5-3D Scanning and Printing¶

Assignments¶

Group Assignment:¶

Learn how to operate the 3-d printer in your lab and test the printer.
Document what you learned in the group assignment page and individual page

Individual Assignment:¶

Design and 3-D print something small(maybe a few cm)
Scan a 3-D object

Learning Outcomes:¶

Learn how to use the 3-d printer, and be able to identify its pros and cons
Learn in more depth of 3-d designing
Learn how to use the scaning technology.

This is my roadmap for this week here

Group Assignment¶

3d printer

labeled 3d printer

Macg=hine specifications

Build volume : 250 x 210 x 210 mm | 9.84 x 8.3 x 8.3 in

Layer height : 0.05 – 0.35 mm

Max travel speed : 200+ mm/s

Max hotend/heatbed temp : 290 °C / 120 °C (572 °F / 248 °F)

Mainboard : Einsy RAMBo 8-bit board

MMU2S/3 support : Yes

Nozzle diameter : 0.4mm (default) / other nozzle diameters supported

LCD screen : Monochromatic LCD

Print surface : Magnetic heatbed with removable PEI spring steel sheets

Cutting Tool Chuck : Collet method

Filament diameter: 1.75mm

How to use the printer¶

lesson

Step 1

Before starting make sure to download the file you want in stl file format
Then open or download prusa slicer. You can download it here
Take out the memory card from your printer and insert it to your device(like a desptop)

prusa slicer

Step 2

Go to filr-Import-Import STL(imperial units) to access where to find your file.
Then select which file you wanted to print. Make sure to give the file a name to make it more reconisable.

import settings

Step 3

Click the cube like icon on the tool bar. This will help you select your SD card and save your design in G-code format.

tool bar thing

Step 4

After the design appears on your screen, than change the surface settings depending on where you want it to be faced.

surface settings

You can change the face as per your requirments. I did not print the file like this, but this just shows what type of directions can be accessed.

surface

Step 5

Change the settings if required. Set the supports to none right now because this is a test print(recomended when you actually print your design)

fill in settings

Step 6

Lastly, slice it than export in G-code

last enter

export info

These are the results of the process!

The printing did not come out as smooth as we expected. the briging came out properly, but the texts got blured out.The vertical test went well as well.It did go fine overall.

The link for the group assignment is [here] (https://fabacademy.org/2025/labs/dgi/assignments/3D_Scanning_and_printing/assignment.html)

Individiual Assignment¶

Designing 3-d model¶

Advantages of 3D Printing:

Customization: You’ll be able to design whatever you chose to make, letting this process seem more customizable to you own prefrences
Rapid Prototyping: Once your design is done, you can print it multiple times with the same model.
Design Flexibility:The designing process is flexable, alowing you to print abstract shapes as well.
Reduced Waste: The filament of the 3d printer is and can be made with reused plastic, allowing you to reuse plastic waste.

Limitations of 3D Printing:

Material Limitations:
Speed:
Surface Quality:
Size Limitations:
Mechanical Properties:
Post-Processing:
Small-Scale Production:

Conclusion: 3D printing provides immense potential, especially in areas like customization, rapid prototyping, and small-scale production. However, its limitations—such as material constraints, speed, and surface quality—can make it less ideal for mass production or applications that require specific material properties. Its advantages and limitations should be considered in the context of the specific application you’re interested in.

I decided to do this design on fusion 360, because there were many people whom could give me feedback and help.

Step 1 - Open the platform you will use to design the 3d model.(fusion 360) Afterwards, i selected the creat form tool from the tool bar as I noticed there was a somewhat already made chain design there.

1 3d

Step 2 - This is the design that reminded me of a chain, so I chose to use this.

2 3d

Step 3 - Then, select the plain you want for the first ring of the chain.

Step 4 - Chose the diameter you want for the ring, and then press enter. Then finish the sketch

Step 5 - Add more rings to the chain, and change the directions if required

Step 6 - Lastly, after your done, export your final design.

This is my final design for the chain!

chain

Printing process¶

After the design was made, I followed what we learned during the group assignment(with some help as well) and printed my design

printing

This is support what I removed

leftover

And lastly, we have the final product

curver straight

I thought about standing the links up at a steeper angle. If they were printed at more than 45°, I can see how gravity would cause less overhang, meaning fewer supports might be needed. I’ll definitely try reorienting the model and experimenting with ‘organic’ supports too

This cannot be made subtractively because of its hollow and spiral design. Subtractive manufacturing like a laser cutter involves moving a tool through material, it will not be able to mimic the spiral, circular, hollow design.

Scanning¶

First of all, what is 3d scanning?

3d scanning involves capturing the appearence of a real object by recording it and converting it inr=to a digital 3d model. It collects data about the surface, geometry and texture by using components like laser, structured light, or LiDAR.

*Steps*
How it works: A scanner sends out light toward the object. When the light reflects back, the device measures how long it took and where it came from.

What it creates: These measurements are used to build a "point cloud", which is a digital map of points in 3D space. These points are then connected to form a full 3D model.

Added textures: Cameras capture color and surface details, which are mapped onto the 3D model to make it look realistic.

For the scanning part of this week, I used scaniverse

How to use ScaniVerse

Firstly, download the application on your device. Then open the app.
The first option you’ll get once it opens is a + symbol. After clicking on it, this shows up

meshoptions