Book Image

3D Printing with SketchUp - Second Edition

By : Aaron Dietzen Aka 'the Sketchup Guy'
Book Image

3D Printing with SketchUp - Second Edition

By: Aaron Dietzen Aka 'the Sketchup Guy'

Overview of this book

Working with the amazing 3D printing technology and getting access to the printing hardware is now easier than ever before. While there are many other resources that cover the general process of 3D printing, this book is the ultimate guide to creating models for 3D printing using SketchUp. You’ll start with a basic understanding of how SketchUp is used in the 3D printing workflow and jump into the steps to create a print-ready model using only SketchUp. This 3D printing book will guide you in using SketchUp to modify existing 3D files and cover additional tools that make SketchUp an even more powerful modeling tool. As you advance, you’ll learn how to transform 2D images into 3D printable solids, how to create multi-part prints that can be assembled without the use of fasteners or glue, and how to make sure your model, whether designed from scratch or assembled from preexisting geometry, is ready to be made real via your 3D printer. By the end of this book, you’ll have the confidence to bring your design ideas to life by generating your own 3D print-ready models with SketchUp.
Table of Contents (13 chapters)
1
Part 1: Getting Prepared to Print
6
Part 2: Modeling for 3D Printing

Making solid 3D-printed connections

When you print with a 3D printer, regardless of the material you are using, there will be swelling and shrinking. When printing, the material moves around during the printing process, and everything expands and contracts as materials cool or cure. While it would be great to think that a 1” 3D-printed peg will fit perfectly into a 1” 3D-printed hole, that is rarely how it works out. Generally, you need to allow for some additional space between printed parts to account for material expansion during printing.

I have heard multiple reports from multiple parties on the best gap to include in mechanically connected parts when printed but I’ve found that the best way to find out what kind of gap to use is best determined by testing your own printer. To that end, let’s make this quick test model:

Figure 6.19 – 3D-printed connection test

Figure 6.19 – 3D-printed connection test

With this simple test, you can quickly test what amount...