3D-Print Experience in Haarlem, LAN-Party, easy software?

[boraxflux 0]

3D-Print Experience in Haarlem

 

Doodle 3D-fish from 3D-Print Experience

 

Last sunday I went to the 3D-Print Experience in Haarlem, an intimate event. It’s target audience: hobbyists, kids, starting enthousiasts, educational people and artists.

 

An interesting and ambitious printer is the Zmorph, a company busy with developing a multifunctional tool which can 3Dprint several materials and carve and engrave metals too. The latter two still in development phase. It’s concept: change the printing heads for the various applications.

 

A 3D-Chef was also present, he showed examples of objects printed in sugar. I’d like to have seen the actual machine as well though, that would have been a tasty sight.

 

Some printers capable of printing objects with a great height, Like the Delta 3D printer, a company which claims great presicion with their kind of technology. They are working on a "production printer”, a stand-alone printer with an usb-slot.

 

At Scanlounge you could get a 3D-picture of yourself, the visitor could step into a chamber with dozens of Canon-camera’s if I recollect it correctly. I’ve asked for the original stl-file to get our Ultimaker2 gnawing on that one...

The picture will arrive in three weeks.

 

Océ showed off their 2.5D printing a technology to create relief, with a reproduction of a Rembrandt as main attraction.

If you are an illustrator adept you can join their 2point5D Design Challenge [in Dutch]. Prize: your design printed in 2.5D

 

Ultimaker was there as well with a wall made of a few dozen printing Ultimakers. Had the pleasure to speak with one of Ultimakers employees and asked him about the release-date for the dual-extrusion for the Ultimaker2, he expected it to be a couple of months, no definite date.

To be honest: I can’t wait to print with two filaments in the same time, especially with a soluble filament to be able to remove support-structures in more delicate or unaccessable prints and hungry for news about other Ultimaker developments.

 

Lot more to see and experience. In short: left a lot hungrier than i came in

 

Ultimaker @ LANParty

 

The set-up

 

Every year a bunch of friends dive into a LANparty, we’ve seen a few developments on the small event, the introduction of the LCD-monitor, the first beamers and now the 3D printer as well. Last year we hired an Ultimaker1 from a collegue, this year we got our own and brought the Ultimaker2 to the table, it hardly stopped printing, a few Ultimaker robots for the LANparty-youth, a very small scale toy-PPSh gun, and structures from Minecraft.

 

Approval from LAN-scene

 

Following the above experience, I am looking now for ways/ software that makes it easy for people with very little experience to design something and print it. Doodle 3D is nice. But are there other options? Easy to use software to create stl files? I’ve been looking into TinkerCAD for example, but that requires a (stable) internetconnection and can’t handle files bigger than 20 mb I believe.

 

Nightly visit, Ultimaker2 printing tirelessly

 

[jonnybischof 60]

...

Following the above experience, I am looking now for ways/ software that makes it easy for people with very little experience to design something and print it. Doodle 3D is nice. But are there other options? Easy to use software to create stl files? I’ve been looking into TinkerCAD for example, but that requires a (stable) internetconnection and can’t handle files bigger than 20 mb I believe.

...

 

Imho the easiest 3D design software to learn and master is Google Sketchup. It takes no knowledge at all to get into it, it's about as difficult as MS Paint.

Sketchup 8 can export to ".dae (collada)" which you can load into Cura. There is also a plugin that can export STL files or DXF (polylines, for 2D or 2.5D machining, like lasercutting or CNC).

Best of all, Sketchup is free

I recommend Version 8, the newer ones are not really freeware.

 

[boraxflux 0]

Thanks! Just downloaded it and checking it out...

 

[ultiarjan 1,223]

Not shure what.s the target age. Learned my 13 yr old daughter "design spark mechanical" (also free) yesterday. she could work with it fast. Just a question here and there....

[boraxflux 0]

Something in the range of 8 years to 16... although there might be some more veteran LAN-members (up to 40 +) having a go at it.

I've seen interesting examples, going to try that one as well, thank you!

 

[jonnybischof 60]

One important question you should ask yourself is:

Do you want a 3D drawing software, or a CAD software?

Sketchup is cool, but it's not a CAD software. It's a 3D drawing program with which you can "construct" stuff with 0.1mm accuracy. But it's not an actual CAD program like Solidworks, Creo and the likes...

Nevertheless, I think Sketchup can be a good "introduction" into mechanical engineering. And of course there are other suitable programs as well

 

[Daid 306]

Not shure what.s the target age. Learned my 13 yr old daughter "design spark mechanical" (also free) yesterday. she could work with it fast. Just a question here and there....

 

I recommend this above Sketchup. It's a lot more powerful, and at the same time, a lot less can go wrong.

(Also note, my signature on printer! As well as the founders signatures)

 

[boraxflux 0]

 

 

One important question you should ask yourself is:

Do you want a 3D drawing software, or a CAD software?

Sketchup is cool, but it's not a CAD software. It's a 3D drawing program with which you can "construct" stuff with 0.1mm accuracy. But it's not an actual CAD program like Solidworks, Creo and the likes...

Nevertheless, I think Sketchup can be a good "introduction" into mechanical engineering. And of course there are other suitable programs as well

 

 

The only humble experience I have would be mainly Blender... and some tinkering here and there in a past education.

With 3D printing in mind, what would be the pro's and cons between those two in your opinion, CAD and a 3D drawing program?

The easy pull-and-push action in Google Sketchup is great, and I 'm just beginning to appreciate the possibilities of Design Spark Mechanical. Luckily some basics look similar between different 3D programs.

 

I recommend this above Sketchup. It's a lot more powerful, and at the same time, a lot less can go wrong.

 

Design Spark Mechanical seems to be a collaboration with SpaceClaim, which is kind of cool, on an introduction-event for the metallurgic industry SpaceClaim showed off there user-friendly interface...looked impressive (as was their price tag for just home-use, they did offer a free trial).

 

(Also note, my signature on printer! As well as the founders signatures)

 

...we are so not going to clean that side

 

[jonnybischof 60]

Guess I'll have a look at DesignSpark myself

The beauty about 3D printing is, you can print "3D drawings" as well as "3D constructions", as long as you have an intact mesh without holes.

If you want to make artwork like sculptures, jewelry or toys, then a 3D drawing program would be your better choice.

For accurate mechanical parts, maybe even with parametric customization abilities, a CAD software will be the easier way to reach your goal.

3D drawing software usually has features like smoothing, polygon morphing and stuff like that, while CAD software rather has features that are important for part constructions, making mechanical drawings from your parts, simulating part strength or other physical properties and so on.

Note that I don't have much experience with either 3D drawing nor construction software. Of course there's much more to that, but imho these are the main differences.

You can make 3D constructions with 3D drawing software, and you can make sculptures with a CAD software. Depending on the toolsets you have available, it's just going to take you longer than necessary to reach your goal.

Talking about toolsets:

Sketchup doesn't have many. That's why it's so simple to learn. It's also why you will reach the limits of Sketchup sooner or later and need something better.

But I believe it's a good point to get started and printing in a very short time.

 

[ultiarjan 1,223]

Something in the range of 8 years to 16... although there might be some more veteran LAN-members (up to 40 +) having a go at it.

I've seen interesting examples, going to try that one as well, thank you!

 

and there's the powerfull feature to use STEP files in DSM;

http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/2772-spaceclaim/?p=53816