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

Printing out our laptop stand

We will require two frames, four rods, four M10 nylon cap nuts, and 4 M3 10 mm bolts to build our laptop stand. We will 3D print the frames and rods. The rods will be held together with the M3 10 mm bolts.

Slicing and printing the frame

We will start by printing the left side of the frame. We will then mirror the frame in Cura and print it again. Let's begin:

  1. Open up Cura and select Generic PLA, 0.4mm Nozzle:

Figure 8.22 – Generic PLA template

  1. If prompted with Discard or Keep changes, click on the Discard changes button.
  2. Under Print Settings | Build Plate Adhesion, set Build Plate Adhesion Type to None.
  3. Click on File | Open File(s)... and select the frame_left.stl file created in the Designing the frame in Inkscape and OpenSCAD section.
  4. Using the Rotate and Move tools, position the frame so that it fits onto the bed. The frame will need to be flipped over so that the countersinks...