Blog 3: Designing an object to 3D Print

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WELCOME BACK TO MY BLOG!!!!! 🎉

I hope y'all didn't miss me too much since my last blog post... two months ago. (Yikes! 😅) But hey, I’m back and better than ever, having picked up some snazzy new skills in Fusion 360 and Cura for 3D printing. In this blog, I’m excited to show you what I've designed so far and how I achieved it. So, without further ado, lettuce 🥬 begin!

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What is 3D printing?

So, what exactly is 3D printing? According to my ICPD module, it's a magical process where dreams and plastic come together in perfect harmony... okay, not quite, but close! It’s a form of additive manufacturing that uses Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) to create 3D objects. When I asked my tech-savvy buddy, ChatGPT, to break it down for me, here’s what it had to say:

"It is a transformative technology that builds objects layer by layer from thermoplastic materials. FDM printers work by extruding melted filament through a heated nozzle, which moves precisely according to a digital design file. This method allows for the creation of complex geometries and customized parts, making it popular in both industrial applications and hobbyist projects. With its ability to rapidly prototype and produce durable components, FDM has revolutionized fields ranging from manufacturing to healthcare."

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What did I design?

For my Practical 4, I had the noble mission of designing a clip for a drawstring bag that could be 3D printed without support. The requirements were that the clip should be between 6 to 9 cm in length and able to clip onto a string with a 0.7 cm diameter. Behold my masterpiece below! 🖌️✨

It's based on a design I found online, and the video below shows how I made it:

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/232fa6_ae3477814bd84130834fc5f749221f48/480p/mp4/file.mp4

As you can see from the video, my design is essentially a direct copy of the drawstring bag clip I found online, with a few crucial tweaks. Here’s what I changed:

• Size Matters😏: It’s bigger than the original clip to snugly fit a 0.7 cm thick string. 📏 Because we like things that fit perfectly!👌

• Beefed Up💪: The clip itself is thicker to ensure it won’t break, but not so thick that it becomes a fashion faux pas. ☠️

All these thoughtful design considerations result in a print time of under 5 minutes! ⏱️ I wanted to make more improvements, but the original design was already quite perfect. Sometimes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? 😅

And finally below is the embedded file of my design. 🎨

I estimate it took around 1 hour⏰ to design this with the most time consuming part being finding good dimensions for the clip as who wants a clip that cant clip, right? 😜

Overall it was quite fun especially doing the sketching as my mouse got quite the workout!🏋🏽 For my next project I will try to make a movable print in place part for my next blog and I hope yall would be ready for the joint adventures! 😂

Hope you enjoyed this 3D printing escapade! Until next time, happy printing! 🖨️✨ Keep dreaming about designing and start printing those dreams into reality!