Blender 3D Printing by Example

Vicky Somma, Fernando Castilhos Melo

• Publisher: Packt Publishing
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781788394369
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: CAD-CAM
• Index: Computer Science

Build four projects using Blender for 3D Printing, giving you all the information that you need to know to create high-quality 3D printed objects.About This Book• A project based guide that helps you design beautiful 3D printing objects in Blender• Use mesh modeling and intersections to make a custom architectural model of a house• Create a real world 3D printed prosthetic hand with organic modeling and texturing paintingWho This Book Is ForIf you're a designer, artist, hobbyist and new to the world of 3D printing, this is the book for you. Some basic knowledge of Blender and geometry will help, but is not essential.What You Will Learn• Using standard shapes and making custom shapes with Bezier Curves• Working with the Boolean, Mirror, and Array Modifiers• Practicing Mesh Modeling tools such as Loop Cut and Slide and Extrude• Streamlining work with Proportional Editing and Snap During Transform• Creating Organic Shapes with the Subdivision Surface Modifier• Adding Color with Materials and UV Maps• Troubleshooting and Repairing 3D Models• Checking your finished model for 3D printabilityIn DetailBlender is an open-source modeling and animation program popular in the 3D printing community. 3D printing brings along different considerations than animation and virtual reality.This book walks you through four projects to learn using Blender for 3D Printing, giving you information that you need to know to create high-quality 3D printed objects.The book starts with two jewelry projects-- a pendant of a silhouette and a bracelet with custom text. We then explore architectural modeling as you learn to makes a figurine from photos of a home. The final project, a human hand, illustrates how Blender can be used for organic models and how colors can be added to the design.You will learn modeling for 3D printing with the help of these projects. Whether you plan to print at-home or use a service bureau, you'll start by understanding design requirements. The book begins with simple projects to get you started with 3D modeling basics and the tools available in Blender. As the book progresses, you'll get exposed to more robust mesh modeling techniques, modifiers, and Blender shortcuts. By the time you reach your final project, you'll be ready for organic modeling and learning how to add colors. In the final section, you'll learn how to check for and correct common modeling issues to ensure the 3D printer can make your idea a reality!Style and approachThe profile pendant teaches background images, Bezier Curves, and Boolean Union. The Mirror Modifier, Boolean Difference, and Text objects are introduced with the coordinate bracelet. Mesh modeling, importing SVG files, and Boolean Intersection help make the house figurine. The human hand illustrates using the Subdivision Surface Modifier for organic shapes and adding color to your designs.

Coloring Models with Materials and UV Maps

In this chapter, you will learn how to add colors to your model for full-color printing at a 3D Printing Service Bureau. The skills include:

• Adding new materials and setting their colors
• Assigning materials to specific faces
• Adding a new Editor Panel to Blender's interface
• Unwrapping your model for more advanced coloring
• Using Blender's Fill and Draw brushes for painting
• Exporting your work to X3D format and uploading to a Service Bureau

Using materials

For most printing processes, the color you put on your model in Blender has no impact on the color of the final print. For the FFF/FDM printers, the color of your print is going to be the color of the filament(s) you have loaded into the machine. SLA will be dictated by the resin being used. For the 3D Printing Service Bureaus, you may be picking a dye color when you order your prints.

The exception is the full-color printing 3D Printing Service Bureaus offer in Sandstone (gypsum powder) and now Plastic. Those printers need color information. In Blender, one way you can add color is by adding and assigning single-colored materials to your objects and faces.

Adding a material to the whole object

The steps to add a material and color to your entire object are as follows:

1. In Object Mode, right-click your object to select it.
2. In the Properties Window on the right-hand side of the screen, click the sphere icon to access materials:

Accessing materials in the Properties Window

3. Click the New button to add a new material:

Clicking New to add a new material

4. The new material is added and a number of new properties display. By default, the color will be white. Look for the Diffuse heading and click the box directly underneath:

Colors can be assigned with the Diffuse property

5. A pop-up screen displays a color wheel. Click inside the color wheel to designate your base color. You can control the shade by clicking the gradient bar along the right. Alternatively, you can type in specific R (for red), G (for green), and B (for blue) values at the bottom:

Colors can be adjusted in the color wheel or by typing in exact values

Once a color is picked, the model is updated to reflect the new coloring:

Updated color for the hand model

Adding a material to specific faces

Once you have an initial material defined for the object, you can customize specific faces so they have a different material and, therefore, a different color. In our hand model, an example would be the fingernails. I could assign just those faces a different color. The steps are as follows:

1. In Edit Mode, switch to Face Select mode. Press Shift + right-click to select all the faces you want to change the color for. In my example, I selected all the faces involved with a fingernail:

Selecting the faces for one fingernail

2. In the Properties Window, click the sphere icon to access materials. There is already one material listed, the skin color that was added earlier. Click the + icon to add a new slot for a new material:

Clicking + to add a new slot to hold materials

3. Click the New button to fill that spot with a new material:

Hitting the new button fills the slot with a new material

4. As before, click the Diffuse box and select the new color....

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Credits
• About the Author
• Acknowledgments
• About the Reviewer
• www.Packtpub.com
• Customer Feedback
• Preface
• Thinking about Design Requirements
• Using a Background Image and Bezier Curves
• Converting a Bezier Curve to a Properly Sized 3D Mesh
• Flattening a Torus and Boolean Union
• Building a Base with Standard Meshes and a Mirror
• Cutting Half Circle Holes and Modifier Management
• Customizing with Text
• Using Empties to Model the Base of the House
• Mesh Modeling and Positioning the Details
• Making Textures with the Array Modifier and Scalable Vector Graphics
• Applying Textures with Boolean Intersection
• Making Organic Shapes with the Subdivision Surface Modifier
• Trial and Error – Topology Edits
• Coloring Models with Materials and UV Maps
• Troubleshooting and Repairing Models