Adjusting ratios

[Katieb 0]

Hey guys,

I make cookie cutters and design them a certain size however I offer them in generally 4 different sizes (3". 3.5", 4" and 4.5").

The problem im having is when I scale the original size up or down, I occasionally find holes in my top edge and my bottom edge shrinks or expands.

Is there a way to basically change the ratio as for as scaling (the height always remains the same).

Ive attached pics as an example.

The cross was printed to the scale I created it however the tomato was printed scaled down by about 1" (the height was adjusted after scaling).

You can see the rim of the tomato is much narrower at about 4mm and the cross is 6mm which leaves my end product less sturdy.

Any suggestions would be hugely appreciated. I use Cura Lulzbot Edition to scale and print.

Cheers

[SandervG 946]

Hi Katieb,

Thank you for your post.

I am not entirely sure I understand what you mean. Do you want to be able to scale it up and down, but thave the 'wall / brim' remain the same in size?

That is certainly doable, but just not in Cura. You would have to do this in your CAD modeling software.

[gr5 897]

What sander said. Also you can uncheck the "lock" symbol when scaling and only scale up one or two axes instead of all 3 but I dont' think that will help you. I think you need to scale the cad model.

[Katieb 0]

Hi Katieb,

Thank you for your post.

I am not entirely sure I understand what you mean. Do you want to be able to scale it up and down, but thave the 'wall / brim' remain the same in size?

That is certainly doable, but just not in Cura. You would have to do this in your CAD modeling software.

 

Sorry - Im not sure how to explain myself.

Yes, I would like to be able to scale the overall width and height of a design without it effecting the wall thickness and brim (the bottom of the cutter).

I use DesignSpark - is it at all possible to do it in that program?

[Katieb 0]

What sander said.  Also you can uncheck the "lock" symbol when scaling and only scale up one or two axes instead of all 3 but I dont' think that will help you.  I think you need to scale the cad model.

 

So, I would need to adjust my initial model (lets say its a 3") for the 3.5", 4" and 4.5"? Eugh, that sounds like a lot of work - considering I have hundreds of designs :/

[IRobertI 428]

Well, it's the only way to do it really. What you're asking of cura is like putting a shirt in the washer on high heat and ask it to only shrink the left sleeve.

[Katieb 0]

Well, it's the only way to do it really. What you're asking of cura is like putting a shirt in the washer on high heat and ask it to only shrink the left sleeve.

 

Interesting way of putting it.

Ive worked out that I cant do it in Cura - its just that in design spark, you cant edit the files so I would basically have to re draw them 4 times.

[Kevparang 10]

You can do it in Tinkercad I think, I just do not really get what you mean.

[gr5 897]

Cura can take image files such as a png file (don't recommend jpg as the compression adds lots of noize) and turn that black and white image into a height map such that black lines are tall. This is one way to make cookie cutters. You can switch on brim as well. But it won't let you add supports like you did for that tomato. But I supposed you could do that by adding a gray line to your drawing - then the gray line will be printed at a shorter height (shorter wall).