Introduction to 3D Printing

With 3D printing, you can create a physical object from a digital model.

In general, 3D printing is an additive manufacturing technology, which means that a part is built up from material rather than chopped away from a block of material (like conventional machining and sculpture). In 3D printing, thin layers of a material are stacked up to create a three dimensional design. There are a lot of methods that can be used to create these layers. And, many materials are possible—such as plastics, metals, wax or even rubber.

At MakerHub we have a MakerBot Replicator and an Ultimaker printer. Both of these machines use a method called Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) to create the layers from a type of plastic called PLA (polylactic acid). PLA is a bio-based thermoplastic derived from corn. It melts at high temperatures and solidifies at room temperature.

I’m a Baruch student and I made a design. Can I print it at MakerHub?

The short answer is ‘maybe’. To learn more, contact us by sending an email to makerhub@baruch.cuny.edu. Tell us about your project and share your design file with us. We’ll let you know what we can (and can’t) do. If we can’t print your model we can advise you on whether your model is printable generally, and provide some resources for other printing services.

Introduction

Lesson One: What is 3D Modeling

Lesson Two: Modeling Using Tinkercad

Lesson Three: Using Sketchfab

Lesson Four: Intro to 3D Printing

Lesson Five: More 3D Printing

Lesson Six: 3D Printing Pro Tips

Further Resources