1.1 The process of 3D design and printing

The process of designing and printing an object includes many possible stages.

1.

Identify and define the objective: Identify a need, define a problem, and generate and develop ideas for a solution. A personal goal, or group project, or engineering task may give rise to an objective. Or a curriculum such as STEAMtrax or Maker’s Empire may present a student or group of students with a task; see Chapter 13. Note that STEAMtrax materials include a breakdown of the engineering design process that goes into additional detail, in particular further breaking down the “define” and “develop” stages. Note also that educationally, promoting the practices of science and engineering – promoting the cognitive, social, and physical practices of scientific inquiry and modeling, and engineering design and construction – is a key component of the NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards).

2.

Select an idea for something to build: Step 1 may have generated several potential solution ideas; choose an object or part to try creating.

3.

Design 3D model: Generate a 3D model of the object using available CAD (Computer Aided Design) software such as OpenSCAD, BlocksCAD, or Tinkercad; (see Chapter 6 for CAD software accessible directly from the Polar Cloud, or Chapter 6.5 for additional CAD software options); use the CAD software to generate an industry-standard .stl file (recommended for 3D printing purposes) or OBJ file (commonly used in 3D design, art, and graphics areas). Or find, shared in the Polar Cloud, an already created .stl or OBJ file.

4.

Print: Load the generated .stl file(s) or OBJ files onto a 3D printer for printing. See Chapter 10 for details of using the Polar Cloud to submit a print job. (Or when you don’t have network access to the Internet, see Appendix C of the Polar3D Printer Guide.)

5.

Solve any printing problems: See Chapter 14 and Chapter 15.

6.

Test: Try using the object; test and evaluate it.

7.

Refine: As needed, revise, improve, or refine the design; then return to step 3 to generate an updated 3D model.

8.

Present/communicate/share: Report back to your group or teacher, as appropriate. If you wish, you may share your model, photos of your object, and any comments in the Polar Cloud; see Section 5.6 on sharing objects. Group discussions, see Section 7.8, provide another means of communication (which may also be helpful at steps 5, 6, and 7).

9.

Extend and apply: Return to step 1 if your objective is a large enough task to require several components for its solution. Or, during the process above, you may have come up with additional ideas you would like to further explore!