How you can shorten your learning curve in 3D printing.

In the following article we would like share our experience in 3D printing with you, so that you can become familiar with the material more quickly.

Here you will find important suggestions & resources you can work with.

Useful Blogs/Vlogs.

The two most useful Vlogs we have found are the following:

• Maker`s Muse – Angus have a very intuitive understanding of design, materials, 3D configurators, 3D printing etc. His Vlog has many tutorials, reviews and other interesting things. Especially noteworthy are his series like “3D printing 101” or “CAD for Newbies” for beginners.

• Thomas Sanladerer – Thomas has a more technical approach than Angus, which will appeal to you as an engineer. Here you will find many instructions and tips.

All3DP should definitely be mentioned in the blogs. Of particular interest is the “Basics” section, especially the sections on materials and troubleshooting.

Which 3D printer is recommend.

A clear recommendation is not be made here. The Wombot Exilis XL is often used in practice. However, this 3D printer is not recommended for beginners, as it is quite tricky to use and does not run reliably enough. Which 3D printer is best suited for you depends on what you want to do with it. For example, the Wombot Exilis is often too small to print larger objects.

I recommend that you look at some printer evaluations and comparisons and think about what you want to do with them. Here you will find a list of the most important functions you should think about when buying a new device:

• Printer size – it`s big enough to print what I want. (Note: things like build-plate clamps can eat up the build volume, so be sure to add a little more space).
• Reliability – 3D printing sometimes takes hours. It`s very annoying to have to keep an eye on the printer, as well as coming back to a print that failed hours ago.
• Auto Bed Leveling – Auto Bed Leveling is annoying and time consuming.
• Multiple extruders – optional. This extends the possibilities of printing with multiple materials (e. g. dissolving carrier material for the production of complex products).
• Restart – not absolutely necessary, but 3D printing can take hours and hours. It is very annoying to lose an entire print due to a power failure.
• Out of Filament Detection – again not absolutely necessary, but without it you need to make sure your filament roll is long enough for your print.

What CAD/modeling software should I use?

Thats depends. If you`re planning to design functional objects, I recommend using Fusion 360. It`s a full-featured CAD package and comes with very good tutorials. It is also free for students, hobbyists and start-ups.

If you`re more interested in creating figures and organic objects, you`re better off with the kind of 3D modeling software used by feature/film artists. Basically, you want something that`s good for modeling objects, not for precise construction. This is not a recommendation, but you can use any software that can save/export models in STL format.

Which slicer software should I use?

Simplify3D is most frequently used and regularly achieves high satisfaction values. There is also the free open source software Cura, which is supported by companies like Ultimaker. Both software solutions are good and constantly improving.

I think Simplify3D is still a step ahead when it comes to print quality and handling difficult geometries. However, you may want to look for some recent comparative tests before making your selection, as things can change.

What is Slicer Software?

Slicers take your 3D model and generate the command stream (G-code) for the 3D printer to print it. Part of this process is to “cut” the model into layers and then generate the movement of the print head to build the object line by line and layer by layer.

The above information should help you get started. In addition, you will learn the most from using the printer and designing your own objects.

Thank you for reading.