Week 5 – 3D Scanning and Printing

Fab Academy – Week 5

Date range: 18 - 24 Feb

Instructor: Adrian Bowyer

🧠 Learning Objectives

  • Identify the advantages and limitations of 3D printing
  • Apply design methods and production processes to show your understanding of 3D printing.
  • Demonstrate how scanning technology can be used to digitize object(s)

📋 Assignments

Individual Assignment

  • Design, document 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)

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)

🛠️ Tools & Materials

  • Software (Fusion360, MakerBot Slicer software, Polycam and RealityScan for 3D scanning)
  • Machines (MakerBot Replicator 2)
  • Materials (PLA)

For the group assignment, I tested this file with the makerbot.

image.png

Here are the results, the SD card gave an error mid print and stopped printing, but the printed part showed how the printer can handle (or not) the bridging length:

1000196830.jpg

My lab colleague tested the BambuLab here [link to Aisha’s page].

🧪 Process & Workflow (individual Assignment)

Part 1 – 3D scan

I tried scanning our dryer’s door handle since it was broken, so I can try to reproduce a new one with 3D printing after adding the missing part:

scan, clean, mesh, 3d modelling

Final result:

image.png

1000196826.jpg

I haven't got the chance to try and import them into CAD to play with it, but it'son the to-do list.

Part 2 – 3D printing

For this week we need to 3D design a print a part that cannot be made subtractivley. I wanted to test printing a part for my final project to test how it would look and feel.

For my final project I’m planning to have an OLED display, so I needed to design and print an enclosure that can hold the display. To get the correct measurement, I downloaded a 3D model of the display from GrabCAD, file is in the files section

image.png

You can open an .igs/.iges file in Fusion 360 using the local Open command: Select the File menu (top toolbar) → Open → Open From Computer, browse to and select the .igs/.iges file, then choose Open.

image.png

Always, double check the measurements as they might not be the official CAD files, and may result in slight different sizes, which was true in my case, there was 1mm difference in the width, so I had to adjust and reprint.

I created a new plane as an offset from the screen and created a box, and extruded it leaving an opening to the screen, I also sketched and extruded pins to hold the display.

image.png

I exported the file as STL and exported it to makerbot desktop (the slicer) to prepare for printing.

image.png

The part printed in 12 minutes.

Final result:

1000196828.jpg

⚠️ Problems & Solutions

  • The measurements of the downloaded CAD model of the display was not accurate. I had to measure and adjust the design after I printed it.

🧩 Files

📝 Reflection

  • What you learned
  • What you'd improve