This document provides an overview of the 3D printing process from modeling to printing. It discusses using Tinkercad to model basic 3D objects from shapes and then import them into Cura for slicing. In Cura, the model can be scaled, rotated, and positioned on the print bed. The document highlights practical applications of these tools like fitting multiple objects on the print bed or orienting parts to minimize supports.

1. 3D Printing
3D Modeling with Tinkercad
Slicing with Cura
Vicky Somma
vicky@tgaw.com
http://www.tgaw.com
This slideshow is on SlideShare at http://www.slideshare.net/VickyTGAW/fcpl-2021

2. About Me
• 3D Modeling and 3D Printing is just my hobby
• Have two sons – ages 10 and 8
• First started learning 3D Modeling in 2014 (with an infant)
• Got my first 3D Printer in 2015
Take aways:
1) You can learn in short bursts!
2) Resources like the library empower people like me to start
creating!

3. Some of My 3D Printing Projects

4. Projects with Kids

5. 3D Printing - Process
• “Layer by Layer”…Like Legos!
Legos 3D Printing

6. 3D Printing - Mechanics
• Like a Hot Glue Gun
• The Hot End heats the filament and “draws” with it
Photo Credit: Evan-Amos Filament Hot End

7. 3D Printing - Overhangs
• Overhangs – Supported underneath by one side
• Works when there is good overlap with
previous layer
• Most printers can handle angles of 45 degrees
or higher without help. Photo Courtesy of Joel Telling, The 3D Printing Nerd

8. 3D Printing - Bridging
• With the right speeds and temperatures,
we can bridge over gaps!
Find/Test Your Printer’s Capabilities With “Ultimate Extruder
Calibration Test”
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:9804

9. 3D Printing - Supports
• Overhangs too flat, bridges too far, object starts in mid-air?
• Supports are temporary structures that help the print

10. 3D Printing Requires a 3D Model
3D Model -> Slice -> Print

11. 3D Models
The Printer Needs a Model to Print
• We Can Download Existing Models (More Later)
-OR-
• Make Our Own!

12. 3D Modeling - Multiple Approaches
Code-based Editing at Vertex Level
Sculpting

13. Making Models – MANY Options
• Blender
http://www.blender.org
• Maya
http://www.autodesk.com/products/maya
/overview
• OpenSCAD
http://www.openscad.org
• Fusion360
https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusio
n-360/overview
Want more options? Check out https://www.shapeways.com/creator/tools
• Sketchup
http://www.sketchup.com/
• ZBrush
http://pixologic.com/
• LightWave 3D
https://www.lightwave3d.com/
• SculptGL (Web-Based)
http://stephaneginier.com/sculptgl/#
• Even iPhone and Android Apps!

14. Making Models - Tinkercad
• Free
• Online, Nothing to Install
• Shape-Based
• “The Easiest Fiercest 3D Design
Tool Around”
https://www.tinkercad.com

15. Design Revisions Happen

16. Fails Happen
Photo Credits: http://www.pinterestfail.com

17. 3D Printing Fails Happen

18. 3D Printing Fails Happen
From Failure Comes Knowledge Maker Coin -
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1936616
Jake the Dog, Adventure Time

19. Tinkercad – Signing In
http://www.tinkercad.com

20. Tinkercad – Signing In

21. Tinkercad - Workplane
• Like a piece of graph paper.
• Click on Edit Grid to adjust dimensions (millimeters is default)
To mimic JellyBOX – 170mm x 160mm

22. Tinkercad – Controlling Your View
• View Cube on the upper left hand corner
Home, Fit to View, Zoom In, Zoom Out, Perspective
Change
• Left Click and drag on the “View Cube” allows you to
move your view. You can also click on a side of the
cube as a shortcut.
• Right Click on the Workplane allows you to move
the view as well.
• Shift Right Click allows you to pan
• Mouse Scroll Wheel lets you zoom in and out

23. Tinkercad - Perspective Change
The icon under the View Cube lets you
switch your perspective. We are looking at 3D
objects on a 2D screen.
● Perspective View adjusts proportion to
account for depth (like foreshortening a
road to a horizon)
● Orthographic View keeps sizes intact
regardless of depth (parallel lines) are
parallel.

24. Tinkercad – Shapes, Letters, Numbers, Etc.
• Tinkercad provides lots of “building
blocks” to put to use.
• To start, select Basic Shapes

25. Tinkercad - Shapes
You can build a lot out of standard shapes

26. Tinkercad - Shapes
You can build a lot out of these standard shapes- “Bipedal Mech” by
Mathew Ridge in Tinkercad!
http://shpws.me/GQX5

27. Tinkercad - Adding Shapes
• Drag and Drop to your Workplane

28. Tinkercad - Selecting Shapes
• Left Click on a Shape to Select It
• Holding the Shift Key Allows you to Select
Multiple Objects
• You can also draw a box to select multiple
objects at once.

29. Tinkercad - Clicking
You can think of it as alphabetic order:
Left Clicks → Shapes
Right Clicks → Workplane
Mouse Image by Wasin Waeosri

30. Tinkercad - Inspector
• Selecting an Object brings up the Inspector
Additional Properties for the Object Such as Colors and Holes (More
Later)

31. Tinkercad - Moving Things on the Workplane
Photo Credit: Project Ignite

32. Moving Things – Along the Workplane
• Along the Workplane (X and Y), just Left Click
and Drag and Drop
Tip: Be careful to click on the object and not
one of the icons.
• The numbers and arrows show you how far
you have moved it.

33. Moving Things – Up and Down
• To move up and down off the
workplace, Left Click on the
little black arrow icon and
drag.
• As you pull it up, you’ll see a
shadow, indicating the object
is not resting on the
workplane.
• The numbers to the right of
the object tell you exactly how
far it is off the workplane

34. Moving Things – Up and Down
• The practical application is to put objects on top of each other.

35. Moving Things - Nudging
• You can also use the arrow keys to nudge.
• How far is each press of the arrow key? It’s defined in the lower right
hand corner in the Snap Grid
• To nudge 10 units at a time, hold down the Shift key and use the
arrow keys at the same time.
• To nudge up and down (off the workplane), hold down the Control
key as you use the arrow keys

36. Tinkercad - Rotating
• When an object is selected, the three little curved arrow icons (the
“Rotation Handles”) allow you to rotate your object.

37. Tinkercad - Rotating
• A circle appears to help you rotate (The
“Protractor”)
• The Inner Circle rotates at 22.5 degrees steps
• The Outer Circle rotates at 1 degree steps
• Holding down Shift rotates at 45 degrees steps

38. Tinkercad - Resizing (Scaling)
• When you select and object, there are black and white dots (the
“Scaling Handles”)

39. Tinkercad - Resizing
• White Dots scale two sizes (dimensions) at once
• Black Dots scale one size
Tip: You can tell what sides you are resizing by the numbers

40. Tinkercad - Resizing
• The White Dot (“handle”) at the top allows you to control the height
of your object

41. Tinkercad – Typing in Exact Numbers
• You can double click on one of the dimensions and type in a new
value.
• You can also size in the Inspector.

42. Tinkercad – Copying Items
• You can use the copy and paste
icons
• You can also do Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V
• Holding down the Alt key while you
Left Click and Drag will also make a
copy of the object.
• You can select multiple objects at
once and copy and paste those too.

43. Tinkercad - Fixing Mistakes
• Undo/Redo
Like Word, Excel or most programs,
you have the ability to Undo and
Redo steps.
• Delete
Just click on the object and click the
Delete button

44. Tinkercad - Letters
• Letters can be found under Design
Starters

45. Tinkercad - Holes
• Any Shape, Letter, Number, etc Can Be Turned Into a Hole
• Holes allow you to subtract an object from another
• Click on the Inspector and select Hole

46. Tinkercad - Holes
Practical Applications:
• Actual Holes
• To Change Shapes
• Or to Engrave!

47. Tinkercad - Align
• Use the icon to align your objects.
• Select the appropriate guideline you want to align to

48. Tinkercad - Grouping
• Grouping makes multiple objects into one and applies any holes
• Select your objects and hit Group. You can always Ungroup.

49. Tinkercad – Download for 3D Printing
• Click on Export button
• In most cases, you’ll pick .STL as the format

50. Tinkercad - Resources to Learn More
• The Learn section contains interactive
tutorials
• YouTuber Chuck Hellebucke often uses
Tinkercad in his projects and has a
“Tinkercad 3D Design Tutorials” playlist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
zxWElGh7c8&list=PLRFPlUhDTTllAprh8GbH
Jw0NjHKWT7Yzs

51. Design Time!

52. 3D Printing Requires a 3D Model
3D Model -> Slice -> Print

53. 3D Printing – “Slicing”
• We used Tinkercad to make .STL files.
• Next we used a Slicer Software to slice our model into layer by layer
instructions for the printer (called Gcode)

54. Cura - Overview
Photo Reference: Cura IMADE3D Edition Quick Start Guide

55. Cura – Importing a Model
● Click on the icon and browse to import your model
● You can print more than one thing at a time

56. Cura – Viewing Your Model
Scroll Up to Zoom In
Scroll Down to Zoom Out
Hold Right Mouse button to Rotate View
Hold Scroll Wheel to Pan (or Shift-Right
Click)

57. Cura – Move
1. Left Click to select object
2. Use arrows to adjust
-or-
Type in exact coordinates
Practical Applications:
● Fit more on build plate
● Avoid any bed issues (like a PEI sheet
tear)
● Correct first layer inconsistencies
(More later)

58. Cura – Scale
1. Left Click to select object
2. Use handles to adjust
-or-
Type in exact size or scale
Practical Applications:
● Correct any units issues (i.e. model is
in inches)
● Correct sizing issues
● Adjust for better detailing

59. Cura – Scale - Snap and Uniform
Snap Scaling - Scales in 10% increments.
Uniform Scaling - Keeps everything in proportion. Turn it off if you want to adjust only
one or two dimensions.

60. Cura – Rotate
1. Left Click to select object
2. Click on one of the axis circles and drag to
rotate.
If you are rotating for better bed orientation and get
close, you can click on the Lay Flat button to finish the
work.

61. Cura – Rotate - Practical Applications
Fit more on Build Plate

62. Cura – Rotate - Practical Applications
Fit Large Parts on Build Plate (The Hypotenuse of a triangle are larger than
the parts!)
Virginia Topography by Design Make Teach https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1512980

63. Cura – Rotate - Practical Applications
Fix Orientation Issues

64. Cura – Rotate - Practical Applications
Minimize Supports

65. Cura – Rotate - Practical Applications
Position Tricky Overhangs or Bridging for Cooling Fan

66. Cura – Mirror
1. Left Click to select object
2. Click on the arrow to pick where you
want to flip.

67. Cura – Mirror - Practical Applications
Practical Applications:
● Print two back to back
designs for ornaments
● Fixing modeling
oversights- Cookie
cutters and stamps need
to be backwards. :)

68. Cura - Settings
● Click the Settings Bar to adjust settings
● Basic mode by default

69. Cura – Settings - Quality
● Quality is your layer height
● To adjust click on the Settings bar
● Select a different Profile

70. Cura – Settings - Quality
● Quality impacts the look of your object…as well as the print time

71. Cura – Settings - Infill
● The inside of the prints aren’t [usually] solid
● The patterns inside are called infill

72. Cura – Settings – Infill
● Open Settings
● Expand the Infill section
● Adjust the Infill Density or Infill
Pattern

73. Cura – Settings – Infill
● Infill will also impact print time

74. Cura – Settings - Supports
● Open Settings
● Expand the Support section
● Check Generate Support

75. Cura – Settings - Supports

76. Cura – Settings – Build Plate Adhesion
● Open Settings
● Expand the Build Plate Adhesion
section
● Select Build Plate Adhesion Type

77. • Skirt - Makes sure the filament is
flowing
• Like squirting mustard before
putting it on your sandwich
Photo by Josh Reichlin
Cura – Settings – Build Plate Adhesion

78. Cura – Settings – Build Plate Adhesion
● Brim prints extra perimeters/outlines outside of your first layer
● Raft prints a platform first and then your object on top of it.

79. Cura – Preview
Preview Mode shows how the model will be sliced up. It’s a great tool for
anticipating problems with the print.

80. Cura – Preview
The slide bar to the
right allows you to
drill down and see
layer by layer what is
going on with your
print.

81. Preview Mode – Three Things to Check
• The First Layer – is there good contact area with the bed?
• Any Overhangs – are there areas that are going to need support?
• Small Details – do any details or section of the model go missing when
sliced?

82. 3D Printing – The All Important First Layer
• You want your print to stick and
stay still.
• Why?
• Your print may fall off or move
• Precise Measurements – A curled
edge may throw things off
• Your Nozzle could even knock the
print

83. 3D Printing – The All Important First Layer
People have employed a variety of
tools to make that happen:
• Heated Bed
• Painters Tape
• Glue Stick
• Hairspray
• Even Superglue
But is the model undermining those
efforts?

84. Cura – Preview - Looking at First Layer
Cork Puppy - One Leg is Not Touching the Bed
Cork Puppy by EHM https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:219030

85. Correcting First Layer Issues with Move
By moving the Z position down, you can lower the model until everything
touches.

86. Correcting First Layer Issues with Rotate
Sometimes you can rotate for better placement

87. Previewing Overhangs – Are Supports Needed?
If an overhang has decent contact with the layer below (as seen in Preview
mode), the printer can handle it unassisted. 45 degrees is a general
guideline.

88. Previewing Overhangs – Are Supports Needed?
But if there isn’t good contact, you definitely want to keep the supports.

89. Effect of Layer Height on Overhangs
Smaller Layer Heights can also help your overhangs

90. Preview Mode - Finding Missing Details
Sometimes Details are Missing in Layer View

91. Line Width and Layer Height
When crocheting, the hook size and the material
size impact the final product. Embroidery floss
could make tiny details that thick wool yarn could
not.
With 3D Printing, this is similar to Layer Height
(Quality Setting) and Line Width (Nozzle Width)
Source: http://craftsauce.blogspot.com/2013/05/top-10-crochet-and-amigurumi-tips-
for.html

92. Layer Height
Larger Layer Heights lead to faster print times, but lowers vertical detailing
and some small details could get skipped.

93. Layer Height
Can be changed with the Profile or by typing a specific Layer Height under
Quality.

94. Line Width
Line Width- the thickness of the line of plastic the printer is drawing width
can impact your horizontal detailing (close to your nozzle size). Details
smaller than the Line Width will be skipped.

95. Line Width
If walls of your object are smaller than the line width, sections will get
skipped altogether.

96. Troubleshooting Missing Details
Scale the model larger.

97. Troubleshooting Missing Details
Use Horizontal Expansion
setting.
1. Click on icon to the
right of search
2. Select Advanced

98. Troubleshooting Missing Details
3. Expand Shell
4. Update the Horizontal
Expansion setting
(I usually try 0.1mm at a
time)

99. Troubleshooting Missing Details
5. Slice again and gauge impact

100. Cura – Save to File
When ready for the printer, click on Save to File. This makes the gcode
instructions for the printer.

101. Cura - Resources to Learn More
• Cura IMade3D Quick Start Guide
https://www.imade3d.com/resources/Cura/Cura%20IMADE3D%20Edition
%204.1%20Beta/Cura-Quick-Start-Guide-version-1.2-for-Cura-IE-4.1.pdf
• Cura Support Section of Ultimaker
https://support.ultimaker.com/hc/en-us/sections/360003548339-
Ultimaker-Cura

102. 3D Models
The Printer Needs a Model to Print
• We Can Download Existing Models
-OR-
• Make Our Own!

103. Getting Models - Thingiverse
http://www.thingiverse.com

104. Getting Models - PrusaPrinters
https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints

105. Getting Models - Smithsonian
http://3d.si.edu/

106. Getting Models – Many Resources
• www.pinshape.com
• www.youmagine.com
• www.yeggi.com
• www.myminifactory.com
• www.cults3d.com

107. Importing Models into Tinkercad
• You can build off other models in Tinkercad
• Click on Import, hit Choose a file, and browse to your model
• Check measurements and hit Import.

108. Importing Models into Tinkercad
• It’ll bring the new object into Tinkercad and you can manipulate, add
additional objects or engrave just as a normal object to make it your
own
Pumpkin Pendant - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1074202

109. Heads Up – Microsoft 3D Builder
• If you having trouble with a model, Windows 10 has a free 3D
Builder tool you can use to repair models.

110. THANK YOU!!!
http://www.facebook.com/tgaw3d
https://twitter.com/tgaw
http://www.tgaw.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/vickytgaw
http://instagram.com/TGAW3D
Vicky Somma
vicky@tgaw.com