Unable to Upload Sketch to 3d Printer

• Introduction
• Discovering FreeCAD
  • What is FreeCAD?
  • Installing
    • Installing on Windows
    • Installing on Linux
    • Installing on Mac OS
    • Uninstalling
    • Setting basic preferences
    • Installing additional content
  • The FreeCAD interface
    • Workbenches
    • The interface
    • Customizing the interface
  • Navigating in the 3D view
    • A give-and-take well-nigh the 3D space
    • The FreeCAD 3D view
    • Selecting objects
  • The FreeCAD certificate
  • Parametric objects
  • Import and export to other filetypes
• Working with FreeCAD
  • All workbenches at a glance
  • Traditional modeling, the CSG way
  • Traditional second drafting
  • Modeling for product blueprint
  • Preparing models for 3D press
    • Exporting to slicers
    • Converting objects to meshes
    • Using Slic3r
    • Using the Cura addon
    • Generating G-code
  • Generating second drawings
  • BIM modeling
  • Using spreadsheets
    • Reading properties
    • Writing backdrop
  • Creating FEM analyses
  • Creating renderings
• Python scripting
  • A gentle introduction
    • Writing Python lawmaking
    • Manipulating FreeCAD objects
    • Vectors and Placements
  • Creating and manipulating geometry
  • Creating parametric objects
  • Creating interface tools
• The customs

One of the main uses of FreeCAD is to produce real-world objects. These can exist designed in FreeCAD, and then made real in different means, such as communicated to other people who will then build them, or, more and more oft, sent direct to a 3D printer or a CNC mill. This affiliate will show y'all how to go your models set to send to these machines.

If yous have been cautious while modeling, most of the difficulty you might run across when press your model in 3D has already been avoided. This involves basically:

• Making sure that your 3D objects are solid. Real-world objects are solid, the 3D model must exist solid too. Nosotros saw in earlier chapters that FreeCAD helps you a lot in that regard, and that the PartDesign Workbench will notify you if you do an operation that prevents your model to stay solid. The Office Workbench also contains a Check Geometry tool that is handy to check further for possible defects.
• Making sure about the dimensions of your objects. One millimeter will exist one millimeter in real-life. Every dimension matters.
• Controlling the deposition. No 3D press or CNC milling system tin can take FreeCAD files straight. Most of them will only understand a machine linguistic communication called G-Code. G-code has dozens of different dialects, each machine or vendor unremarkably has its own. The conversion of your models into K-Code can be piece of cake and automatic, merely you tin also do it manually, with total control over the output. In whatever case, some loss of quality of your model will unavoidably occur during the procedure. When printing in 3D, you must always brand certain this loss of quality stays below your minimum requirements.

Below, we will assume that the first ii criteria are met, and that by now you lot are able to produce solid objects with correct dimensions. We will now see how to address the third indicate.

Exporting to slicers

This is the technique most commonly used for 3D printing. The 3D object is exported to another program (the slicer) which will generate the Chiliad-code from the object, by slicing it into thin layers (hence the name), which will reproduce the movements that the 3D printer will do. Since many of those printers are home-built, there are often small differences from i to the other. These programs usually offer avant-garde configuration possibilities that permit you to tailor the output exactly for the features of your 3D printer.

Actual 3D printing, however, is likewise vast a field of study for this manual. But nosotros volition see how to export and use these slicers to check that the output is right.

Converting objects to meshes

None of the slicers will, at this time, directly take the solid geometry every bit nosotros produce in FreeCAD. And so we volition need to catechumen whatsoever object we want to 3D impress into a mesh starting time, that the slicer tin can open. Fortunately, as much equally converting a mesh to a solid is a complicated performance, the contrary, converting a solid to a mesh, is very straightforward. All we demand to be careful about, is that it is here that the deposition we mentioned in a higher place will occur. We need to check that the degradation stays within acceptable limits.

All the mesh handling, in FreeCAD, is done by another specific workbench, the Mesh Workbench. This workbench contains, in addition to the nearly important tools that catechumen between Function and Mesh objects, several utilities meant to clarify and repair meshes. Although working with meshes is not the focus of FreeCAD, when working with 3D modeling, y'all oft need to deal with mesh objects, since their employ is very widespread among other applications. This workbench allows you to handle them fully in FreeCAD.

• Permit's convert one of the objects we modelled in the previous capacity, such as the lego piece (which can be downloaded from the end of the previous chapter).
• Open the FreeCAD file containing the lego piece.
• Switch to the Mesh Workbench
• Select the lego brick
• Select menu Meshes → Create Mesh from Shape
• A chore console will open with several options. Some additional meshing algorithms (Mefisto or Netgen) might non be available, depending on how your version of FreeCAD was compiled. The Standard meshing algorithm volition always be present. It offers less possibilities than the two others, but is totally sufficient for small objects that fit into the maximum print size of a 3D printer.

• Select the Standard mesher, and leave the divergence value to the default value of 0.10. Press Ok.
• A mesh object will exist created, exactly on meridian of our solid object. Either hide the solid, or motility i of the objects aside, so you tin can compare both.
• Modify the View → Brandish Mode belongings of the new mesh object to Flat Lines, in gild to run across how the triangulation occurred.
• If you are not happy, and think that the result is also coarse, you can repeat the functioning, lowering the deviation value. In the instance below, the left mesh used the default value of 0.ten, while the right 1 uses 0.01:

In most cases, though, the default values will requite a satisfying result.

• We can now export our mesh to a mesh format, such equally STL, which is currently the most widely used format in 3D press, by using menu File → Export and choosing the STL file format.

If you don't own a 3D printer, it is commonly very easy to find commercial services that will print and send you lot the printed objects past mail. Among the famous ones are Shapeways and Sculpteo, but you will usually find many others in your own metropolis. In all major cities, you will nowadays observe Fab labs, which are workshops equipped with a range of 3D manufacturing machines, almost always including at least one 3D printer. Fab labs are commonly community spaces, that will let you use their machines, for a fee or for free depending on the Fab lab, but also teach you lot how to employ them, and promote other activities around 3D manufacturing.

Using Slic3r

Slic3r is an application that converts STL objects into M-lawmaking that can be sent direct to 3D printers. Like FreeCAD, it is free, open source and runs on Windows, Mac OS and Linux. Correctly configuring things for 3D printing is a complicated process, where you must have a good knowledge of your 3D printer, so it is non very useful to generate K-code before actually going to print (your G-code file might non work well on another printer), but information technology is useful for us anyhow, to check that our STL file volition be printable without problems.

This is our exported STL file opened in Slic3r. By using the preview tab, and moving the correct slider, we tin visualize the path that the 3D printer caput will follow to construct our object.

Using the Cura addon

Cura is some other free and open up source slicer application for Windows, Mac and Linux, maintained by the 3D printer maker Ultimaker. Some FreeCAD users accept created a Cura Workbench that uses cura internally. The Cura Workbench is available from the FreeCAD addons repository. To use the Cura Workbench, yous also demand to install Cura itself, which is not included in the workbench.

Once you have installed both Cura and the Cura Workbench, y'all will be able to use it to produce the G-code file directly from Role objects, without the need to convert them to meshes, and without the need to open an external application. Producing some other One thousand-code file from our Lego brick, using the Cura Workbench this time, is done equally follows:

• Load the file containing our Lego brick (it can be downloaded at the terminate of the previous chapter)
• Switch to the Cura Workbench
• Setup the printer space by choosing menu 3D printing → Create a 3D printer definition. Since we aren't going to print for existent, we can leave the settings as they are. The geometry of the printing bed and available space volition exist shown in the 3D view.
• Movement the Lego brick to a suitable location, such as the center of the printing bed. Remember that PartDesign objects cannot be moved directly, and then you demand either to move its very first sketch (the beginning rectangle), or to movement (and impress) a re-create, which tin can be made with the Role -> Create Simple Copy tool. The copy tin be moved, for instance with Draft → Move.
• Select the object to be printed, and select carte du jour 3D printing → Slice with Cura Engine.
• In the chore panel that will open up, brand sure the path to the Cura executable is correctly set. Since we are not going to really print, we can leave all other options as they are. Printing Ok. Two files volition be generated in the same directory as your FreeCAD file, an STL file and a Thou-code file.

• The generated Yard-code can also be re-imported into FreeCAD (using the slic3r preprocessor) for checking.

Generating G-code

Warning: This section was fabricated for FreeCAD 0.xvi. In that location have been made significant changes to the path creation. Please refer to the documentation of the Path workbench in general or the tutorial similar path walk-through!

FreeCAD also offers more advanced ways to generate G-code straight. This is often much more complicated than using automated tools as we saw above, merely has the reward to let you fully control the output. This is usually not needed when using 3D printers, but becomes very of import when dealing with CNC milling, equally the machines are much more than circuitous.

G-lawmaking path generation in FreeCAD is done with the Path Workbench. Information technology features tools that generate total machine paths and others that generate only parts of a Yard-lawmaking project, that tin so be assembled to class a whole milling performance.

Generating CNC milling paths is another subject area that is much too vast to fit in this transmission, and then we are going to show how to build a simple Path projection, without caring much about about of the details of real CNC machining.

• Load the file containing our lego piece, and switch to the Path Workbench.
• Since the final piece doesn't contain anymore a rectangular top face, hide the concluding lego piece, and show the first cubic pad that we did, which has a rectangular tiptop face.
• Select the pinnacle face and press the Profile button.
• Set its Offset property to 1mm.

• Then, let's duplicate this first loop a couple of times, then the tool volition carve out the whole block. Select the Profile path, and printing the Assortment button.
• Set the Copies property of the assortment to 8, and its Offset to -2mm in the Z management, and move the placement of the array by 2mm in the Z direction, so the cut volition start a fleck above the pad, and include the height of the dots also.

• Now we have defined a path that, when followed by the milling machine, will carve a rectangular volume out of a block of material. We now need to carve out the infinite between the dots, in order to reveal them. Hide the Pad, and show the final piece once again, so we can select the confront that lies between the dots.
• Select the pinnacle face, and press the Pocket Shape button. Fix the Outset property to 1mm, and the retraction peak to 20mm. That is the height to where the cutter will travel when switching from 1 loop to another. Otherwise, the cutter might cut right through ane of our dots:

• One time over again, brand an array. Select the Pocket object, and press the Array push. Fix the Copies number to 1 and the offset to -2mm in the Z direction. Move the placement of the assortment past 2mm in the Z direction. Our two operations are now done:

• At present all that is left to do is to join these 2 operations into one. This can be done with a Path Job. Press the Task button.
• Set the Use Placements property of the project is to True, considering we inverse the placement of the arrays, and we desire that to be taken into business relationship in the project.
• In the tree view, drag and drib the two arrays into the project. You can reorder the arrays within the project if needed, by double-clicking it.
• The projection can now exist exported to Yard-code, by selecting it, choosing card File -> Export, selecting the Thou-code format, and in the popular-up dialog that volition open, selecting a postal service-processing script according to your machine.

There are many applications bachelor to simulate the existent cut, one of them that is likewise multi-platform and open source, like FreeCAD, is Camotics.

Downloads

• The STL file generated in this exercise: https://github.com/yorikvanhavre/FreeCAD-manual/blob/primary/files/lego.stl
• The file generated during this exercise: https://github.com/yorikvanhavre/FreeCAD-manual/blob/master/files/path.FCStd
• The One thousand-code file generated in this exercise: https://github.com/yorikvanhavre/FreeCAD-manual/blob/master/files/lego.gcode

Read more than

• The Mesh Workbench
• The STL file format
• Slic3r
• Cura
• The Cura Workbench
• The Path Workbench
• Camotics

Videos

• How To Use FreeCAD For 3D Press | Using The Realthunder Branch A video playlist past Maker Tales about how to use FreeCAD for 3D printing.

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Source: https://wiki.freecadweb.org/Manual:Preparing_models_for_3D_printing

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