Tutorials

How to 3D Print Textured Objects Inside Clear Plastic Blocks

58 9 Expert
This walkthrough explains how to print fully textured CAD files encased inside transparent blocks, to help support complex parts, show vistas you never thought possible, or just increase the usability of your full-color models!

How to 3D Print Consumer Product Prototypes, at different levels of realism

16 8 Expert
Realism helps the prototyping process of Consumer Product Goods, but not always in the ways you'd expect. We climb through the 4 levels of 3D printing realism, using both single color FDM and full-color Polyjet printing, and discuss the cost and benefits of each.

What 3D printing a coronavirus taught me about DFAM and rapid prototyping

20 6 Beginner
A project to visualize the novel coronavirus for a local medical conference. But over the course of our work, we re-learned some important 3D printing principles that EVERYONE can use!

How to 3D Print in Full Color (Part 3): Clear + Texture Together

24 5 Expert
This is the third in a series of tutorials to help printer operators who are NOT graphic artists get the absolute most out of their multi-color, multi-material 3D printers, like the Stratasys J750. We will cover how to create models with semi-transparent textures wrapped around curved, transparent bodies (taking advantage of a new slicer from Stratasys), and how to fix UV-mapping problems when wrapping 2D textures around 3D bodies goes wrong.

How to 3D Print More Realistic Consumer Product Prototypes

22 3 Intermediate
We discuss the 4 levels of 3D printed prototype realism all Industrial Designers should know about, and show you step-by-step how to reach each one!

How to 3D Print Complex, Semi-Random Lattice Structures, Easily

13 3 Expert
We show how to use Grasshopper and Rhino to automatically generate complex Voronoi structures ready for 3D printing.

How to REALLY export your color SOLIDWORKS files for printing

11 1 Beginner
An updated tutorial, showing you the BEST way to export your color SOLIDWORKS files for 3D printing, using the new '3MF' format!

How to control the transparency of your 3D printed parts- the hardest task yet!

4 1 Expert
With multi-material 3D printers, how do you control what's transparent and what's not? Especially when you've got clear sections above, behind, and even intermixed with your color layers? This tutorial covers controlling what's clear, what's opaque, and what's tinted, even in intersecting volumes printed as one solid part! Get ready to conquer the hardest task in 3D printing!

How to Lower Your 3D Printer Material Cost Using this Trick in GrabCAD Print

10 0 Beginner
GrabCAD Print has multiple features that allow you to lower your 3D printer material cost, including making parts hallow, optimizing the orientation, and re-scaling. Learn how to apply these options here!