Practical 3D Printers Brian Evans Practical 3D Printers Copyright © 2012 by Brian Evans All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher. ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-43024392-2 ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4302-4393-9 Trademarked names, logos, and images may appear in this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, logo, or image we use the names, logos, and images only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. President and Publisher: Paul Manning Lead Editor: Michelle Lowman Technical Reviewers: Tony Buser Editorial Board: Steve Anglin, Ewan Buckingham, Gary Cornell, Louise Corrigan, Morgan Ertel, Jonathan Gennick, Jonathan Hassell, Robert Hutchinson, Michelle Lowman, James Markham, Matthew Moodie, Jeff Olson, Jeffrey Pepper, Douglas Pundick, Ben Renow-Clarke, Dominic Shakeshaft, Gwenan Spearing, Matt Wade, Tom Welsh Coordinating Editor: Brigid Duffy Copy Editor: Kimberly Burton Compositor: SPi Global Indexer: SPi Global Artist: SPi Global Cover Designer: Anna Ishchenko Distributed to the book trade worldwide by Springer Science+Business Media New York, 233 Spring Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10013. 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For detailed information about how to locate your book’s source code, go to www.apress.com/source-code. For my father, who opened his garage and taught me how to tinker at a very early age Contents at a Glance About the Author About the Technical Reviewer Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: A World of 3D Printers Chapter 2: 3D Printer Toolchain Chapter 3: Calibrating Your Printer Chapter 4: 3D Models from the Cloud Chapter 5: 3D Haiku Chapter 6: Steampunk Warship Chapter 7: Action Hero Mashups Chapter 8: Mini Sumo Robot Chapter 9: Bonus Round: More Projects Chapter 10: Bonus Round: Upgrades Appendix A: Printing Tips Appendix B: Resources Index Contents About the Author About the Technical Reviewer Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: A World of 3D Printers Tea. Earl Grey. Hot How a 3D Printer Works Cartesian Robot Thermoplastic Extruder Printbed Linear Motion Endstops Frame A Survey of 3D Printers RepRaps Box Bots RepStraps Upstarts Choosing the Right 3D Printer 3D Printer Summary Print Volume Comparison Buying a Kit or Building Your Own Choosing the Right Material Filament Materials Filament Diameter Buying Filament Basic Tools and Supplies Hand Tools Electronics Toolkit Printing Supplies Summary Chapter 2: 3D Printer Toolchain From a 3D Model to a 3D Object 3D Models Slicing and Toolpath Printer Control So, What’s a Toolchain? Electronics RepRap Arduino Mega Pololu Shield Sanguinololu Printrboard Firmware Sprinter Marlin SJFW MakerBot Slicers Skeinforge SFACT Slic3r Printer Control ReplicatorG Pronterface RepSnapper Repetier-Host netfabb Engine Summary Chapter 3: Calibrating Your Printer The First Steps Talking to the Machine Making Things Move Going Home Heating Things Up Printing Overview Downloading a Model Slice the Model Print the Model Print Settings Printer and Filament Print Speed Print the Bunny Calibration Prints Starting on the Right Foot Circle, Circle, Circle Pyramid of Power Firmware Settings Initial Settings Calibrating Axis Movement Mechanical Settings Uploading Firmware Summary Chapter 4: 3D Models from the Cloud Places to Find and Share 3D Models Thingiverse Google 3D Warehouse Introducing Web-based Solid Modeling 3DTin Tinkercad Project: Alien Invaders Drawing with Cubes Extruding Shapes Saving and Exporting an STL for Printing Wrapping It Up Summary Chapter 5: 3D Haiku Making a Vector Image Working with Inkscape Drawing Shapes with Inkscape Inkscape Path Operations Working with Text Designing the 3D Haiku Preparing the Vector Image Preparing the File Extruding a Vector Image Working with OpenSCAD Making Objects in OpenSCAD Add and Subtract Objects Move and Rotate Objects 2D to 3D Making Things Interesting Wrapping It Up Summary Chapter 6: Steampunk Warship Intermediate OpenSCAD Techniques Variables Special Variables Strings Modifiers Modules Designing the Steampunk Warship File Setup Setting Print Area Creating Modules Ship’s Hull Hull Sides Main Deck Midship Sponsons Midship Cabin Designing the Details Smokestacks Vents Main Turrets Finishing Up the Model Make Ready for Printing Wrapping It Up Summary Chapter 7: Action Hero Mashups A Mashup? Basic OpenSCAD Mashups Importing STLs Operations on STLs Putting Together a Simple Mashup Complex OpenSCAD Mashups Starting the Mashup in OpenSCAD Using MeshLab Finishing the Mashup in OpenSCAD Adding Support Mashups in MeshMixer Creating Parts Mixing Meshes Mashup Bonus Round Making a Part in MeshMixer Finishing the Part in OpenSCAD Wrapping It Up Assembling the Minions Summary Chapter 8: Mini Sumo Robot What Is Mini Sumo? Working with SketchUp SketchUp Workspace and Templates Drawing Basic Shapes Drawing Complex Shapes Navigation Designing a Mini Sumo Robot Getting Started Battery Compartment Motor Mounts Front End Wheels and Supports Motor Supports Axle Mounts Battery Clips Cleaning and Detailing Cleaning Up the Model Mounting Points Dozer Blade Wrapping Things Up Make Ready for Printing Putting It Together Adding Electronics Summary Chapter 9: Bonus Round: More Projects Project: Windup Walkers Measuring the Mechanism Designing the Windup Model Gargoyle Walker Gnome Walker Robot Walker Wrapping Things Up Project: Squiggle Vases Drawing Some Lines Extruding the Profile Remeshing in MeshLab Cleaning Up the Vase One Last Thing Wrapping Things Up Summary Chapter 10: Bonus Round: Upgrades Mechanical Upgrades Timing Belts and Pulleys Linear Bearings Leadscrews and Shaft Couplers Electronics Upgrades Mechanical Endstops Heated Printbed Cooling Fan SD Card Even More Upgrades Filament Spool Holder Replacement Extruder Summary Appendix A: Printing Tips Maintenance Lubrication Printbed Surfacing Cleaning Other Maintenance Troubleshooting Print Curling Thin Layers and Layer Splits Poor Infill More Tips ABS Cement Changing Filament Appendix B: Resources Additional Resources Forums and Groups Wikis Blogs to Follow Other Information Sources for 3D Models 3D Modeling Software Selected Suppliers Printer Suppliers Parts and Filament Suppliers Hardware Suppliers Models Used in This Book Cool Things to Print Index About the Author Brian Evans is an artist working in electronic media and Assistant Professor of Art at Metropolitan State University of Denver, where he teaches multidisciplinary courses in art on topics that include electronics and digital fabrication. Many of his classes use open-source hardware—including MakerBot or RepRap 3D printers and the Arduino electronics platform—to create new works in art and design. He is the author of Beginning Arduino Programming (Apress, 2011) and contributed to Arduino Projects to Save the World (Apress, 2011) with Emery Premeaux. His work has been shown at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery at Barnsdall Park, the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, and the University Art Museum at California State University, Long Beach. In 2009, Evans was a resident and contributor to the Grounding Open Source Hardware residency and summit at the Banff New Media Institute in Alberta, Canada, and in 2011 a contributor to the Open Hardware Summit in New York. He received an MFA from California State University, Long Beach in 2008, and a BFA from Arizona State University in 2005. About the Technical Reviewer Tony Buser began his technology career in 1995 by writing HTML code. From there, he moved into web site and intranet application development and now works as a web developer for MakerBot Industries in Brooklyn, NY. Tony loves turning virtual digital information into physical reality, and he believes that the affordable and easy-to-use 3D printing and personal fabrication technology might very well be the most significant new technology since the World Wide Web. He is excited to be a part of its development at such an early stage and can typically be found spending untold hours in his basement workshop in Reading, PA with his four 3D printers: two Makerbots, a RepRap, and a whiteAnt. And he’s always building more. Acknowledgments There are so many people that without whom this book could not exist. If anyone deserves my deepest appreciation the most, it’s my loving wife and best friend, Susan, who was always there for me during the long hours of this project. To my daughter, Kori, I am so grateful for your unconditional love and support. Thanks also to the rest of my family for their continued encouragement. A big thank you to my friends and colleagues at Metro State who provided unwavering enthusiasm for this project and gave me a lot of leeway this last semester. I promise I will be more human now.