I hope that you found Tinkercad an interesting 3D modeling option. Even though it has a short list of features, you can still do some amazing things with it after you get accustomed to the interface and how the primitive shapes (box, sphere, and so on) can be modified and merged. Given how easy it is to export your models to STL files that your 3D printer can use, you may find yourself using Tinkercad for all your 3D modeling needs.
However, Tinkercad isn’t the only game in town. There are plenty of free options as well as CAD applications that you can buy; it really depends on what you need from the software and what you’re willing to pay. In this chapter, I introduce you to a family of 3D modeling applications that, as well as other uses, can be used to create 3D models for your 3D printer. I won’t be able to cover them in detail, so you’ll need to do your own investigating into how to use them. Fortunately, if you’ve got some hands-on time with Tinkercad, you should find a lot of 3D modeling software interfaces sharing similar features and methods for interacting with models.
Finally, be sure to look over Appendix A, “3D Printer and Modeling Resources,” which contains even more references related to 3D printing, including more 3D modeling software developers and their software.
AutoDesk, the owner of Tinkercad, has an entire set of free apps that are perfect for a variety of 3D printing projects. I’m going to cover each of them briefly in this chapter and explain how you might use them side-by-side with your 3D printer.
I selected this family of apps for a number of reasons, but I’d like to share with you a personal one—my 6-year-old son. My son enjoys watching me work with the Simple, but he’s not quite skilled enough yet with a mouse to be able to take advantage of Tinkercad’s features. He is, however, quite good at using the touchscreen on an iPad, and that’s where the 123D family of apps really shines—the apps are easy to use, keeping frustration level low for novices. I think you’ll agree with me when you finish reading this chapter. Open a web browser and point it to www.123dapp.com, and you’ll see a screen like the one in Figure 8.1.
There are five apps (six, if you count the newly added Tinkercad that is joining the 123D family) that are all free to download and install on your computer. All you need to do is click one of the app buttons to visit that app’s information screen, such as the one in Figure 8.2 for 123D Catch.
As you can see in Figure 8.2, most of the apps (three of the five) come in three formats: an online web-based version, an iPad/iPhone version, and a desktop version. I’m going to cover all five apps but change up the format, so you can see at least one example of each format.
Note
As with Tinkercad, the web versions require WebGL, so you’ll need to use a web browser (such as Chrome or Firefox) that supports WebGL.
The web versions of the apps are almost identical in look and features as the desktop versions, but I often prefer the desktop versions because they do not require an Internet connection to use. I’ve also found that sometimes the web versions are a bit sluggish when it comes to dragging and moving objects, and this can be frustrating when you’re trying to accurately position an object. Compare the web version of 123D Design on the left in Figure 8.3 to the desktop version on the right.
As for the iPad/iPhone version—I like them, but they are a bit simpler in features than the desktop and web versions. I also find that using your finger on the touchscreen doesn’t give you the pinpoint control that you’ll need for manipulating 3D models. (Two of the apps are available only on the iPad; I introduce and explain them to you later in this chapter.) That said, my son prefers the iPad versions of the apps over any other option, and I love to use these versions with him.
Take a look at Figure 8.4 and you’ll see the 123D Design app on the iPad. Notice the interface is simplified.
Ultimately, you should try out all three versions of an app to find the one that works best for you. I prefer the desktop version that lets me use a mouse for fine-tuning my models, but if you like using Tinkercad from within a web browser, you may enjoy using the web versions of the 123D family of apps as well. And if you’ve got a child wanting to play around with 3D printing, the app versions are going to be a big hit. (I’m not saying an adult can’t enjoy the iPad apps, either—you can do some pretty impressive things with them.)
The desktop versions of the 123D apps are available for both Windows and Mac. These apps can be a bit overwhelming at first, but they’ve also got some great instructional material in the form of videos, a blog, and some built-in tips. You’ll also find a forum where you can post questions, learn new tricks, and much more.
I want to introduce you to all five apps, and I’m going to start with the one I use most and the one that is most similar to Tinkercad—123D Design.
You can download 123D Design for free by visiting 123dapp.com and clicking the 123D Design button shown back in Figure 8.1. After downloading the desktop version and installing it, open it up and you’ll be greeted with the welcome screen.
All the 123D apps open with this welcome screen the first time you open them. They’re useful to read over because they give you a brief explanation of the user interface and point out some differences between the apps. If you want to jump right into creating, click the big Start a New Project button, as shown in Figure 8.5.
If you’re opening up a new project in 123D Design, you’ll be greeted with a blank workspace screen, like the one in Figure 8.6.
The Design menu lets you save models, export them as STL files, select an online 3D printing service (if you don’t own a 3D printer or need a higher quality print than your 3D printer can provide), and more.
The toolbar running along the top-middle of the screen provides dozens of options for adding shapes, manipulating objects, creating groups (or ungrouping), measuring objects, and so on. The Visual controls on the left side of the screen let you rotate around an object, drag the workspace around without changing the orientation of an object on screen (so you can keep the face of an object facing you, for example), zoom in and out, and even turn on and off the capability to view an object’s colors and/or materials.
The Help option enables you to view videos, read the blog, submit questions on the forum, and the like. You should create a 123D user account so you can post questions. Fortunately, the forum is full of helpful folks who go out of their way to help novices, so use it often, and your skill level with 123D Design (and the other apps) will quickly improve. Of the five 123D apps, the 123D Design app is the closest to Tinkercad. If you’ve been experimenting with Tinkercad, you shouldn’t have too difficult a time in creating some very basic 3D models with 123D Design. Still, if you’d like to ease into the 123D apps, there’s one very easy (and fun) app to use that can get you a custom 3D model created quickly, if you have access to an iPad or iPhone. It’s called 123D Creature.
The 123D Creature app is available only on the iPad, and I love it because I can sit down with my oldest son and we can create monsters together. It’s not the most powerful app for creating objects to print with 3D printers, but it definitely gives my son some experience with rotating objects, enlarging and shrinking, and applying colors. While it might seem a bit gimmicky to adults, kids just can’t get enough. It’s a nice tool for introducing the concept of 3D modeling to a classroom full of kids or just one.
After you download the app from the App Store to your iPad, you begin by posing your monster’s skeleton and rotating the arms and legs (or is it tentacles?), changing the thickness and angle of the various body parts. When you’re done, you “bake” the skeleton, as shown in Figure 8.7, locking the form so you can begin applying colors and textures.
Changes you make to one side of the body are automatically mirrored to the other side—it’s fun and crazy. You can sculpt the body, modifying it like you would with your fingers on clay. Apply some color and textures, which are also applied symmetrically, and you’re done. My son’s crazy looking monster is shown in Figure 8.8.
Your creature can be ordered from Sculpteo, an online 3D printing service, but if you want to print it yourself, you should be aware that the 123D Creature app exports the creature only as a Mesh file, a much different format than STL. It can be done, but the steps are much more involved than I can explain here. If you want to convert the Mesh file(s) for your creatures, point a web browser to the following article that explains how to convert Mesh to STL that will be suitable for printing on your 3D printer:
http://www.makerbot.com/blog/2013/03/05/step-by-step-for-123d-creature/
Like the 123D Creature app, the 123D Sculpt app is available only on the iPad. (It’s possible that AutoDesk may eventually make these apps available for Android devices, but not yet.) And like the Creature app, you’ll be using your fingers to mold and shape objects. As with Creature, it’s not the most useful app for adults looking to create advanced 3D models, but it does have its uses. Kids will appreciate the small library of existing objects that can be modified using the touchscreen—no mouse skills required.
You can choose to start with a number of Creature default shapes, such as a head, body, dog, dinosaur, or a few more as shown in Figure 8.9. You can also choose to start with Geometry shapes (cubes, spheres, and so on) or Object shapes that include a shoe, car, jet, and a few more.
If you’re a serious sculptor, you’ll need to invest some time testing and learning the various tools available in the app. But you can also do what my son enjoys—making funny shaped faces and other objects by dragging his fingers through the “clay” and modifying the object onscreen. Figure 8.10 shows his finished car object (and tells me he may not be cut out for actual sculpture).
You then export your final design to the 123D Community, which requires that you create a free account at 123dapp.com, but the file will again be saved in a Mesh format, not an STL file. Follow the link provided in the 123D Creature section previously for details on converting your 123D Sculpt design so it’s suitable for printing with your 3D printer.
The 123D Make app isn’t really a 3D printing app, but if you’ve spent some time designing a really cool 3D model, you might still want to check it out. In a nutshell, 123D Make takes a 3D model and slices it up into pieces that can be cut from a variety of materials: paper, cardboard, wood, and even metal (if you have the right tools to cut metal).
Figure 8.11 shows a simple 3D model robot that’s been “sliced” up horizontally, head to toe; take note of the right side of the screen where the individual patterns are displayed. It’s these patterns that you’ll transfer to paper or cardboard or wood and then cut out. There are even numbers on them to assist with the proper ordering of the parts.
The last app in the 123D Family that I’d like to introduce to you is called 123D Catch. This app asks you to first take a series of photographs (from 20 to 70) of an actual object, and then it takes those photos and creates a three dimensional digital version of the object on the screen. You can rotate the object around on the screen, viewing it from any angle. It’s an amazing bit of technology, and you absolutely must try it yourself.
The 123D Catch tool is available in all three formats: online tool, iPad app, and desktop application (PC only). As you can see in Figure 8.12, the iPad version lets you view an object on the iPad and rotate it all around.
Figure 8.12 123D Catch lets you scan an actual object, like this skull, and convert it to a digital file.
The 123D Catch application will also let you zoom in on objects, so you can see even more detail. The trick to creating a detailed 3D object is to take a LOT of photos. The more photos you take (and the closer you can get to the object), the better the final 3D image.
While 123D Catch is designed to allow you to create 3D digital models of actual objects, you might be interested to know that once you’ve created a 3D model using 123D Catch, you can then print it on a 3D printer. This is a bit more involved, however, so be warned that the steps to do this can be a bit tricky. If you’d like to learn how to use the 123D Catch app to create a 3D model that you can later print, point a web browser to the following online article that offers advice for “cleaning up” the 3D model—basically removing extra stuff like the surface an object is sitting on and other fragments that made it into your set of photos:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Making-a-3D-print-of-a-real-object-using-123D-Catc/
I create a lot of 3D models that never get printed. I just enjoy creating objects that can be created in three dimensions. I like to zoom in and out, adding more details and color. I not only get more practice using the various tools available, but I find that I’m also able to visualize objects better in my mind’s eye.
I encourage you to try out all the 123D apps. Not all of them export perfect STL files suitable for 3D printing, but there’s always a way if you’re interested. (Again, consult Appendix A at the back of the book for some articles that will show you how to do some more advanced 3D modeling tasks, and for some books and websites that you’ll find useful.)