Using the 3D Printers
- Reserve up to four hours per week.
- Only one overnight print per week allowed, limited to eight hours.
- Reserving more than one piece of equipment is not permitted.
- If the machine is not reserved it is available for walk-ins on a first-come, first-served basis!
About the equipment
3D Printers
2 x Filament 3D Printers - Ultimaker S3 (9" x 7" x 7")
- Great for printing prototypes and small parts. These machines print with a rigid material (PLA) or a semi-flexible material (TPU)
- Good for highly detailed, precise objects. This machine produces prints out of a grey resin material that can be painted.
If you are utilizing a 3d printer for the first time, we highly recommend watching our in-depth 3d printer tutorial first, then making a minimum reservation time of two hours. This allows time for our staff to walk you through finding/preparing a 3d model, setting up the software, and time for your model to print.
FAQ
Yes! We created an in-depth tutorial for using our:
Here are the manufacturers PDFs for set up and use:
We recommend starting out with a FDM style 3d print on our Ultimaker S3 3d printers. Once you have a good understanding of that machine, its process and capabilities.. you might try out a model suited for the resin printer!
Get started with some basics from Formlabs on the why, how, what of resin 3d printing. After that, ask a MakerSpace facilitator if your 3d modeling project is a good candidate for the resin printer, and we will help you get started utilizing the machine!
We recommend a minimum reservation of 4 hours on the Formlabs Form 3 resin printer.
3D prints are limited to four hours during the day for both reservations and walk-ins. For print jobs over four hours, reserve the last evening slot for the 3D Printer and we can run the print past closing. Some exceptions can be made for prosthetics, community projects, etc. Ask us about how we can accommodate your project.
We recommend .stl or .obj file types that are smaller than 10mb in size. You can bring your file on a storage device or access it via cloud storage or URL.
A great way to get started 3d modeling is using a free web-based program like TinkerCAD, known for its simplicity and ease of use.
We have a variety of different types of 3d modeling software including Fusion 360, Blender, and Rhino.
The Ultimaker S3 uses Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), also known as Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF). In FDM, a strand of material (in this case thermoplastic) is deposited in layers to create a 3D printed object. During printing, the plastic filament is fed through a hot extruder where the plastic gets soft enough that it can be precisely placed by the print head. The melted filament is then deposited layer by layer in the print area to build the workpiece.
The Formlabs Form 3 uses Stereolithography Apparatus (SLA), or simply stereolithography. Like FDM, SLA is an additive method: Models are built layer by layer. SLA, however, uses a curable photopolymer – typically a liquid resin – that is hardened by applying focused light or UV light (this process is called curing). SLA printers usually build the models upside-down, that is, the build platform lifts the model upwards, out of the resin bath.
Each of these provide a fairly deep dive into 3d printing, enjoy!
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FDM 3D Printing – Simply Explained from All3DP
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The Complete Guide to 3D Printing from Xometry
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Complete Engineering Guide to 3d Printing from 3d Hubs
For our Ultimaker S3 3d printer we provide PLA or polylactic acid, and TPU or thermoplastic polyurethane. PLA is a rigid material that it is derived from renewable resources like corn starch or sugar cane. TPU is a flexible material that combines the properties of rurbber plastic.
For our Formlabs Form 3 SLA 3D printer, it uses a light-reactive thermoset material called “resin.” The specific type of resin we utilize is solid in color and is a general prototyping resin that is extremely durable.
Yes! Patrons are limited to one 3d print overnight per week, limited to eight hours total print time.
