=====Learn to ThreeDee with a FUNctional print - Self Paced Starter Project=====
This one’s a little different than the other Starter Projects because we are not going tell you what to make.
There’s a pile of knickknacks on Thingiverse and models on MyMiniFactory that you can download and print as a first 3D print.
And yes it will be exciting standing there and watching it print out…
{{:workshops:gettingstarted:exciting.png?100|}}
…but that doesn’t really do much to make the world a better place does it?
Is it just going to be another lump of plastic that is going to end up choking up the ocean or entering the food chain?
{{workshops:gettingstarted:laysan_albatross_chick_remains.jpeg?300}}
Trinkets like this are regularly called dust collectors. They usually don’t change anything, they don’t solve a problem or fill a gap. They just sit on a shelf getting in the way for a while till you get sick of looking at them and throw them away.
This is where Functional prints come in… and I think it’s the best way to learn to actually use a 3D printer. To learn the skills you need to productively use the machine and start solving little everyday problems you need to find a little every problem to solve.
When people ask me,
"Mick my good man what’s the most exciting thing you’ve ever made on a 3D printer?"
I probably end up boring the brains out of them.
They expect you to talk about printing out something cool like a prosthetic for a three-legged dog or a jet engine for a model boat but I talk about something very, very boring – a replacement foot for a café table leg (you know the little feet you screw up and down to adjust the height of individual legs and stabilise a table on uneven ground).
{{workshops:gettingstarted:missing_feet2.jpg?200}}
But I’m still excited about this print (probably 10 years later) because it was a quick, simple solution to a really annoying problem and especially when I didn’t have time to muck around.
{{workshops:gettingstarted:screen_shot_2022-07-20_at_5.58.04_pm.png?200}}
It took me 5 minutes to design a foot that would go with some M6 bolts I already had, and 30 minutes to print out 6 copies on our 3D printer. A couple of squirts of black paint and voilà - problem solved.
I think the best thing was that it saved me the 30 min drive out to and back from Bunnings, where I was either going to get stung for an expensive replacement that probably wouldn’t match or… find out that they didn’t have anything suitable. More frustration.
And this is why I like the functional print. And why I think it’s the best way to learn the skills you need. It's often replacing a simple plastic part that’s broken or gone missing. Or filling that gap when you say to yourself “I wish I just had a little thingamajig to solve that problem”. And when it works you get that buzz, the satisfaction of doing something for yourself, a friend or family.
Check out the FunctionalPrint subreddit for the cool things other people have made.
And here my pick of the best 6.
| {{workshops:gettingstarted:screen_shot_2022-07-23_at_3.18.27_pm.png?300 | {{workshops:gettingstarted:screen_shot_2022-07-23_at_3.11.32_pm.png?300}} | {{workshops:gettingstarted:screen_shot_2022-07-23_at_3.14.27_pm.png?300}} | {{workshops:gettingstarted:screen_shot_2022-07-23_at_3.12.20_pm.png?300}} | | |
| [[https://www.reddit.com/r/functionalprint/comments/w34rhf/my_3d_printed_lanyard_wallet_with_a_pvb_covered/|Reddit - 3d printed Lanyard by u/TsunaSing]] | [[https://www.reddit.com/r/functionalprint/comments/w5lkna/needed_a_pool_skimmer_35_hours_later_its_time_to/|Reddit - Pool Skimmer u/sholder89]] | [[https://www.reddit.com/r/functionalprint/comments/w3w0hh/cable_manager_from_thingiverse_modified_in_fusion/|Cable Manager adapted from Thingiverse by u/21Goose21]] | | |
| {{workshops:gettingstarted:screen_shot_2022-07-23_at_3.14.07_pm.png?300}} | {{workshops:gettingstarted:screen_shot_2022-07-23_at_3.17.04_pm.png?300}} | {{workshops:gettingstarted:screen_shot_2022-07-23_at_3.15.20_pm.png?300}} | | |
| [[https://www.reddit.com/r/functionalprint/comments/w180kp/prototype_success/|Reddit - Lawn chair drink caddy by u/Skvli]] | [[https://www.reddit.com/r/functionalprint/comments/w5ual8/made_these_hooks_out_of_abs_to_hang_planters_from/|Planter hooks by u/Noble69]] | [[https://www.reddit.com/r/functionalprint/comments/vykz0f/a_few_hours_ago_my_wife_said_she_didnt_like/|Reddit - Shower head clip by u/Jesus_Died_LOL_84]] | | |
| {{workshops:gettingstarted:screen_shot_2022-07-23_at_3.12.40_pm.png?300}} | {{workshops:gettingstarted:screen_shot_2022-07-23_at_3.13.54_pm.png?300}} | {{workshops:gettingstarted:screen_shot_2022-07-23_at_3.11.32_pm.png?300}} | | |
| [[https://www.reddit.com/r/functionalprint/comments/w3vzhw/broke_the_mop_saved_20_by_printing_the_head/|Broke the Mop replacement by u/VaughnSC]] | [[https://www.reddit.com/r/functionalprint/comments/vu9nl1/first_functional_print_a_microphone_popfilter/|Reddit - Popfilter by u/leonedott]] | [[https://www.reddit.com/r/functionalprint/comments/w5eqoc/lost_my_xacto_blade_holder_so_designed_and/|Reddit - Xacto blade holder by u/Illustrious-Yard-871]] | | |
So… getting started.
Page break for print
=====So... Your Mission if you Choose to accept it=====
==Step 1==
Have a look thru these and then have a look around your home, at what little plastic things need fixing with a little bracket or patching with a thingimajig. Or have a think about that annoying little thing you're always losing or struggling to get lined up and bring it and we’ll start making a 3D printed solution.
==Step 2==
Get yourself to Hack the Evening at the State Library on a thursday night (hardest part of the whole process cause you can't do it from the couch)
Introduce yourself and we'll show you around.
==Step 3==
We'll talk about you project and make some measurements. Maybe make a basic drawing planning out how we are going solve your problem.
==Step 4==
Learn the basics of TinkerCad - Autodesk's free online Cad program. Like I said above its easy to learn all you need is:
- be able to read a computer screen,
- operate a mouse and
- have some patience.
Theres a TinkerCAD tutorial [[facilities:fablab:software:tinkercad|here]]
In TinkerCad we'll go thru:
- How to navigate the 3D space in the program
- We'll show you how easy it is to create functional models using the geometric solids
- how to dimension these solids using the ruler tool
- how to layout these solids using the align and drag tools
- how to how to combine these solids to create compound shapes and finally
- how to export your model ready for printing.
==Step 5==
Learn how to prep your model for printing using the PrusaSlicer software:
- Importing your model
- working out the best way to orient it for printing.
- Choosing your settings - resolution, infill, Support or no support
- Saving you model as a printible Gcode file on the SD card.
-
==Step 6==
Learn how to use the actual printer:
- selecting you job in the menus
- getting the printer ready to print
- And Go!