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

Slicer programs for liquid resin 3D printers

As we will be working with FDM 3D printers throughout this book, we will be using FDM slicers such as ideaMaker and Cura. However, understanding that there is a whole different suite of slicers for 3D printers other than FDM 3D printers is good knowledge to have when we decide to venture beyond FDM 3D printing in the future.

Liquid resin 3D printing is a technology that has dramatically come down in cost to the point now where an entry-level liquid resin printer costs around $300 USD. So, what is liquid resin printing, and what are the software options available? We will start off by answering the first question.

What is liquid resin printing?

A liquid resin 3D printer is one where a series of images is projected onto a build plate through a clear bottom VAT (tank). This process is visualized in Figure 2.18:

Figure 2.18 – A visual representation of liquid resin printing

As we can see, the constant...