With this new technology, school projects, artistic pieces, and scaled replicas can now be produced and printed as a 3D model. 3D printing is an up-and-coming industry growing exponentially more useful to designers, hobbyists, architects and artists. Come on in and see some fantastic samples to get a better view of the amazing potential of 3D Printing.

How Does 3D Printing Work?

3D printing uses an additive process to create 3D models. Starting from an STL file, which is like the PDF of the 3D world, the 3D printer reproduces the digital model by adding m­aterials in thin layers stacked one on top of the other until the final model is achieved. Each of these layers can be seen as thinly sliced horizontal cross-cut sections of the object, which can be seen clearly before the finishing processes or smoothing is done. Use of this technology can assist with the creation of scaled models, concept home designs, landscaping layouts, engineering products, prototypes, and even toys! Gifts for you friends and family can be printed in their likeness or print their name to put in front of a picture display for example! Plastic is made into thin rolls like twin or wire but at about 3.00 mm or 1.75 mm in varying lengths. The wire is fed into a heating element and a heated nozzle where it is fed out slowly while the shape or model is constructed layer by layer from the ground up. As we mentioned before each of the layers can be clearly seen before the finishing process. After the model is printed and cools you then go into the finishing phase where you sand it to smooth it off and do any corrections or detailing that may be necessary. Painting if necessary and combined the object if it is made up of multiple pieces.

Quantity

How many different files do you have? How many copies of each file will you need printed? Sometimes our clients are doing several different files for an exhibit: for example we printed 3d renderings or models of fossils to display in place of the actual fossils themselves while they were being studied. You may also want different models printed to give a few of your clients or customers the chance to test out your device before they commit to buying or sponsoring your new idea!

How do you want it printed?

We print our models in 3 different ways. Most people don’t realize there are different ways to print a 3d model, is it usually done with additive printing which we covered earlier was printing from the bottom to the top and that part of the process doesn’t change. We listed out the different ways to have your model printed below:

Raft & Supports: We print all of our models on a raft with supports. The supports will hold up the model while it prints to prevent any extremities or thin places from drooping or sagging until they harden. The raft has to be broken off after the model is printed but this can be done easily with a knife or scissors, we offer finishing services for our printed models and will remove the raft and supports for you if you want us to do the finishing.

Solid: The model is made up entirely of plastic with no gaps or empty space inside of it.
Strong: The model has supports printed inside of it, like bars or beams running from side to side or top to bottom for support.
Hollow: The model is printed hollow with no supports on the inside, just empty space. This is fine for smaller objects or ones that don’t have a lot of space or gaps between their outer walls.

Slicing:

To put it simply this is where we prepare your model to be printed. We will slice a 3D model digitally to make it possible to be 3d printed. Slicing is dividing a 3D model into hundreds or thousands of horizontal layers and is done with slicing software. We do this part for you in house before we print your file, sometime this is done with software or in the printer itself depending on which type of 3d printer your working with. We like to do it before hand and check for potential errors. There can be defects in a model that our clients aren’t aware of like thin walls created from too sharp of a curve or walls being placed to close together. We usually catch most problems or potential errors but keep in mind it isn’t perfect.

After your model is sliced and checked for errors, your file is ready to be 3D printed. This can be done via USB, SD or Wi-Fi. It really depends on what 3D printer brand you work with, We like to transfer our using a USB since it loads faster and is quicker to re-print directly from the printer. After it is uploaded the printed will begin constructing it layer by layer.

What Material Do We Use?

Our 3D printer outputs a white PLA plastic, also known as polylactide or short for Polylactic Acid, a thermoplastic polymer is derived from renewable resources like corn starch or sugar cane, so it is naturally sourced and not petroleum based like abs. We try our best to recycle and reuse any waste left from any of our services and 3D printing is no exception.

All you need to get started is make a 3D file in a 3D modeling program, such as SketchUp or AutoCAD. When you have finished designing or modeling your object you export or save as a “.stl” file. There are plenty of free resources to design your 3D file, such as Blender, SketchUp Free, or FreeCAD. Once you have your file ready you may either e-mail us or bring in a flash drive with the saved file. Keep in mind while designing that our 3D printer outputs a maximum size of 5.5” x 5.5” x 5.5” and will be white. There are plenty of online tutorials and resources on the best ways to paint white PLA plastic if you would like your object to be a different color.

We also offer 3d Finishing services, we will remove you raft and supports,  then smooth or surface your model and paint it if you desire.

Here is a link to the mountain times article about our 3D printing capabilities.

Please call us for more information about 3D Printing and rapid prototyping (828) 265-2800.