Preparing 3d model for printing from Nomad
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Manny Acharya
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3D printing can be a time-consuming process. You’ve stroked and sculpted your character to near-perfection on screen, but when you try to print it, it collapses.
As you continue on, we’ll go through some basic approaches for fine-tuning your models for 3D printing success.
Make base of your model ‘flat’
Add pedastal on your model or if you are afford to trim base of you mode to make it flat it will be lot more easier when you print it.
Decimate your model .
This will reduce the size of your model to easily move around from nomad to printer.
Use percentage to shrink size before you hit decimate. 10% -15% is the good average value for file sizes between 15 mils to 20 mils.
Use your best judgment because with too much reduction, you would lose details in your model.
Considering the quality of the 3d printer you are using, mostly 3d printed objects have lower details when compared with the model itself while you are viewing it in 3d software.
If you want to print as one piece select all parts and voxellate it .. Keep resolution as high as you can. Or it should say as high as your iPad can take without crashing.
Saving your file and trying a few times will help you get there. Just so you know when you are raising voxellate resolution you will see the bars turns from white to yellow and then amber and finally red. Red is when your iPad is most likely going to crash.
Scale & Size of Model
Scale & Size of Model: Add a box and for using it as a reference for understanding the size of your model. By default size of the box is 1 mm in the nomad.
Once you have a box next to your model you will be able to gauge the size of your model.
If you want to increase the size of the box say because maybe the default size is too tiny when compared with your model you can do so by changing values under Box-Geometry.
Adding 10 will make the size of the box 10mm. You can also use measuring tape under the brushes menu option to understand the size of the object.
By the way, if you are not aware the grid size of the nomad is 10mm X 100 mm. I use the top view by snapping to understand the size of my model.
Resources:
Check out the Comprehensive List of Digital Resources needed to Start your Digital Art & Digital Sculpt Journey:
Slicing
Slicing : Slice your model where you want to use lock-key by using split tool.
Hide one part (do not move) of the piece so that you attach your key. In order to acch cube with you half piece slect both and your voxel merge function.
Make sure the resolution is high to retain details of your piece.
Now other part would have Interlocking system
Now other part would have hole where key would fit. We know size of key for instace was 1.0 cm box so other part shold have a hole of size of key but little smaller so key can fit in.
Normally shape of key is like wedge shaped and not like cube/box so it fits in better else edges my slight creat problem. In orde to make you cube wedge shaped .
Make half part of your cube and then reshape so only half part will be affected by gizmo tool when you are reshaping to yeild wedge shape key.
Once yo get desired shape then attached it to your piece. Remember to duplicate key as it will come to use later on to create hole in second piece.
Do not move the duplicated key from its original location. So far we have not moved anything from its original location.
Consider the scale.
Make your model the right size for your needs and printers. A Material Design Guideline’s Maximum Bounding Box specifies the maximum size of a model that can be printed in the given material.
For prints that fit together (like puzzles) or are worn, size is extremely crucial (like rings).
Certain materials, such as brass, bronze, silver, and steel, can shrink during the casting process. When burned, ceramic prints shrink by around 3%, and when glazed, they expand by about 3%.
Resources:
Check out the Comprehensive List of Digital Resources needed to Start your Digital Art & Digital Sculpt Journey:
Now we need to make a hole in the other part where the key needs to fit it. For this, we will use duplicated Key.
Size is a little more than the key by gizmo tool. We will use this key to make a hole into another piece by selecting duplicated resized key and second piece using Voxellate merge.
Make sure the duplicate key is invisible by selecting eye icon. This will enable a hole in the other piece where the second piece will fit in after the 3d print.
Bonus if you use the key as spere/ball shaped it could help you pose your model.
In order to do this, you will need to split your model strategically. For example, a human model can have a head. limbs and body all printed separately.
