Blender for 3D Printing

Reference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN-HMVTB7nk

• camera
• light

Operations

• hold middle button - move screen

• hold middle button + shift - pan

• delete - delete object
• x - delete object with confirm

Left tool bar:

• select tool
• cursor tool???
• move tool
• rotate tool
• scale tool
• transform tool ( grab, rotate, scale )
• measure tool

• add cube

• move to ground plane

• click to select an object

• drag to select multiple items

• n - see details of selected object ( can change size here )

Set Units

These settings will allow you to use real world measurements at a good scale for 3D printed objects.

Right lower side bar -> dropdown icon for ‘properties’ -> left side icon for scene:

• scene poperties
  • units
    • Unit System: Metric
    • length: mm
    • unit scale: 0.001
• ????
• grid dropdown, change scale: 0.001

Editing Things

• Top bar: -> dropdown: object mode, edit mode

• edit mode - can select object corners

3 tiny buttons next to edit mode dropdown ( only shows in edit mode ):

• vertex selection mode ( button near dropdown for object mode/edit mode )
• edge selection mode ( button near dropdown for object mode/edit mode )

• face selection mode ( button near dropdown for object mode/edit mode )

• tools on left side:
  • extrude
  • bevel
  • inset
  • poly build - can stretch from corners
  • inset faces
  • extrude - extrude faces out - super useful
  • move tool ( for vertex, edge, and face )
• ctrl + z - to get out of things
• shift + click - to multi select
• x-ray mode - button on top right - needed to select all points

????

• object dropdown
  • convert
    • mesh
• edit mode
  • ctrl - a
  • extrude tool
  • pull out

Subtract object from another object

• select object 1
• blue wrench on right - modifier properties
  • add modifier -> search
    • boolean
    • union (to combine) or difference to subtract
    • object
      • picker tool
        • object 2
      • dropdown (tiny) -> apply
• select object 2
  • delete

normalize scale ( fix issue creating bevel ) ctrl - a apply rotation and scale

Export

• Export: file -> export -> stl
• open in slicer
  • slice