CAD and 3D Printing

1. 2019-05-28 at 8:15 PM UTC

   #1
   

   gadzooks Dark Matter [keratinize my mild-tasting blossoming]
   Anyone here fuck with this kinda thing?
   
   What's the general workflow of going from idea to digital representation to actual physical object?
   
   I imagine tools like AutoCAD (and likely open source equivalents, which I always prefer whenever possible) can be used to sketch the initial design?
   
   And what about the physical medium? Can you use different materials with the same printer?
   
   One particular use case that has occured to me is for chemistry lab components (like rubber stoppers and so on), but clearly there are going to be certain needs like temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, etc.
2. 2019-05-28 at 8:19 PM UTC

   #2
   

   gadzooks Dark Matter [keratinize my mild-tasting blossoming]
   I was debating between posting this in T&T or DIY...
   
   I suppose both are relevant.
3. 2019-05-28 at 8:29 PM UTC

   #3
   

   HTS highlight reel

   Originally posted by gadzooks And what about the physical medium? Can you use different materials with the same printer?

   
   I'm not an expert so take this with a grain of salt, but I'm pretty sure every machine at this point can print with multiple types of stock/filament, but which types the machine can print with depend on the specs of the machine in question. Pretty sure they can all do ABS/PLA printing, but there are some that can print/sinter metal.
   The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!

   • gadzooks