June 10: 3D Printing

 3D Printing

Background

• YouTube Videos of people using 3D print pen
• Science Olympiad members 3D printing parts

Software

I used TINKERCAD because though I have seen other people 3D print, I have never designed and printed my own. As TINKERCAD was the basic 3D print option, I followed through with that.

My Design

Originally, I wanted to create Miffy (Dutch children's story bunny character) or a Sonny Angel (collectible baby miniture). My friend Disha Javagal decided to design an Among Us character, and I, after struggling with even the basic TINKERCAD lessons, decided to join the fun and create an Among Us character as well. 

Front

Side

Back

Even with its simple shapes, this Among Us design took me two days to "perfect". Because at least four people in my friend group designed Among Us characters, we decided to put our intials on the back of our personal design to diffrentiate our prints! My Among Us 3D print design is brown and sports bear ears to replicate my in-game character.

What I Learned

• add fillets to support upright design
• know the pen size of the 3D printing machine
• keep angles less than 45 degrees
• when printing detail work, print two designs side by side so the pen can work on both parts, providing time for the plastic to cool
• how to navigate TINKERCAD