3D Printing
Click on either machine to be taken to a page with more information as well as submission info.
FDM – Fused Deposition Modelling
The most common 3D printing technology available on the market. To find out more about the various types of filaments click here, you can also use the submission form via Canvas to view what materials we have in stock at the lab. You must pass your induction first before you can print anything.
LDM – Liquid Deposition Modelling
We have a LDM 3D printer that is often used with ceramics that can then be glazed and fired. If you get the consistency right, you can print with anything. We have tested out machine in the lab with both air-dry clay and traditional clay.
We have 3 ULTIMAKER S5 printers
Build Volume Max: 330 x 240 x 300 mm
AND ALSO 2x PRUSA XL printers with 5 TOOLHEADS/materials
Build Volume Max :350 x 350 x 350 mm
We have a TRONXY MOORE 1
Build Volume Max: 180 x 180 x 180mm
Recommended CAD Software
There are many different programs you can use to make 3D printable models, below are just a few that we recommend. If you would like more information on various programs and their abilities click here.
Fusion 360
- Free to use
- Easy to quickly pick up and learn
- Tools to support iterative design
- Has surface modelling capabilities
Blender
- Free to use
- Step learning curve but lots of features
- Excellent for digital assets (game design etc)
- Sculpting capabilities
Plasticity
- 30-day free trial (student licenses are available)
- Designed for artists but can be used for engineering
- Sculpting tools
- Very easy to pick up and play
Rhino
- Design shared licenses of Rhino 6 or 90-day full version trial of Rhino 8
- Large amount of plugins
- Grasshopper plugin is very useful
- Procedural modeling
Related Projects
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Hey peeps, Steve here 😀 Here's a side project I'm working on in the Design FabLab to learn how to use mechanical electronics, Arduino microcontrollers and coding. A pretty big endeavour for me as I don't have much background in this stuff but thankfully I've found a...