3D Modeling With Tinkercad

3D Modeling With Tinkercad

Design Files for 3D Printing

Whether you are making functional parts to repair a broken drawer handle or making toys for your schoolmates, Tinkercad is a great tool to help you learn how to think in 3 dimensions. Tinkercad is free and easy to learn.

While Tinkercad is the simplest form of 3D modeling, by using primitive shapes to create larger structures, it is still a precise and capable form of modeling.

In this class you can expect to learn how to create shapes that you want to print or manufacture. You will also learn how to combine shapes to create new models. Tinkercad allows you to also constrain your shapes to very precise measurements.

Class Date

September 30 from 10a to noon. Join us for a chance to learn how to use this great tool.

Who Might be Interested?

This class is designed for those who want to bring 3D ideas to reality. You don’t even need a 3D printer to enjoy creating 3D designs.

The class is limited to 10 students per session.

Age: 12 and up. Students under 19 years old must be accompanied by an adult (but you only need to pay for the student).

What to Bring

This is a class using computer software. You should plan bring your own computer. Linux, Mac, Windows or Chromebook will work fine. There is no software to install. However, please register for a free account at tinkercad.com before class. We do have computers available for students who do not have one.

It is not obligatory, but you will find that having a mouse with 3 buttons gives much more precise control than relying only on a computer touchpad.

Cost: $25

Register for Class

You may pre-pay for the class to secure your spot by using the Pay Now button below. You do not have to have a PayPal account to use a credit card. Of course, if you have a PayPal account, you may use that.

Completing your payment below is all that is needed to secure your place in the class. Make sure you choose how many people will be attending before clicking the pay button.

Quantity:Name:Price:Next Class Date:
Basic 3D Modeling With Tinkercad25.00 USDSeptember 30, 2023: 10a to Noon
Your eTicket will be emailed after payment to your PayPal email address.

Class: Preparing Files for 3D Printing

While 3D printing is an exciting new technology that has become much cheaper and accessible to the maker market, it still requires a bit of knowledge on how to create and prepare files for printing. This class is focused on the preparation of 3D files. Whether you download files from the internet or create them yourself, you will have to “slice” them before printing.

Designing, slicing and printing are the three steps in getting a file from a digital format to a tangible one. As the name implies, slicing is how you take a 3D model and break it down (slice) into the individual layers that the printer can understand to create the file.

Since each printer needs a different set of parameters and each model can be printed with various settings to get the desired result, slicing can be confusing to someone new to 3D printing. This class will help take some of the confusion out of the process.

Who is the class for?

  • Those who have (or have access to) a 3D printer and have questions as to why some models print well and others don’t.
  • Those who are thinking about getting into 3D printing.
  • Those who would like to use the Morristown Makers printer to create models.
  • Anyone curious about the process of 3D printing but not sure you understand the process.

Any age is welcome to attend. We ask that children 13 and younger have an adult present with them.

What to bring

You do not need to bring anything to class. However, if you want help setting up your slicing software on your computer, bring it along and we can make sure it is working properly for you.

We will be using Cura for this class, but if you are using a different slicer and have questions, we would be happy to help you figure out how to make yours do what you need.

Cost: $20

Quantity:Name:Price:Next Class Date:
Preparing Files for 3D Printing20.00 USDMay 14, 2022: 10a to 12p
Your eTicket will be emailed after payment to your PayPal email address.

3D Printer Class: March 6

While 3D printing is an exciting new technology that has become much cheaper and accessible to the maker market, it still requires a bit of knowledge on how to create and prepare files for printing. This class is focused on the preparation of 3D files for the printing process. We will also cover how to start a print on a typical consumer-level 3D printer.

Slicing

The first part of the class will be focused on “slicing” the files. Whether you download files from the internet or create them yourself, you will have to slice them before printing. You will learn to use software called Cura to cut the files into each of the layers required for printing.

Since each printer needs a different set of parameters and each model can be printed with various settings to get the desired result, slicing can be confusing to someone new to 3D printing. This class will help take some of the confusion out of the process and help you learn how to prepare files for the printer at the shop.

Preparing the Printer

After we learn some of the important settings for slicing a file for printing, we will actually set up a print and get it started on the printer at the shop. While we are going over the settings for our printer, we will also try to cover enough general cases so that you can apply the information to other printers you have available to you.

Who is the class for?

  • Those who have (or have access to) a 3D printer and have questions as to why some models print well and others don’t.
  • Those who are thinking about getting into 3D printing.
  • Those who would like to use the Morristown Makers printer to create models.
  • Anyone curious about the process of 3D printing but not sure you understand the process.

Any age is welcome to attend. We ask that young people, ages 18 and younger, have an adult present with them.

What to bring

You do not need to bring anything to class. However, if you want help setting up your slicing software on your computer, bring it along and we can make sure it is working properly for you. You might want to download Cura before you come to class.

We will be using Cura for this class, but if you are using a different slicer and have questions, we would be happy to help you figure out how to make yours do what you need.

Cost: $20

Quantity:Name:Price:Next Class Date:
Preparing Files for 3D Printing20.00 USDMay 14, 2022: 10a to 12p
Your eTicket will be emailed after payment to your PayPal email address.

Morristown Makers’ 3D Printer Settings

These are settings (or ranges) that work well with the Morristown Makers 3D printer. You are welcome to deviate from these settings for testing, but it is recommended that you change one parameter at a time so that you know the effect each change has.

Printer-Level Settings

These are the sections and settings inside Cura 4.1. You should only need to set this up one time in your slicer and then never have to change the settings for this printer in the future.

Printer Tab

Printer Settings

  • X, Y, Z: 205, 205, 180
  • Build plate shape: Rectangular
  • Heated bed: Yes
  • G-code flavor: Marlin

Printhead Settings

  • X min: 20 mm
  • Y min: 10 mm
  • X max: 10 mm
  • Y max: 10 mm
  • Gantry height: 55 mm

Start and End G-code Settings

These are the settings that were in use when the printer was donated to Morristown Makers. You can change the start and end G-code as needed. Or, you can use a generic start and end code.

Start G-code:

;*** Start Dual Nozzle/Bed Preheating ***
M140 S{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ; start preheating the bed
M104 S{material_print_temperature_layer_0} T0 ; start preheating hotend
G28 ; home
M190 S{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ; heat to Cura Bed setting
M109 S{material_print_temperature_layer_0} T0 ; heat to Cura Hotend
;*** End Preheating ***
G92 E0 ;Reset Extruder
G1 Y3.0 F500.0 ;Move out of print volume
G1 X60.0 E9 F500.0 ;start purge line
G1 X100.0 E8.5 F500.0
G1 Z15.0 F6000 ;Move the platform down 15mm
G92 E0 ;Reset Extruder
G1 F200 E3
G92 E0 ;Reset Extruder

End G-code:

M104 S0 ;extruder heater off
M140 S0 ;heated bed heater off (if you have it)
G91 ;relative positioning
G1 E-1 F300 ;retract the filament a bit before lifting the nozzle, to release some of the pressure
G1 Z+0.5 E-5 X-20 Y-20 F4800 ;move Z up a bit and retract filament even more
G28 X0 Y150 ;move X to min and Y to max endstops, so the head is out of the way
G92 E0
M84 ;steppers off
G90 ;absolute positioning

Extruder Tab

Nozzle Settings

  • Nozzle size: 0.4 mm
  • Compatible material diameter: 1.75 mm
  • Nozzle offset X: 0 mm
  • Nozzle offset Y: 0 mm
  • Cooling Fan Number: 0

Per Model Settings

The per-model settings can be downloaded and imported into Cura as a profile. This was exported from Cura 4.1, but you should be able to import it into the current Cura version. Unzip the the archive and import the .curaprofile into Cura.

Layer Height

0.1 to 0.2

0.16 seems to be a good compromise between speed and quality.

Initial Layer Height

0.16: This should always be 0.16 regardless of the layer height you set for all the other layers.

Line Width

0.4: This is the nozzle diameter. You can adjust this up and down a little, but generally it should not be changed. This is typically always set to your nozzle diameter.

Shell Thickness

Wall Thickness

0.8: This means 2 outside perimeters. You can increase this in 0.4 mm increments (i.e., 0.4, 0.8, 1.2, 1.6, etc.).

Top and Bottom Thickness

0.8: This is determined by how many solid layers you want on top and bottom multiplied by your layer thickness. If you are printing 0.16 layers and want 5 solid top and bottom layers, you will have a 0.8 mm thickness.

Retraction

Yes: Enable retraction almost always. Flexible filaments print better without retraction.

6 mm

Infill Density

25%: This can go up or down depending on your needs. But 25% is a good mix between strength and speed.

Temperature

Printing Temperature (Hotend)

205° C: This is material specific. Different filaments (even regular PLA from the same manufacturer) will need different temperatures. Generally, all the PLA used on this machine prints well in the 205° range. Adjust as necessary.

Build Plate Temperature (Heated bed)

50° C: Technically PLA does not need a heated bed. However, having some heat on the bed seems to help with adhesion.

Print Speed

30-60 mm/s: There is a marked quality difference between 30 and 60 mm/s (slower is better). However, you can expect that it will take approximately twice as long to complete a print at 30 mm/s as it does 60 mm/s.

Recommended 50 mm/s: This printer can print accurately up to 70 mm/s but quality suffers. 

Cooling

Enable Print Cooling

Yes

Fan Speed

80%: Faster than this and the hotend struggles to stay up to speed. And, at 80% it cools sufficiently.

Supports

Depending on your needs

Build Plate Adhesion

Depending on needs, but a skirt of at least 1 perimeter is recommended to help prime the printer.

3D Printing Class: Preparing the Machine

3D Printing Class: Preparing the Machine

This is the third class in our three-class series on 3D printing. While it is helpful to have attended the slicing class, it is not necessary.

What You Will Learn

This class is focused on the machine setup side of 3D printing. You will learn:

  • How to level the bed
  • How to prepare the print surface (glue, tape, slurry, hairspray, etc)
  • How to load or change filament
  • How to load a file for printing
  • Troubleshooting through each of the steps

Who Should Attend

3D printer at Morristown Makers

Certainly if you have taken the design and slicing classes previously, you will want to learn this final step in the printing process. However, you can come to this class and learn this critical part of the process without having attended the previous classes.

While we will use the Morristown Makers’ printer for this class, almost all of these steps will be similar on any other filament-based 3D printer. If you have access to another machine that you are wanting to learn how to use, this class will be a great benefit to you.

Note: We will not be talking about resin-based printing or laser-sintering machines.

What To Bring

There is nothing required for this class other than a willingness to learn how 3D printing works. You won’t even need hearing protection or safety glasses for this activity.

Cost: $20

Quantity:Name:Price:Next Class Date::
Preparing the 3D Printer20.00 USDNovember 8: 7-9p
Your eTicket will be emailed after payment to your PayPal email address.