3D Printing

Designing in Fusion:

1. I started off with a cube measuring 25mm x 25mm x 25mm 

2. The next step was to offset each side by 2mm and extrude each side by cutting through

3. I then created another sketch to insert a sphere with a 25

mm diameter and moved it in order to place it in the middle of the cube. The ball diameter has to be larger than the inner length of the cube which was 23mm so that the ball is able to move around but also remain inside the casing.

Slicing:

The design was first saved as mesh so that it can be saved as a 3mf file and be imported to Ultimaker Cura software for slicing. Most of the settings were the standard ones such as 0.2mm layer height and 20% infill. I also added support for the ball inside so that it will not be floating.

Once the design was sliced, the estimated time to print was 48 minutes which as within the time limit, meaning there is no need to adjust the dimensions.

Final Product:

Hero shot:

Reflection:

This activity was a first for me as I have never 3D printed anything before and I actually enjoyed the process. The task was to 3D print an object subtractively but my first attempt was a keycap which was not successful as it could be laser cut and carved out. In order to ensure my design meets the requirement, I made use of a ball/sphere, which was hard to cut or carved and incorporated it in my design. This learning experience will definitely help when it comes to our final prototyping process. I used to think converting a 3D design into a real object would be complicated, but after this activity, I now know that it is just adjusting the settings using a slicer software that will help ensure that the object is printed correctly. This also provides me an opportunity to understand all the settings available in the Cura software so that I would be able to use it if need be.

Reflection:

At first, the printing was not able to be carried out as the PLA material was not sticking to the build plate and it was fixed by just letting the material heat up for a longer period of time.