Embedded or Connected Parts

[HolgerE 0]

I want to connect/ embed parts of other materials in a rapid part.

The parts (porous material) are fixed on the ultimaker build plate.

I want to apply a grid structure to the parts that connects each part at a region of highest z value.

And now my questions: 
How do you recommend programming and calibrating this embedding? 
Normally i use STL from the CAD, but I'm not sure, if this is the best way.
How to define this other geometry for the slicing as an offset and define the reference for the grid?

Or is there a trick to outsmart the cura software for this project?

 

[geert_2 558]

I have never done this myself. But here on the forum I have seen people embedding things in the following way:

- design the model, with a hole where the embedded part has to come later on,

- start the print, and let it print to the top edge of the hole,

- pause printing,

- drop in the embedding, and glue if required,

- continue the print until finished.

 

Obviously, the last printed layer before pausing and embedding, must be a bit higher than the thickness of the embedded thing, so the nozzle doesn't hit that embedded thing.

 

This works well for metal plates, coins, and similar stuff to embed. Not for irregular shapes with undercuts that need a tight fit. You can't embed a statue in this way, obviously. For such irregular parts, I think printing multiple parts and then glueing or bolting them together might be a better option. Or print the outer shell, and a sort of inner clamp for the embedded thing, and fill the rest with an epoxy (low exotherm!) or gypsum.

 

If you only want to print on top of a foreign part on the glass, thus not really embedding (surrounding) the part, a trick for offsetting might be this:

- let the object to print float in the CAD model, at the desired height or offset,

- outside of that object, print a few dummy parts sitting on the glass, thus with offset null.

 

These dummy tiny parts will prevent the real model from being dropped onto the glass, so it will print at the correct height.

 

How to center all, is another question: then you would need to include a few outlines where the thing to embed has to come. After printing this bottom layer, pause, glue the embeddings in the right place, and continue.

 

Maybe something along these lines?