7. Creating a 3D Model with Tinkercad

Chapter 6, “Free 3D Modeling Software,” introduced you to Tinkercad, one of the easiest CAD applications available. Add in the fact that it’s free to use, and there’s really no excuse not to give it a try. If you find it’s not for you, you’ll want to run through Appendix A, “3D Printer and Modeling Resources,” because I’ll also be listing some other free CAD applications for you to try (as well as a few good CAD apps that aren’t free but won’t break the bank).

In this chapter, I use Tinkercad to do some designing and create something that I print on the Simple. I use most of the tools you read about in Chapter 6, but I also show you a few other features and tasks that you can (or should) do when using Tinkercad. I encourage you to log in to Tinkercad and follow along with the chapter.

Hello World

I’m not sure whether you know anything about computer programming, but programmers use what are called programming languages to create the various applications (for mobile devices) that we all enjoy using. For decades there has been a tradition in programming courses and books that has a novice programmer creating a program to put two simple words up on the computer screen: Hello World.

I’m not one to break tradition, so the first item I want to create for my new Printrbot Simple is a variation of the Hello World task. To celebrate the successful assembly and testing of my Simple, I want to print out a small medallion that I can tape or glue to the side of my 3D printer. This medallion will have the words “Hello World.”

If you’d like to make one for your Simple, follow along as I show you how I design this small object. Keep in mind that there’s not a lot of surface area on the Simple except for the printer bed, and I can’t put the medallion there! I’ve decided that the side of the base shown in Figure 7.1 is a great location, so I’ve taken some measurements to determine that the medallion will have a maximum length of 50mm, a width of 30mm, and a height of 4mm.

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Figure 7.1 The side of the Simple makes a great place to mount a medallion.

I’d also like the words “Hello World” to be holes in the medallion so that the wood shows through. I’ll be printing with the clear PLA that was provided by Printrbot, but if you have some colored PLA filament, feel free to print it out in color. When I’m happy with the printing, I’ll coat it with some primer and then paint it a nice color.

Now that I have an idea of what I want, it’s time to open up Tinkercad, log in, and open a new project. As you can see in Figure 7.2, I’ve created a new project titled Hello World, and it has a blank workspace at the moment.

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Figure 7.2 Open up Tinkercad to begin a new project.

The default size of the workspace is 200mm×200mm, much more than I actually need, so I have plenty of room to work. I start by putting down a Box that I’ll resize to a rectangle. Figure 7.3 shows that I’ve resized the Box object I’ve dragged into the workspace to make it longer and wider. The dimensions for length and width are visible, but not the height. I’ve decreased it to a height of 3mm.

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Figure 7.3 Start with a rectangle for the basic shape of the medallion.

I’d like to add some rounded ends to the medallion to improve the look. To do this, I’m going to drag in a Round Roof object, as shown in Figure 7.4.

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Figure 7.4 The Round Roof object will give the medallion curved edges.

If I can rotate this object properly, I should be able to add it to the left edge of the rectangle. But, before I start rotating, it will be useful to resize the object so its diameter matches the width of the rectangle where it will be added. While I’m at it, I’ll go ahead and reduce its thickness (height) to 3mm to match the rectangle. Figure 7.5 shows that I’ve resized the Round Roof object.

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Figure 7.5 Resize object to match medallion’s thickness and diameter.

Next, I need to rotate the flattened Round Roof object along the X axis. To do this, I move my mouse over the X-axis rotation arrow icon and click and hold as I drag. The angle of the rotation is displayed, as shown in Figure 7.6, and I rotate it to 90 degrees.

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Figure 7.6 Rotate the object on the X axis.

Now I need to rotate the same object 90 degrees parallel to the surface of the current workspace (or the Z axis). I’ll click the Z-axis rotation arrow icon and rotate the object as shown in Figure 7.7.

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Figure 7.7 Rotate the object on the Z axis.

If I rotate the workspace view a bit, I can see that the Round Roof object is floating above the workspace, as shown in Figure 7.8. I need to lower it a bit, and I use the Align feature (refer back to Chapter 6 if you need help) to align the two objects using the workspace that the rectangle is resting on.

 

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Figure 7.8 The Round Roof object floats slightly above workspace surface.

Figure 7.9 shows that I use the lower Align dot to first bring the Round Roof object down to share the same plane as the rectangle. I click the dot and the Round Roof drops down.

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Figure 7.9 Round Roof lowers.

Next, I use the Align tool again to force the Round Roof to share the front edge of the rectangle. Figure 7.10 shows that I’m clicking on the lower Align dot so that the Round Roof will move to share that edge.

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Figure 7.10 Align the two objects along a common edge.

Figure 7.11 shows the result. You’ll also see a copy of the Round Roof object. I selected just the Round Roof and made a copy of it using Control+C and pasted a new version with Control+V.

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Figure 7.11 Make a copy of the Round Roof object for other side of medallion.

You could use the rotate feature to spin the Round Roof copy, but an easier method is to select the copy, click the Adjust drop-down menu, and select Mirror. Click the arrow indicated in Figure 7.12.

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Figure 7.12 Flip the object so it is a mirror of the original.

Drag a Round Roof object to each end of the rectangle. Use the Zoom feature to help you make sure the edges are touching. Even better, you can overlap the Round Roof objects with the rectangle by a tiny amount to ensure that no gap exists between the parts. Figure 7.13 shows the outline of the Medallion so far, and you can see that the parts slightly overlap.

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Figure 7.13 Slight overlap.

Now I need to group these three objects so they will behave as a single object. This not only makes it easier to drag the medallion around the screen, but it also makes any changes in thickness, for example, apply to all three objects (rectangle and two Round Roof objects) at the same time. To do this, drag a selection rectangle around all three objects and click the Group button indicated in Figure 7.14. Notice that the colors of all objects change to a single color.

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Figure 7.14 Group the three objects so they act as one object.

For a decorative element, I’d like to have a slight “lip” that runs around the outer edge of the medallion. To do this, I’ll make a copy of the larger medallion, paste it in the workspace, change its height to 1mm, and then place it on top of the larger medallion. You can see this in Figure 7.15. (After reducing the thickness to 1mm, use the black arrow floating above the object to raise it so it’s floating at 3mm.)

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Figure 7.15 Smaller medallion sitting on top of a bigger one.

After I’m happy with the placement of the smaller medallion on top of the larger medallion, I want to change the smaller medallion (on top) to a “hole.” When it turns into a hole, it will still look like an object I can manipulate (change dimensions, rotate, and so on), but if I overlap it with another solid object, it will remove the overlapped section—in essence, creating a void, or a hole.

First, I select the smaller medallion on top and click the Hole button indicated in Figure 7.16. Notice that the smaller medallion still has edges, but it loses its color. It looks hollow.

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Figure 7.16 Change the smaller medallion to function as a hole.

Now all I need to do is “sink” the small medallion (hole) object into the solid larger medallion. I’ll sink it only 1mm because that’s the thickness of the hole now. Figure 7.17 shows that the hole is now inside the larger medallion.

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Figure 7.17 The hole is inside the larger medallion.

Next, I select both objects (medallion and hole) and click the Group button. This blends the two objects—remember that the hole removes material from a solid object. What is left over is what you see in Figure 7.18. It’s the larger medallion with a lip around a slightly lower inner surface.

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Figure 7.18 The hole takes away part of the larger medallion.

Now all that’s left is to put in the letters for the Hello World. Fortunately, Tinkercad provides letters (as well as numbers)! It will be easier to first create the Hello World text as a series of letters on a different part of the workspace. I’ll need to make them thick enough that they’ll go all the way through the surface of the medallion, group them for easier dragging and dropping, and then convert the entire collection of letters into a hole.

Figure 7.19 shows that I’ve used the Align tool to help put in the letters in a nice, clean looking order. I also increased the height so it’s much taller than the thickness of the medallion; this helps me make sure when I convert the letters to holes that they will go all the way through the medallion.

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Figure 7.19 Grouped letters.

After converting the letters to holes and dragging the group (“Hello World”) into the medallion, I drag the group and place it where desired as shown in Figure 7.20.

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Figure 7.20 Place the letters inside the medallion.

If necessary, I can use the black arrow above the letters to raise or lower the “holes” so they go all the way through the medallion. I’ve rotated the view to the side so I can see the “holes” piercing the solid medallion, as shown in Figure 7.21.

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Figure 7.21 Holes pierce the entire object.

I’m happy with the placement, so I select everything—medallion and “Hello World” group—and click the Group button to blend it all together. Figure 7.22 shows the final result.

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Figure 7.22 The final medallion design.

After I’m done with the object, it’s time to export it as an STL file that I can use with Repetier to print on my Printrbot Simple. To do this, I click the Design drop-down menu shown in Figure 7.23.

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Figure 7.23 To print with a 3D printer, you must download the STL file.

A window appears like the one in Figure 7.24. Click the STL button and then choose a location to save the file.

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Figure 7.24 Click the STL button to begin the download.

Refer back to Chapter 5, “First Print with the Simple,” for the steps to import an STL file with Repetier and print your medallion. My final medallion is shown painted and mounted on my Simple in Figure 7.25.

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Figure 7.25 Medallion painted and mounted

Printing a Sketch or Simple Image

Tinkercad is a great tool for creating your own 3D objects, but it also has the ability to import two specific file types, STL and SVG, that you can then manipulate using the Tinkercad tools. You’ve already learned about STL, so if you’ve got a friend who has created a 3D object and has the STL file, she can simply email it to you and you can use the Import button (found on the right side of the Tinkercad screen) seen in Figure 7.26 to pull it into Tinkercad and make any changes you like.

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Figure 7.26 Use the Import button to pull existing objects into Tinkercad.

But what about that SVG file type? SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics and it’s simply another format that graphics programs use to save images. You’re probably already familiar with JPEG or GIF, for example, but keep in mind that not every graphics program can save as an SVG file type. But if you have one, you can do some really fun things with a 3D printer.

Take a look at Figure 7.27 and you’ll see a simple outline of a wizard. Notice that the image is a black object on a white background. You won’t need amazing drawing skills to perform this fun task with your 3D printer, but you do need to remember to save your image as an SVG file with the main object being black on a white background.

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Figure 7.27 Create a drawing and save as an SVG file. Credits: Brittany Coe, artist; Gamelyn Games, rights owner.

Once you’ve got your drawing saved as an SVG file, import it into Tinkercad. (You can tweak the Scale and Height before you import the object, but I just import it as is, and then tweak the size and thickness using the Tinkercad tools.) The object will be displayed on the workspace as a flat object like the one seen in Figure 7.28. Increase or decrease the size of the object as desired.

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Figure 7.28 An imported SVG file is now a Tinkercad object.

At this point, I can increase the height of the object (to increase the printed object’s thickness), add new elements, or just save it as an STL file and go straight to printing. I adjusted the size and printed out the wizard that you can see in Figure 7.29.

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Figure 7.29 The imported object is now a printed object.

Importing an SVG file is a fun way to print three-dimensional objects that you or someone else has drawn; just remember to keep it simple and have the object’s color as black on a white background and you’re in business. But what do you do if you only have a graphics program (such as Microsoft Paint) that can only save a drawing as a JPEG or PNG file? Fortunately, you can take that image and convert it to an SVG file using a free online tool.

Open a web browser and point it to http://www.online-convert.com and click on the drop-down menu in the Image Converter box shown in Figure 7.30.

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Figure 7.30 Use online-convert.com to convert an image to an SVG file.

Select “Convert to SVG” from the many options listed; the website will immediately take you to a control panel like the one shown in Figure 7.31.

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Figure 7.31 The imported object is now a printed object.

Click the Choose File button and browse to the file you want to convert. After specifying your file, select the Monochrome option and click the Convert File button and you’re done! Your file will automatically begin downloading or you can choose to have the file emailed to you. (If the file doesn’t automatically begin downloading, there is a link to download it again. And now you’ve got an SVG file to import into Tinkercad.