Difference between revisions of "3D Modeling"

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This page is about creating models for 3D-printing. It's mostly geared towards Sudoers using our [[Type_A_Machine|Type-A Machine]] 3D printer.
This page is about creating models for 3D-printing. It's mostly geared towards Sudoers using our [[Type_A_Machine|Type-A Machine]] 3D printer, but models can be made by anyone anywhere, just like word documents don't have to be made on a machine attached to a 2D printer.


= OpenSCAD =
== STL Files ==


The awesomest way to create models is to write code in the OpenSCAD language, which is deterministic and flexible and very friendly to version control, but more Sudoers need to learn it.
STL files are wireframe/polygonal representations of a 3D model. There's a number of ways to create them:
 
* [http://www.openscad.org/ OpenSCAD] lets you create models by writing code to generate them deterministically. This is the recommended way, but more Sudoers need to learn it!
= STL Files =
* [http://openjscad.org/ OpenJSCAD] lets you code 3D models interactively in a browser!
 
Typically we've been creating STL files, which are wireframe/polygonal representations of a model. You can create STL files on any machine. Some popular programs are:
* [http://tinkercad.com Tinkercad] (in Google Chrome)
* [http://tinkercad.com Tinkercad] (in Google Chrome)
* Google sketchup (which can now [http://sketchuptips.blogspot.com/2010/03/sketchup-stl-importer-redo.html import STL files]
* Google sketchup (which can now [http://sketchuptips.blogspot.com/2010/03/sketchup-stl-importer-redo.html import STL files]
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* On sudoroom's [https://github.com/sudoroom github] ([https://github.com/sudoroom/sudo-magnets magnets], [https://github.com/sudoroom/sudo-blocks blocks], etc)
* On sudoroom's [https://github.com/sudoroom github] ([https://github.com/sudoroom/sudo-magnets magnets], [https://github.com/sudoroom/sudo-blocks blocks], etc)


= Slicing =
== Slicing ==
 
3D Printers don't understand OpenSCAD or STL. They understand an extension of gcode, which is a decades-old language which sends direct instructions such as "heat to 100 degrees, move here, do this, move there, do that, cool down". In order to print a model you have to turn it into a series of 2D layers or "slices", using a program called a "slicer". Slicers output gcode. They need to be configured for a particular printer, with settings such as melting tempurature, bed size, fill style, overhang compensation, etc. Examples of slicing software:
* Slic3r
* KISSlicer
* Skeinforge


3D Printers don't understand OpenSCAD or STL. They understand an extension of gcode, which is a decades-old language which sends direct instructions such as "heat to 100 degrees, move here, do this, move there, do that, cool down". In order to print a model you have to turn it into a series of 2D layers or "slices", using a program called a "slicer". Slicers output gcode. They need to be configured for a particular printer, with settings such as melting tempurature, bed size, fill style, overhang compensation, etc. Slicing for the Type-A Machine should be documented at [[Type_A_Machine|its page]].
Slicing for a particular machine such as our [[Type_A_Machine|Type-A]] should be documented at its own page.


[[Category:3DPrinting]]
[[Category:3DPrinting]]

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