Get to Know Your 3D Printer

An overview of 3D printing vocabulary

Video: Tour of 3D Printer Parts for Beginners

Step 1: It Starts With a Design

Before you can begin printing, you will need to design an object to print. While there are many options to design a 3D object, a good place to start for beginners is Tinkercad. Tinkercad is a 3D Design program that is web based, so as long as you have an internet connection, you can design 3D Objects. For inspiration, I also like to to check out Thingiverse.com

• Check out Tinkercad.com/learn for beginner lessons in Tinkercad
• Check this Tutorial out for an introduction to Tinkercad
• Organic shapes can be hard to make in Tinkercad, this tutorial will help to clarify how to make organic shapes.

Step 2: Get Your Design to the 3D Printer

Once you have designed your object in a 3D modeling program, you need to get your file to the printer. When you install your printer on your computer, your printer manufacturer will include some software that lets prepare your prints. With Ultimaker printers, you use Ultimaker Cura; Makerbot uses MakerBot Print; Flash Forge uses FLashPrint. From Tinkercard or your preferred 3D modeling program, download your design file as a .stl (or recommended file format for your printer). Then open your file in your printer’s software.

Step 3: Prepare the Print

After opening your design file in your printer’s software (again Ultimaker Cura, MakerBot Print, Flash Print etc.) you will need to adjust some settings so you have a successful print. Basic settings you will want to adjust, are the the fill type and density, including a raft, the need for supports and speed. These settings will vary from project to project and from printer to printer. The best way to understand the impact of these settings is to experiment by printing a simple shape and adjusting the settings between each print. Note: adjust settings adjusts your print time. It’s good to test which settings impact how long your print takes.

• Ultimaker Cura Software Beginner Overview
• Ultimaker: How to print with dual extrusion ( 2 colors)
• MakerBot Print Software(explained by a teacher)
• FlashPrint Software Overview

Step 4: Prepare Your Printer

You will want to make sure your printer is physically set up for your print. Be sure you have the correct filament loaded, and prepare the print bed for proper adhesion: most use rub a bit of glue stick or put some masking tape on the glass print bed.

• Ultimaker 3: Change/Load Filament
• MakerBot Sketch (Coming soon)
• FlashForge Dream Filament loading

Step 5: Print!

All that is left to do, is to print your file!  

This resource goes through common 3D printer errors and lists solutions and includes checklist of steps for each problem.