Certification Guide. Brownsburg Public Library

Transcription

1 Certification Guide Brownsburg Public Library 1 st Maker Space, LLC and Brownsburg Public Library have partnered to increase understanding and access to 3D printing and design technology. Brownsburg Public Library patrons successfully completing 3D Printing Certifications workshops will have use of the 3D printers, provided by 1 st Maker Space, LLC under the supervision and at the discretion of Brownsburg Public Library staff. Brownsburg Public Library will facilitate access to 3D printers to certified patrons and reserves the right to limit access to serve goals and objectives of library programming. Facebook.com/1stMakerSpace

2 STEAM Engine 3D Printer Certification Guide 3D printers must be told what to print and how to print it. To communicate with the printer control board, Repetier & Arduino has been installed and configured to STEAM Engine settings on the computers connected to the printers. This guide will serve as a resource to reinforce instruction provided in the 3D Printing Certification workshop; to increase understanding of the design process and the safe operation of the STEAM Engine 3D printer. Facebook.com/1stMakerSpace 2

3 Safety 1 st : pgs 4-5 Printer Anatomy: pg 6 Filament Installation: pg 7 Adjusting Z Height: pg 8 Units of Measure: pg 9 Digital Design: pgs Starting a Print: pgs 12 Object Manipulation: pgs Repairing STL Files: pg 15 Certification Activity: pg 16 Contents 3

4 Safety 1 st 4

5 Safety 1 st Continued Long tweezers may be used to gently remove excess filament from the HOT END or Build Plate. NEVER TOUCH THE BUILD PLATE BY HAND. IT IS 110 C (230 F) Tweezers ONLY Hand Should NOT touch 5

6 3D Printer Anatomy Open Repetier to Move XYZ X Carriage (extruder housing) Moves Right & Left. Y build Plate moves back & forth Z Gantry moves Up & Down 6

7 Filament Must be performed by or under the supervision of site manager or staff member. To assure proper care of extruder, only filament provided or approved by 1 st Maker Space, LLC should be used in the STEAM Engine 3D Printer. 7

8 Adjusting Z Height Must be performed by or under the supervision of site manager or staff member. To assure proper care of extruder, only filament provided or approved by 1 st Maker Space, LLC should be used in the STEAM Engine 3D Printer. 8

9 Units of Measure Units of measure are very important in 3D modeling and 3D printing. Most are more familiar with the English measurements (inches); however, 3D printing requires knowledge of the Metric system (centimeters). The standard measurement system for most 3D printers is metric. 1cm=10mm Almost all measurements on 3D printers are made in millimeters. There are 10mm in 1cm. The smallest measurements are made in microns which are units of length equal to 1 millionth of a meter. The symbol for micron is: μm. A human hair is about 17μm to 181μm in diameter. STL files are sliced in very thin layers; some as small as 1μm. Angles & degrees are another important unit of measure. Degrees are used to measure angles. There are 360 in a circle. This semi-circle only has 180. A corner is usually 90 - sometimes called a right angle. Temperature there are two systems for measuring temperature: Celsius ( C) and Fahrenheit ( F). The Celsius scale is used most often with 3D printers. Notice that 120 F is only 50 C. STEAM Engine: build plate up to 110 C, extruder hot end up to 220 C 9

10 3D Digital Design Intro All 3D printers require a digital file to print. STL files can be downloaded or created using computer applications. Below is a list of free applications that can be used to find and or/design your own 3D printable STL files. These are suggestions based on feedback provided by educators partnering with 1 st Maker Space. Tutorials for each of the listed applications can be found online. Free downloads to install: 123D Design Inkscape Sketchup Sculptris Web-based APPS: Download STL files from: 3d.si.edu (Smithsonian X 3D) Repair & handle STL files: Netfabb Basic 10

11 Important Considerations (Part=3D Model) 3D Digital Design Continued Size of part: The build plate of the STEAM Engine 3D printer is a 200mm x 200mm (about 8x8 inches); however, it is not recommended that the parts being printed extend beyond the center (6x6 inches) 36 square inches or be taller than 5 inches. When designing the model, consider size. Remember that most design applications & 3D printers use the metric system. When the part is loaded into Repetier, evaluate to make sure it is not too large to print on the STEAM Engine. If it is too large, us the SCALE tool in Repetier to reduce size. Position of part: How the 3D model is positioned on the build plate significantly affects the quality of the print. To improve efficiency and quality of print, the model should be positioned on the build plate with the least number of overhangs. As you design a model, consider ways to position the model on the work surface to minimize overhangs. There is a ROTATION tool in Repetier that will help to position the part. Overhang of part: If the 3D model being printed has overhangs greater than 45 that cannot be eliminated by rotating the part, SUPPORT STRUCTURES must be added in Repetier. Note that the support material must be removed from the print this may damage the quality of the model. Not everything can be printed on a desktop model 3D printer. Density of part: 3D printing in slow! Before slicing & printing, consider INFILL %. The less infill, the faster it will print. You can change the infill setting in Repetier. Most models can be printed with only 20% infill. If the model needs to be more durable, infill should be increased. Lessening the infill also saves material (filament). Time saver: Print more than one part at a time. In Repetier, more than one part can be loaded and positioned to print on the build plate within the 6x6 inch center area. Too large Scale Down 11

12 Start a Print Job (using Repetier for Windows PC) If it does not connect, go to printer settings to refresh & select the correct port. When it does connect, the red connect button will turn green & say disconnect. Turn on FAN click button & red line will vanish Turn on Heaters Build Plate 110 C Extruder 220 C (once the beams reach diamonds print can be started step #6) Click on the SLICER Click the LOAD button, browse & open STL file to be printed Click Start Print - Make sure the Build Plate & extruder have reached the appropriate temperatures Before Slicing check to make sure support & infill settings are 12

13 Object Manipulation Scale Object - to increase or decrease size After loading object, click SCALE button in the Object Placement Tab. Enter the scale multiple for X. Y & Z will automatically adjust. Decrease:.5=50% Increase: 1.5=150% If you do not need to make any other changes to the object, Slice to prepare to print! NOTE: If object is sliced before changing settings, the changes will not print! After Loading object, click the ROTATE button in the Object Placement Tab. Decrease:.5 = 50% Increase: 1.5 = 150% Enter the rotation degree for X axis. Y & Z will automatically adjust Ex: To turn object over enter 180. Note: rotating this object eliminates need for support structures! Rotate Object to move around an axis If you do not need to make any other changes to the object, Slice to prepare to print! NOTE: If object is sliced before changing settings, the changes will not print! 13

14 Object Manipulation Continued Support Structures for objects with overhangs Click the configuration button in the slicer box. Click support material in print settings and check generate support material A different pattern for the support structure may be chosen: Infill to change object density Click the configuration button in the slicer box. Click infill in print settings and change infill percentage as needed. Less infill = quicker print. More infill = more durability. Pattern can be changed for infill. 14

15 Repairing STL Files Netfabb Basic To open, view, handle, or repair an STL file on your computer, an application such as Netfabb Basic is necessary. Although it is not necessary to have Netfabb Basic to create or print an STL file, it is very helpful and highly recommended. If you have Netfabb Basic installed, STL files will appear in folders with the netfabb logo. When you click on the file, it should automatically open in Netfabb Basic. Open STL: Click on the STL to open it in Netfabb Repair: Click the red plus sign to repair the STL file. Click automatic repair & execute Next, click apply repair & remove old part. (model should then turn green) Finally, right click model & select export part, as STL & save to your USB drive to 3D print! 15

16 Workshop Application Activity 1. Create an original design in TinkerCAD & save. Follow these guidelines: a. Fit in a 3in cube b. Overhangs < 45 - does not require support structures to print c. Infill < 40% or shelled out d. Flat surface on one side e. Save to USB drive as: Your Last Name 2. Repair design STL file in Netfabb Basic 3. Print the design STL fil on the STEAM Engine 3D printer. a. Connect printer b. Turn on fan, build plate, extruder c. Load file d. Determine need to scale, rotate, add support or adjust infill e. Slice f. Start print 16