The Lab has a Material Extrusion based 3D printer. Click here to know more about how this technology works.
Here's the link to the manufacturer's page of the exact model that we have. You can check out the specifications for the printer.
a) You have your 3D model which you need to print, you import your model into CURA where it will be prepared for printing. The model needs to be a solid model prepared using 3Ds max, rhino etc. (sketchup won't do - disclaimer!; 3D CAD will work though). Here's a useful resource for pre-pared models if you just want to try your hands at making something and getting started
b) The software needs to be configured for your printer if you want to prepare the files on your own systems. You can always visit the lab to understand the configuration settings, or if there's enough demand the configurations will be made available on this website.
c) Executing the gcode and 3d printing is again the non-trivial aspect of it. However, 3D printing will require trial and error as there are permutations of configurations that the users would have to try. For any advanced queries, you can either contact the vendors directly by getting in touch with the student coordinators, or you can head over to the technicians in the tinkering lab as they have a lot of experience with 3D printing.
b) The software needs to be configured for your printer if you want to prepare the files on your own systems. You can always visit the lab to understand the configuration settings, or if there's enough demand the configurations will be made available on this website.
c) Executing the gcode and 3d printing is again the non-trivial aspect of it. However, 3D printing will require trial and error as there are permutations of configurations that the users would have to try. For any advanced queries, you can either contact the vendors directly by getting in touch with the student coordinators, or you can head over to the technicians in the tinkering lab as they have a lot of experience with 3D printing.
1. Ultimaker Cura - software for turning 3D geometry into machine readable & executable gcode files.
2. A youtube tutorial - getting started guide for beginners for Cura.
2. A youtube tutorial - getting started guide for beginners for Cura.