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5. 3D Scanning and printing

This week I worked on additive design for 3D printing and 3D scanning. I also explored different types of 3D printers in our lab.

Weekly Objectives

Group assignment:

  • test the design rules for your 3D printer(s)

Individual assignment:

  • design and 3D print an object (small, few cm3, limited by printer time) that could not be made subtractively
  • 3D scan an object (and optionally print it)

Group Assignment

In this week group assignment, I did the exploaration of Formlab, a SLA printer which prnt using resin. It took so long to print a thing the size of a nail. The estimated time is 1 hour 30 mins, and it ended up taking 4 hours to print because the estimated time did not include the 2 hour pre-heating. I printed on Friday when Fab lab was closed early. So I had to leave my print in the printer for 2 days and wash and cure it on Monday. I was really worried about my little stool print but it turned out really good. The Formlab printer should be used for mass production because it won’t increase the printing time when printing multiple copies. You can find full group documentation here.

3D Additive Design

Additive Design VS Subtractive Design

I looked over Angelina’s documentation before I started design and I figured out what the additive design and subtractive design are.

Additive Design: Adding layers of materials to create the design.

Subtractive Design: Removing materials to create the design.

Then I decided to do a chain of hearts, inspired by Richard Shan.

Designing Process

First, I used the Spline tool to create a half of the heart. Then I used the Mirror feature and made it a full heart shape. Then I use the Offset feature to create a larger heart.

Then I extruded the shape between the outer and inner heart and created the heart ring.

Next, I used Fillet feature to smooth out the edges of the heart ring.

Then I used the Move/Copy feature to make a copy of the heart ring and rotated it 90 degrees. I connected it with the first heart ring and made a heart chain.

I felt two was not enough, so I did another copy of the heart ring and made it a 3-heart chain. That is my final design!

3D Printing

3D Printing Workflow

  1. Export the designed file to STL Format.
  2. Import the .stl file into eiter Prusa or Bambu Studio.
  3. Change the Print settings.
  4. The smaller the unit is, the more delicate the product would be. On the contrary, the more time the 3D printer would take.
  5. You can change the scale factor to change the size of the final product.
  6. Click Slice command.
  7. When moving the progress slider, you can see how the product is built by the 3D printer.
  8. After finishing changing the settings, change to Gcode.
  9. Prusa: Open the link for the 3D printer. Bambu: Select the correct printer type (A1 mini/ A1)
  10. Upload the .gcode file.
  11. Select the file you want to print and click Print.
  12. Make sure the platform of the 3D printer is clean. If not, use the alcohol to wipe off the remains on the 3D printer.
  13. When the printer reaches its temperature settings, it will start working.
  14. After the 3D printer finishes printing, take the product off after it cools down.

I used one of the Bambu machine so the process of printing would be quick. I first imported the .STL file for my 3D design into Bambu Studio software.

Then I rotated the heart chain into a position where it needed less support.

Then I started to print it for the first time.

This is the video of the first time print.

Then I got the whole mess of the image shown. I asked Ms.Horstman and she told me my file should be printed just fine. So I assumed that it was the problem of the printer.

However, I really liked the pink, so I decided to give the printer another try. Thankfully, the second, it came out perfectly.

I had to take out the filament. This time I forgot to change the support type to tree support, which would save me a lot of time and fair amount of filament. That’s my final heart chain. Really cute, isn’t it? :)

Notes: I printed really tiny because I do not like big chains and I did not want to waste too much filament when I was unsure about the outcomes.

Later, I hung it up on my new backpack. It looks like it is naturally there!

3D Scanning

I did not know any of the 3D scanning apps, so I went to Angelina’s and downloaded a app called Qlone.

It was really easy to use. SInce I did not have the money to purchase premium, I needed to print out a mat it had.

Then I put my favorite beads on the map and scanned it following the instructions.

It came out really nice!

Reflection of the Week

This week is a really fun and relaxing week since I already know how to do 3D printing. There was a lot of creativity involved in this week because we needed to came up with designing ideas. I also learn how to use 3D scanning apps, which is a big discovery. I really like this week and hope every week can be relaxing as this week! (PS: I know it is never gonna happen but worth wishing:)

File Download

You can download my file here.

Last update: March 5, 2025