06: 3D Design & Printing

Lab Day 6

Lab today was an introduction to 3D printing. We began by making simple sketches in fusion of objects we were going to 3D print. I printed two objects. The idea behind the objects printed was that they would not be easy to be made using subtractive methods. As such, both of my objects contained an extruded part in the center which would certaintly be difficult to replicate using a laser cutter, for example.

Here are images of both of my objects in fusion 360. To get the additional extruded center, I first extruded everything so that it was just a big block of a hexagon or a traingle (after drawing the basic sketch). I then shelled the objects (the shell toll can be found in the modify menu). I shelled outside the object, and used a dimension of 1mm. Next, I created a construction midplane (from the construction menu) that bisected the solids on the line of where I wanted to cut it. Then, from the modify menu, I spilt the body. I unselected one of the bodies and the construction plane. Once I had my shelled out drawing of the shape, it was time to extrude the center shape. I turned the original sketch back on, pressed “E” and extruded the smaller hexagon or triangle up.
Click to download my Triangle STL file
Click to download my Hexagon STL file

Next, I exported the images as STL files and went to Cura. In cura, I rotated both of my objects so that they would not require supports. An example of how the hexagon looked in Cura is shown below.
Finally, it was time to print. I loaded the file onto an SD card, and plugged this card into the printer. I chose my file and it printed.