3D Scanning And Printing
Test the design rules for your printer(s).
Document your work and explain what are the limits of your printer(s) (in a group or individually).
Individual assignment:
Design and 3D print an object (small, few cm3, limited by printer time) that could not be easily made subtractively.
3D scan an object, try to prepare it for printing (and optionally print it).
Learning outcomes:
Apply design methods and production processes to show your understanding of 3D printing.
Demonstrate how scanning technology can be used to digitize object(s)
3D Printers World!
The 3D printer nowadays solves many problems, in many fields. One of the most important things is the artificial organs in the medical field, also in engineering, education, and prototyping different products, many other fields. The technology is also called Additive Manufacturing, Rapid Prototyping and digital manufacturing.
How does this operate? In 3D printing, the first step is to make a virtual design of the desired object, and subsequently, the virtual design is made in a CAD file by using a 3D scanner or by using a 3D modeling program with a software.
The table below shows the technical specifications between the three machines that I had test them.
| 3D printer | Ultimaker 2 extended + | Flashforge dreamer | Under 3 pro |
| Material | PLA, ABS, Nylon, CPE, CPE+, PC, PP, TPU 95A< | PLA, ABS, TPU 95A,PETG | PLA, ABS, Wood ,TPU, Gradient color ,Carbon, Fiber. |
| Heated platform | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Platform material | glass build plate | Aerospace-grade aluminum | Magnetic Heated Bed Platform Sticker |
| Number of Extruders | Single extrusion | Dual extrusion | Single extrusion |
| Print volume LxWxH | 223 x 223 x 305 mm | 230x150x140mm. | 220x220x250mm |
| Software | Ultimaker Cura | Flash Print | Ultimaker Cura. |
| Connectivity. | SD Card. | USB, SD card, WIFI. | Online, SD card.. |
| File type. | STL, OBJ, X3D, 3MF, BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG Printable formats: GCODE. | 3MF,STL,OBJ,FPP,BMP,PNG,JPG,.
JPEG; GX/,G. |
STL,OBJ,AMF. |
| Layer resolution. | Fast: 200 micron (0.2 mm).
Normal: 100 micron (0.1 mm). High: 60 micron (0.06 mm). Ulti: 40 micron (0.04 mm). |
0.05-0.4mm. | 0.1-0.4mm. |
| Platform removal. | Easy. | Hard. | Easy (flexible). |
| Compatible material thickness . | 2.85mm. | 1.75mm. | 1.75mm. |
Slicing settings for Flsh Forge Dreamer:
After calibrating the build plate and save the file from Flash print slicer program I print it with the settings below:
Layer height: 0.3mm
Wall line count: 2
Top layers: 2
Bottom layers: 4
Infill: 10%
Fill pattern: hexagon
Speed: 80mm/s
Nozzle temp.: 205
Bed temp.: 65
Material: PLA
Time:3h31min
Material usage: 60G
Testing Ultimaker 2 extnded+
Wall line count: 2
Top layers: 2
Bottom layers: 4
Infill: 10%
Fill pattern: hexagon
Speed: 60mm/s
Nozzle temp.: 200
Bed temp.: 60
Material: PLA
Time:3h45min
Material usage: 60G
.
| Syntax | Ultimaker 2 extnded+ | Flash forge dreamer |
|---|---|---|
| Overhang | Pass | Pass |
| Clearance without support | Not clear | Not clear |
| Angle | Pass | Pass |
| Overhang | Pass | Pass |
| Bridging | Pass | Pass |
| Dimensions | Pass | Pass |
| Infill 15% | Pass | Pass |
| Surface Finish | Pass | Pass |
| Anisotropy | Pass | Pass |
| Wall thickness | Pass | Pass |
Testing Under 3 pro
45° Overhangs
The three supporting legs of the PolyPearl Tower are all at printed at 45.
Acute Slopes
Featuring an acute slope of 9° this feature will test your printer ability to extrude uniformly. This is also a good test of the filament, as variations in diameter and consistency will result in gaps or non-circular rings.
Fine Details
Fine details are a challenge for any printer. You can compare the top indents against the bottom to see if the layer compression has affected their roundness.
Overhangs
On both of the ball sections of the PolyPearl tower, you will find a small overhang section. Inspect the form of these details and compare the top against the bottom. The bottom should be well formed, circular and flat. The top overhang is much trickier to perfect, check the sharpness compared to the bottom.
Extrusion
To achieve the perfect extrusion settings there should be no indication of where the layer has started and stopped.
Roundness
Check the roundness of the balls on the PolyPearl Tower model. These balls should be consistent and spherical. Play with your speed settings to optimize roundness, most PLA’s will print happily at 60mm/s.
Fine Bridging and Smooth Curves
Key an eye out for layer shifts where the bridges meet the helix.
Top Layer Fill
The Top Layer Fill on the Polymaker Logo should be completely filled in. This is effected by the number of Top Solid Layers you choose and by the amount of shells/perimeters you choose.
Dimensional Accuracy
Finally, check the dimensional accuracy of your print against the CAD measurements. The overall height of the PolyPearl tower is 99mm allowing to print on virtually every 3D printer on the market.
I used Cura with the settings below:
dl>Slicing settings:
Layer height: 0.3mm
Wall line count: 3
Top layers: 4
Bottom layers: 4
Infill: 25%
Fill pattern: Tri-hexagon
Speed: 60mm/s
Nozzle temp.: 200
Bed temp.: 60
Material: PLA
Time:1h15min
Material usage: 11G
Final result.
Random test
I was born in 13 of august, so I decided to print a Lion Figure to kept it on my desk, it was a fun experiment with my nephew we cut along the hairs on the side, then we used the hairdryer to make the lion hair waves. I can see the gaps between the layers, also it is easy to broke, and some details are not clear, I know I print it with small scale, but maybe if I will print it again, I will reduce the layers heights, and increase the infill percentage.
Individual assignment
In this task, I will design and 3D print an object (small, few cm3, limited by printer time) that could not be easily made subtractively.
then I will 3D scan an object, with 3D scanning software. First I tried to print what I did in the Computer-Aided Design week, here. by using Inventor, the idea was to design a base with six walls, tow of them are hollow to allow light to spread, the others are solid to reduce the spread of light.
Also, I printed the coil design I had designed it in the same week to test the flexibility, you will find the steps on the same week page above.
I tried also to design another 3d model that can't be easily fabricated by 3 Aix machines.
Open Inventor parametric 3d design software, choose a new part, then choose the sketch XZ plate. click 3D Model tab Sketch panel Create 2D Sketch then draw a line, and centred circle.
Finish the sketch, then go to the coil and add the measurements.
Go again to 2d sketch, draw a square inside the circle.
Finish the sketch, then usee extrude tool select the square.
click 3D Model tab Sketch panel Create 3D Sketch in the toolbar, and choose intersection curve.
unvisibal 3d sktech from the menu.
Now go back to the 2d sketch and change the corners to be fillet, by clicking on the lines of the square shape.
To create the tube, click on - Plane - on the toolbar, then go to the last option - Normal to curve at point-, draw a circle.
Last, if you want to add a realistic texture, from the View tab Appearance panel, click the Visual Style drop-down and choose an appearance style.
Use Cura to creat the Gcode file.
Final result.
Download files here:
- Square spring
I faced a problem while am trying to change the filament, I assumed it is a nozzle jam, it always happened to me, I tried repeatedly to use nozzle cleaner bendable drill bit it is always helping me to clean the nozzle, but in that time it did not work.
Unblock Extruders and Nozzle I searched for a solution, then I found a tutorial I followed it step by step, after disconnected, the fans and the took off the extruder, I inserted a filament after heated up to 248°, then I inserted again a filament I did a couple of trails, I kept each screw and mark it to know the exact place then I inserted again a filament finally it is work!
While using a 3d printer, it is necessary to regularly calibrate the build plate for good traction of the print to the build plate.
If the distance between the nozzles and the build plate is too wide, your print won’t cling properly to the glass plate. Conversely, if the nozzles are too close to the build plate, it can prevent the material extruding from the nozzles, you can use the calibration card or a piece of 80gm paper.
What is happing if you prit without good calibration.
3D Scanner
Prototyping and 3D printing is another frequent use case for 3D scanning software. 3D scanners enable you to take a physical product, scan it into a digital format (e.g. the STL file format), and work with the digitized model to create prototypes that are then printed by 3D printers. I wish to try the 3d scanner maybe later I will try one and document the experience. But here instead of a real 3d scanner, I used my phone after downloaded many smartphone-based 3D scanning applications, such as Qlone, Scann3d, 3d scanner, to scan a simple object. the best result was by using Qlone , still not as the professional archival scanning equipment. but it is work. Qlone is a free app, you should purchase if you want to export the 3d model to.STL, OBJ, etc.
Qlone app requires the use of a printed AR Mat. You need just place your object in the middle of the mat and rotate. Know that a second scan (different orientation) on an object would improve the quality of the final digital object.
First print the AR mat you can find it here.. Put the object in the center then chooses the orientation of your camera. If the AR dome disappears, it means the app cannot see at least three of the four corners of the checkered scanning mat. Move back from the scanning mat, and the AR dome should reappear once at least three corners are in view.
I kept rotating until I finished all the dome layers.
I tried to scan many objects to reach the best result.
I switched the orientation to got more comfortable.
I tried to scan the lion that I preinted before, but the result was not clear.
Then I chose to scan a paper boat.
Still, the result was not clear.
I search for tips to help me to get good result, I found here a good review.
I kept trying with different objects, I chose to scan a lock.
The result was good than the others.
The last object was a piece of my nephew's favorite toy, a simple tiny cap.
The result was the best of others.
Consider slowing down how quickly you are moving around the object. Completely scan each layer before moving on to another layer. Also, consider the lighting where you are doing the scanning. Ideally, you’ll have two bright light sources pointed at the scanning area from opposite directions.
For more about Qlone: