Book Image

3D Printing Blueprints

By : Joe Larson
Book Image

3D Printing Blueprints

By: Joe Larson

Overview of this book

A new industrial age is here. Machines designed to build useful and interesting objects have moved from the factory to the home. Whether you have a 3D printer or not, learning how to design your first 3D models is the best way to become part of the 3D printing movement. 3D Printing Blueprints will teach you, step by step, the tools and techniques of using Blender, a free 3D modelling program, to build 3D models for printing with simple and fun hands-on projects.3D Printing Blueprints uses engaging and fun projects that teach Blender modeling for 3D printing through hands-on lessons. First you'll learn basic modeling and make a small simple object. Then each new project brings with it new tools and techniques as well as teaching the rules of 3D printing design. Eventually you'll be building objects designed to repair or replace everyday objects. Finally you'll be able to even tackle other people's models and fix them to be 3D printable. Through the course of doing the blueprints you will custom build one-of-a-kind objects that you can call your own. Starting from a custom vase formed from a picture, lessons will progress to a multi-part modular robot toy. Then simple machines will be designed with custom gears and functions. Eventually you'll learn how to download models from the Internet and make custom objects. Finally you'll be able to build models with near real life specifications and make a print that can be used for small object repair. 3D Printing Blueprints will teach you everything you need to know about building custom 3D models to print successfully on modern home 3D printers.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
3D Printing Blueprints
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Smoothing the rough edges


Blender provides a number of object modifiers that can be used to quickly alter objects in the scene. In this project only two modifiers, namely Multiresolution and Boolean, will be used. Modifiers can be stacked, turned on and off, and their settings can be changed on the fly. The modifiers are accessed in their own menu in the right-hand side bar.

Begin with an incremental save (Press F2, then Numpad +, and click on Save As Blender File) to set a save point. Then carry out the following steps to create a new modifier:

  1. In the right-hand side bar, click on the icon that looks like a wrench to open up the modifier tab.

  2. Click on the Add Modifier button.

  3. Select from the second column (Generate) the Multiresolution modifier from the menu.

  4. In the Multiresolution options box click on the Subdivide button twice.

Multiresolution smoothes the mesh out by adding more vertices between existing vertices and putting them in a location that rounds the shape. In this case the final...