5. 3D Scanning and printing¶
This week I designed a model that could not be created using a subtractive process and 3D printed it. Additonally, I explored various methods to scanning and modeling a design.
Downloads¶
Students Who Helped Me¶
Files¶
Group assignment:¶
- Test the design rules for your 3D printer(s)
- Document your work on the group work page and reflect on your individual page what you learned about characteristics of your printer(s)
All-in-One Torture Test¶
The all-in-one torture test is a test for 3D-printers for you to see what you printer can do on standard settings. It’s designed to specifically test certain abilities of the 3D printer. The file for this test is already created in Thingiverse.
Once I dowloaded it from there, I put it in the Bambu labs. This is the software used for our Bambu printers. I decided to test the A1-mini. For the settings I didn’t change anything because it’s important to test the printer at the default settings for this test.
After that I printed in and it came out like this. As you can see in the photos, the A1-mini didn’t do a good job at the words. The words to lable the tests where not printed at all. Also as it got closer towards the 80 degrees it begins to get messing. It was good all the way til the switch from 60 to 70 degrees. everything other than those two things passed and did well.
The rest of the test donw by others in my group are on our group page.
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 (and optionally print it)
Creating¶
To create my object I used Fusion 360. It was very simple to make once I came up with the idea and got a sense of an idea of how it was going to wokr. I decided to make a donut with a ball in the inside. The first thing I did was make the donut shape. The way I made it was very hard and complicated but I recommed using the torus. This can be found under the create tab.
Then once that was created, I needed to move onto figuring out how to get the supports out the inside and move the ball. I decided to create a bunch of holes around the whole shape. These holes needed to be big enough that I could get my finger inside to get the supports out so I made them 40mm each. I used the whole feature for all of those.
This is where you can find the Hole feature. Its under the samew spot as the Torus. The hole feature is very straight forward. For the hole type I used simple. Then for hole tap type I also did sample. And finally for the prill point I did angle. I also did distance for the setting.
This is what it looked like to have one hole done and after that I began to randomly place the holes all over because it makes it easier to get the supports out and it looks beter.
Once I was finished with the holes, this is what it looked like.
Then once I did that, I needed to make the ball that was going to be on the inside. For that I used simple sphere tool and made the ball. I needed to be smart about the size of the ball because I didn’t want it too small it would fall out the holes, or too big it wouldn’t move on the inside. Since the torus was about 100mm in diameter, I made the ball 60mm. This was the perfect size.
This is the donut with the hole inside of it. The spere tool cna also be found under the create tab. It is near the other different shapes.
Could it easily be made subtractively?¶
This could not be easily made subtractively because of the ball on the inside. The ball was designed floating so it could remove it around. In subtractive manufacturing (such as CNC machining), cutting tools need direct access to all surfaces, making it impossible to carve out the internal spheres without splitting the object apart.
Once thing I would do different is move the ball to be near more holes because it was kinda hard to get the supports off.
Printing¶
For the printing process, I exported my 3D print as an stl. Then I opened that file in Bambu Labs. I used my pernonal Bambu A1 printer for this print. It took about 2 hours to print. In the bambu lab, I added tree supports. I needed supports for the ball so it would be able to move on the instide, because it was floating. Then I decided to choose the trees, because they are easier to remove. Mine I needed to make it as easy as possible because I had to go inside the docut shape and remove them through tiny holes.
Scanning¶
For the scanning portion of this week, I used the app called Polycam.
About¶
Device Compatibility
1) iOS (Apple Devices) - Works best on iPhones/iPads with LiDAR, such as:
- iPhone 12 Pro / 13 Pro / 14 Pro / 15 Pro series
- iPad Pro models (2020 and later) with LiDAR sensor
> Can also be used on non-LiDAR iPhones (iPhone 8 and later), though scans are generated using photogrammetry rather than depth sensing.
2) Android Devices - Available on many modern Android phones.
- Works best with phones that have good cameras and processors.
- No current Android phones include LiDAR, so all scans are photogrammetry-based.
3) Desktop/Web:
- Polycam also has a web-based viewer and editing tools, though the actual scanning is mobile-based.
App Installation
- App is available on the App Store (for iOS) and Google Play Store (for Android).
- Requires a stable internet connection for upload and cloud processing (if applicable).
Technologies Used by Polycam
1) LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)
- Available only on select iOS devices.
- Measures distances by timing how long light takes to return after bouncing off surfaces.
2) Photogrammetry
- Computer vision technique that reconstructs 3D shapes from multiple 2D images.
- Used across all devices, especially Android and non-LiDAR iPhones.
3) Mesh Reconstruction & Texture Mapping
- Converts the depth data or photo data into a 3D mesh (wireframe) and overlays high-quality photo textures on top.
4) Cloud Processing
- For Photo Mode, processing is done on Polycam's servers.
- Reduces load on your device and produces more detailed results.
5) Export Formats Supported
- OBJ, GLTF, FBX, STL, USDZ, etc.
- Can be used in 3D software, AR/VR apps, or 3D printing workflows.
Using¶
This app was ver easy to used for all I did was download it, and then clicked on the camera cirle. This camera circle walks you through a few steps. They were very simple to follow. For taking the pictures, I recomend taking as many angles and pictures as possible because then the object comes out looking better.
The white button is what you click to began scanning an object. If you hold down on that button, rather taking ever photo indivually, it take goes into video mode and takes the photos for you. All you do it just slowly move your phone around the object.
Once you finish all of the images it takes you to this page and you can choose the quality pretty much. Fast is low quality, and raw is very detailed quality. The thing is though, the higher the quality, the slower it takes to process.
When I first attempted to create an scanning, I tried to scan my opject I created for the first part. However, I think it was too complicated because It didn’t work. Therefore, I searched for something simplier and I found the scissors. This one worked way better. One thing to keep in mind with this app is that it takes a while for it to upload. The photos above are the final results of the scanning app. Overall, it worked really well.
Reflection¶
Individual¶
This week was very fun to create because once you finished with it, you had a toy to play with. The donut with a ball on the inside was alot more complicated than the others. If I were todo something different next time, it would be to make the holes on the out side more even. I kept on having people as me why there were some holes that weren’t even with other. To do this, I will use more acurate dimentions, rather than randomly placing them. Overall the most frustrating part was the scanning app because sometimes it wouldn’t work depending on the shape you wanted todo.
Group¶
The group work was pretty easy overall, mainly because the file we needed was already made for us. That saved a lot of time and effort, and we didn’t have to worry about designing or fixing anything before we started. If I had the chance to do this group work again, I would try lowering the printer settings to see how much the lowest setting can actually handle. It would be interesting to test how it affects the print quality and whether it still works well. I’d also want to try using a different printer to compare the results. That way, I could see how much of a difference the printer itself makes and learn more about how the settings and equipment affect the final product.