Roadmap

This week, our school kept us engaged in various activities and due to this some of my goals in my roadmap weren't completed on time as I would have liked. Regardless of it, I was able to complete all of my assignments on time.

Table of Contents

  • Group Assigment
  • Individual Assignment

    • Group Assignment

    For the group assignment we had to find out the design rules for the 3d printing machine that we had in our lab.

    3D Printer

    At the DGI Aesthetic Centre, we have Prusa i3 MK3. And it is very popular because it is reliable and the prints are precise, it is open-source with a strong community support and has easy maintenance.

    This is the 3D printer specifications that I created after learning about our printer. I learned a lot of new vocabularies that you can see in the software and vocabularies section. But a very interesting new word I learned was FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) which is a 3D printing technology where a thermoplastic filament is melted and extruded through a nozzle to create objects layer by layer.

    Parameter Value
    Type Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)-(plastic filament is melted and laid down layer by layer to create an object)
    Nozzle Diameter 0.4mm
    Max Print Speed 200 mm/s
    Layer Thickness 0.1mm → 0.3mm
    Filament Diameter 1.75mm
    Bed Leveling Auto-Mesh Bed Leveling(automatically measures and adjusts for bed unevenness, ensuring a perfect first layer.)
    Temperature PLA → 218°C
    Slicer PrusaSlicer
    Control LCD screen, USB and SD card
    Build Volume 200 x 200 x 200 mm

    The 3D printer that we have at our Fab Lab is the Prusa i3 MK3, and here’s a well labelled diagram of the printer. Image Source

    Additive Manufacturing
    Additive manufacturing is basically a process of creating 3D objects by adding layer by layer of a material based on a digital model. This allows for complex geometries and customization.

    Subtractive Manufacturing
    Subtractive manufacturing involves removing material from a solid block to achieve the desired shape, usually through processes like milling, turning, or grinding. But it can create a lot more waste than the additive manufacturing process. This is a very helpful image that helps you understand and visualize it better.

    Slicing

    Slicing in 3D printing is the process of converting a 3D model (like an STL file) into G-code, which the printer can understand. G-code is generated from slicer software like Cura or PrusaSlicer that we often here, translating STL files into machine-readable instructions.

    Satey Measures

      These are important points to remember while printing a design.
    • Always watch your printer – leaving it unattended can be risky.
    • Temperature matters – too hot or too cold can ruin a print.
    • Start off your print at a slower speed to make sure that your foundation is strong.
    • Speed affects quality – printing too fast can cause issues.
    • Slicing is important – a bad slice can lead to failed prints.