TinkerCAD is a great way to start making 3D models for 3D printing, or to plan out ideas that you wish to hand-cut or export for laser/CNC technologies. It's free for anyone to use, runs on any device with internet and it's arguably the most simple/easy 3D design software to start out with.
TinkerCAD is made by Autodesk and works essentially like children's building blocks; you stack shapes together or cut shapes from each other to build up your part.
You may also wish to increase the size of your space, so you can make larger objects. You can do this by using the “Edit Grid” function at the bottom right. You can set it to a maximum of 1000x1000mm (1m cube)
You may also wish to change the grid snapping so you can move objects more accurately, you can do this by changing the grid snapping to 0.1mm.
In addition to moving around our object, we can also view it in two different modes:
I recommend switching to Orthographic mode.
Perspective | Orthographic |
---|---|
Better for understanding | Better for accuracy |
Double click on faces of cube in top right of the screen to snap exactly to Top/ Bottom/ Front/ Back/ Right Side/ Left Side
Reference from Donald Bell
If you want to use your TinkerCAD files to cut on the CNC router, Laser cutter, or Vinyl Cutter you will need a vector file. Thankfully! TinkerCAD can make one.
TinkerCAD will export all the outlines of things touching the 'floor', to get it there:
If you're not sure how to do any of these steps, check out the #getting_started section above.
Now that it's on the floor, you're ready to export!
To export the whole document:
For individual or groups of pieces:
Then export >svg Check that it says “Include… Only the selected # shapes.”