Tutorials

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How to Manage Printer Materials in GrabCAD Shop

Stratasys
in Design & CAD
0 0 Beginner
GrabCAD Shop allows users to manage their 3D printer materials via the Admin Console and the shop itself as an operator. Please note that only admins have access to the Admin Console.
GrabCAD Print print shop materials grabcad shop

Matte or Glossy? Which Finish to Use for Your 3D Prints and When.

Alexa Nahum
in Modeling
9 0 Beginner
Matte or Glossy? That is the question. PolyJet users often ask themselves whether they should print a part with a matte finish or a glossy finish. And not without reason. The type of finish can totally alter the look, feel, color, and even strength and durability of two otherwise identical parts. Each option has its own benefits and implications that need to be considered. In this tutorial we will give an overview of matte and glossy, compare the pros and cons of each, and offer examples that clearly show what each finish type has to contribute. Finally, we will wrap up with a quick breakdown of when to use what.
GrabCAD Print polyjet disadvantages advantages cons pros support glossy matte

How to FDM Print for Part Sliding Clearance

GrabCAD Tutorials
in Assemblies
13 4 Intermediate
If you are 3D printing parts that have to fit/slide together after printing, you will need to put some sort of clearance between those parts in your CAD system. A good starting place is a clearance 2x the layer height you are going to print at, but you should make a few smaller test prints at different clearances to see if the 2x layer height rule holds for your particular situation and orientation. Have fun and happy printing!
GrabCAD Print sliding clearance printing 3d fdm

Proper Method to Produce Lobster-back Duct Bends

lawrie
in Drafting
3 1 Beginner
One type of industrial component I have been involved with the design and manufacture of is lobster-back bends. This type of duct bend is made up of segments cut from flat sheets or plates, rolled into cylindrical parts, then assembled. These can be light sheet-metal or manufactured from thick plate. This quick tutorial is a supplement to the one I produced an outline of a method I have used modeling this type of component using Alibre Design. As this supplement concerns producing parts ready for manufacture and applies to whatever software you have used, that is not important as this short tutorial is to outline turning your modeled bend into the flat profile ready to be made into the completed bend. In this modern world, the bend parts will be cut out using CNC laser, or CNC Plasma cutting machines. Sometimes we produce the nc programs ourselves or we are required to produce the correct files for the laser / plasma department to program and cut out. Making the program to cut out the parts starts normally from a 2D dxf file at a scale of 1 : 1. This is the first part of the process that has to be correct. If you produce this dxf incorrectly the finished parts will be useless. Producing this at the right scale, 1 : 1 is different with different 3D cad applications, other problems can be caused by you working in different drawing units. If you are not doing the program, talk to the person who is to make sure you produce the dxf as required. Having a large quantity of wrongly cut parts is not a good thing
Alibre Design

Stacking Your Parts in Z for FDM

Stratasys
in Assemblies
2 0 Intermediate
Have long thin flat parts you’ve always wanted to print right on top of each other in FDM but the slicer never allowed you to? Learn how to use this exclusive new feature in GrabCAD Print Pro!
GrabCAD Print fdm stacking stratasys 3d printing software grabcad print pro

Lobsterback Duct Bends Sheetmetal Method

lawrie
in Modeling
1 0 Beginner
This is the method I use to construct lobster back bends with sheet metal tools that I can produce flat patterns from, These flat patterns can then be used to produce files for CNC profile cutting machines. I have come across other ways of doing this using surfaces, thickened and turned into sheet metal parts. The software I am using is Alibre Design. As the version I have is low on surfacing tools I have found this a good way to model lobster back bends, which I have been involved with the design and manufacture for many years.
Alibre Design

How to add callouts/balloons to drawing in Alibre??

ALI ALDUBAISI
in Design & CAD
0 0 Beginner
Source: Alibre Design User Guide, page 440 https://www.alibre.com/assets/user-guide-12.pdf
Alibre Design drawings callouts ballons

GrabCAD Print Pro™ - Per Part Groups For Service Bureaus

Stratasys
in Assemblies
1 0 Expert
The premium version of GrabCAD Print™, GrabCAD Print Pro™ is now available! This version includes new & enhanced features. This tutorial will explain per part estimation & assembly grouping!
GrabCAD Print part estimation assemblies grabcad print pro 3d printing software grabcad print

Alibre Design - How to Drive a Part From a Layout Sketch

lawrie
in Modeling
0 0 Intermediate
In this tutorial I will use a 2D sketch of the layout of a fan scroll to generate a 3D sheetmetal part using Alibre Design Software. When producing a range of centifugal fans the performance of each particular fan in the range is governed by equations called the "fan laws". Once the actual performance of one fan in the range has been established the performance of all other sizes can be predicted by these laws. This makes producing a complete range of a particular type of fan an ideal task for a parametric 3D approach to produce the drawings and other details ready for manufacture. The main dimensions of our fan are based off the diameter of the rotor.
Alibre Design

JP_011_GrabCAD Print: 「マットかグロス？」3D造形でどのような場合にどちらの仕上げを使用すればよいのか

Stratasys Japan
in Modeling
1 0 Beginner
マット（艶消し）にするか、それともグロッシー（光沢）にするか、それが今回のテーマです。 PolyJetプリンタをお使いの皆さんは、部品をマット仕上げにすべきか、グロッシー仕上げにすべきかで悩むことがよくあります。 皆さんが頭を悩ませるのも無理ありません。それ以外の点はまったく同じの2個の部品でも、仕上げのタイプが異なると、見た目、感触、色、そして強度や耐久性までもががらりと変わってしまう可能性があるのです。どちらの仕上げにもそれぞれ、考慮すべき独自のメリットと影響があります。 このチュートリアルでは、マット仕上げとグロッシー仕上げの概要を説明し、それぞれの長所と短所を比較し、それぞれのタイプがどのような仕上がりにつながるのかを明確に示す例を紹介します。そして最後に、どのような場合にどちらの仕上げを使用すればよいのかを簡単に分類してまとめとします。
GrabCAD Print matte glossy support pros cons advantage disadvantage polyjet

Modeling Twisted 25 X 25 Square Bar

lawrie
in Modeling
1 0 Beginner
Modeling a twisted 25mm x 25mm square bar with Alibre Design software. The model is made using lofted sketches, and as this feature tool is common to many software packages, the basic method should work with other software.
Alibre Design

Basic Steps to Model Anchor Bracket from 6mm Plate

lawrie
in Modeling
0 0 Beginner
This is the basic steps to model a version of anchor bracket manufactured from 6mm thk. mild steel plate. The software I have used is Alibre Design. The same basic approach would be taken using Solid Works, Solid Edge. or Inventor, with small differences due to the basic sheetmetal being a little bit different. My preference for making the pressed version of this part is a laser cut profile pressed into shape is a very simple way to make this. This is a good way to make a few or many of this part. The first step is to select a starting plane and sketch this basic shape. The construction lines are a guide. As I am allowing for thickness of material and radius of bends, I have offset the actual profile by 12mm
Alibre Design

JP_005_GrabCAD Print: 部品摺動部の隙間をＦＤＭ造形する方法

Stratasys Japan
in Assemblies
0 0 Intermediate
造形後にはめ合わせるまたは摺動（スライド）させる必要がある部品を3D造形する場合、CADシステムで該当する部品の間にある程度の隙間を設ける必要があります。目安として、造形する際の積層ピッチの2倍の隙間から始めるとよいでしょう。ただし、小さいサイズで何度かテスト造形を行い、積層ピッチの2倍の法則が特定の状況や向きに当てはまるかを確認することをお勧めします。それでは3Dプリンタで楽しくモノづくりをしていきましょう！
GrabCAD Print fdm 3d printing clearance sliding

Model Cast & Machine

lawrie
in Modeling
0 0 Beginner
Often we make a model of component that are cast and machined to finish. This is an example of a simple cast iron flange that will also be machined. I have used Alibre Design but the same approach will work with any of the main 3D products. By using configurations we have a model that does both for producing the pattern for casting and also details for machining.
Alibre Design

Parametric Arty Glass Model

lawrie
in Modeling
2 1 Beginner
A recent question asked on GrabCad is the inspiration for this quick tutorial. A Grabcad member. His task is tp produce a model of a existing glass tumbler. The basic model consists of two triangular profiles, the base profile separated from the top profile and rotated 180 deg. from the base profile. If you have the original in front of you it is possible to take a few measurements, but a big part of getting the final that you are happy with will probably involve a bit of tweaking to get something that looks right. This concept can be expanded as by building a good robust model, by adjusting values in the function editor, one of the many useful tools available in Alibre Design software, many different versions can be produced with little effort. Alibre Design is great product available for a price well bellow more fancied products like Solid Works and Inventor. For small time use Solid Works and Inventor are too expensive for the possibility of paying there way, which is why there are many pirated copies being used commercially. Alibre Design enables me to own an excellent tool that has paid its way.
Alibre Design
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