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

Putting the skin on the bones


This stick figure will be the bones of the figure. Blender has a very cool modifier that will thicken any stick mesh into a full bodied mesh. It is called, appropriately enough, Skin.

  • Add the Skin modifier to the mesh

It might not be immediately apparent, but now every stick has a 3-dimensional shape wrapped around it. To make the effect more apparent, use the Skin Resize (Ctrl + A) operator. This will be a temporary step to see the effect first:

  1. Select all points (A).

  2. Move the mouse pointer to a point closer to the center of the skeleton.

  3. Press Ctrl + A to begin the Skin Resize operation.

  4. Move the mouse pointer away from the skeleton until the mesh thickens up.

  5. Left-click to complete the operation.

The skin resize operator can alter each point independently so the shape does not have to be uniform.

  1. Undo (Ctrl + Z) the previous operation back to a thin sticks all around.

  2. Select (right-click) the vertex where the legs meet and Skin Resize (Ctrl + A) to make a nice big...