Book Image

Simplifying 3D Printing with OpenSCAD

By : Colin Dow
5 (1)
Book Image

Simplifying 3D Printing with OpenSCAD

5 (1)
By: Colin Dow

Overview of this book

Want to bring your 3D designs to life with OpenSCAD, but don’t know where to start? Simplifying 3D Printing with OpenSCAD will teach you the key skills so that you can focus on your ideas, not troubleshooting your 3D printer. With the help of this book, you’ll build a solid foundation in 3D printing technology, the software used for designing your objects, and an analysis of the G-code produced by the 3D printer slicer software. You’ll also get to know your 3D printer and find out how to set up a printing job effortlessly — from configuring the parameters to build well-defined designs. Consider yourself a practical learner? Use real-world examples such as designing and printing a 3D name badge, model rocket, and laptop stand, to dive into the world of 3D printers build your skillset. By the end of this 3D printing book, you'll be ready to start designing and printing your own 3D printed products using OpenSCAD and being your ideas into reality.
Table of Contents (16 chapters)
1
Part 1: Exploring 3D Printing
5
Part 2: Learning OpenSCAD
9
Part 3: Projects
13
Part 4: The Future

Slicing our object

We will slice the #3DBenchy model using Cura. In the process, we will get to know some of the more common settings in Cura. If you haven't already done so, refer to the Finding objects to print section of this chapter, and the Common FDM slicer programs section of Chapter 2, What Are Slicer Programs? to download the #3DBenchy and install Cura, respectively.

With Cura installed, let's dive into the settings.

Setting up the profile

To slice an object for our printer, Cura needs to know which 3D printer we are using. We configure this either when first installing Cura or later using the Add Printer button. We will be going through the steps to add a printer to an existing Cura installation. To do this, we proceed as follows:

  1. To access the Add Printer dialog, click on Settings | Printer | Add Printer... from the main menu, which will take you to the following screen:

Figure 3.9 – Setting up a 3D printer in Cura...