When turning your 3D model into a 3D print, the software you’re using may require some extra editing before you end up with a printable piece: the wall thickness needs to be checked, the model needs to be watertight, and your final printing size needs to be defined. To make your life easier, Autodesk Maya expert Russ Ogi has put together a step-by-step tutorial about how to make your Maya 3D model printable.
If you’re not familiar with designing for 3D printing, the most important aspect of your model is that it is a “watertight” virtual object. In layman’s terms, think of the “watertight” model as a real object: would your model be able to exist in the real world and would it be able to hold water (like a cup) or keep it out (like a boat)?
In more technical terms, “watertight” means that your outer surface forms one contiguous shell that encompasses a volume of space and includes wall thicknesses. You also need to take into consideration minimum feature size, resolution, file size, format, etc.
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
