3D Printing
To request for 3D printing of your models, please contact Sean Olson, the director of the Innovation Hive.
Our 3D printers are housed in the Academic Innovation Lab in Gleeson Library (GL236). We have two Prusa machines and a collection of colorful filaments for your print experiment.
3D printing tools provide a personal factory for individuals to easily scan, design, and produce detailed custom 3D objects. Materials of different finish, strength, flexibility can be extruded from the G2 Extruder onto a moving platform to create different 3D objects. This technology of printing physical 3D objects from digital data is called Additive Manufacture. The rotation of the platform, the design of the object, and the type of material can be controlled via Cura Type A, our print preparation software. The application converts .stl files into gcode for printing.
Awesome Students Projects
Before you even begin exploring, take a look at these amazing projects that faculty and students have created for class projects or for simply.. experimenting.
How-to-References
Quick Start Guide: Steps at a Glance
Resources
Where to Get Models?
Thingiverse.com: MakerBot's Thingiverse is the world's largest 3D printing community for discovering, making, and sharing 3D printable things.
TinkerCAD: Web-based modeling software aimed at beginners and young designers. A free version is available.
Smithsonian X3D: Smithsonian has digitized a set of iconic collection objects into 3D data, which can be downloaded for 3D printing.
Learn Modeling Software:
TinkerCAD: Web-based modeling software aimed at beginners and young designers. A free version is available.
Autodesk Fusion 360: One year license is included with every Series 1 or Series 1 Pro.
SketchUp: Direct modeling software commonly used in architectural work.
Blender.org: Free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation.
OnShape: Web-based fully parametric modeling software. The free version allows up to ten private documents.
3D Printing - What is it and how can we use it as a teaching tool? Cincinnati Incorporated Webinar
understand the basics of this technology: Introduction to Slicing
News in the 3D World...
3D-Printed Housing Developments in the U.S.
3D Printing First Human Heart
3D Printing Based on Imaging Data
3D Printed Brain
3D for Mourners: China
3D Printed Spinal Implant
UK Hero Arm
Research
Personalized 3D printed model of kidney and tumor anatomy: a useful tool for patient education
So what is your next project?
If you are new to 3D printing, visit the 3Dhubs web site that can give you a thorough overview of what is involved.