STL file to open it with cura.