Re: [MakerBot] Help for the YOUNGEST MakerBot owners (how to print from Sketchup)

[Luis E. Rodriguez]

Use Tinkercad or 3d tin!

You need an STL output plugin for sketchup. I'm mobile or I'd link.

Sounds fun!

Luis E. Rodriguez

On Sep 1, 2012, at 11:40 AM, Howie <howiep...@gmail.com> wrote:

I bought my kids a Makerbot . . . I want them to experience 3D printing at a young age since I believe this is the future and I wanted to give them a head start.

We completed some test prints off the SD card shipped.

My kids can use Sketchup (they are making really simple objects)

I need help / advice on the easiest way to go from Sketchup to SD cart ready to print

Something an 8 year old can do / steps to follow . . ..

thanks!

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[Z LeHericy]

or give 123D a shot, but either way, you need something that can output to STL, and as Luis said, you need a plugin for Sketchup (i've never gotten it to work for some reason)

Next step once you have the STL is to load it up in ReplicatorG, and slice it (use the defaults for now) and build to SD.

Once you're a bit more comfortable with RepG, you'll want to start playing with Skeinforge and tweaking it to get better quality.

-Zeno LeHericy

//((=:Z:=))\\
INVENTIONS
Technologies
zinventions.com

[c f]

I've heard really good things about tinkercad (https://tinkercad.com/home/), which I believe can make STL files directly

[Howie]

thanks guys!

"Next step once you have the STL is to load it up in ReplicatorG, and slice it (use the defaults for now) and build to SD."

is there a plugin or something that will enable me to skip the above steps
and go straight from Sketchup to something I can copy to SD and just print from ?

The current steps seem to require multiple installations / scripts
(I need to make it kid friendly)

thanks!
Howie

[c f]

Nope, unfortunately. Once you have ReplicatorG installed though, it's really not a super hard/confusing process. It's certainly less complicated than designing a 3D object to begin with.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/makerbot/-/WZ2BRr8zDtoJ.

[Howie]

thanks!  Is there a reason why a plugin direct from within Sketchup would not work / could not be developed that produced a file ready to print ?

On Saturday, September 1, 2012 12:45:55 PM UTC-4, Luis E. Rodriguez wrote:

[Dan Newman]

On 1 Sep 2012 , at 11:16 AM, Howie wrote:

> thanks! Is there a reason why a plugin direct from within Sketchup would
> not work / could not be developed that produced a file ready to print ?

Sure, one could be written. But it would still have all the pitfalls of installing
RepG since, at the end of the day, the plugin would require RepG. Put differently,
to write such a plugin, you'd start with the STL export plugin and extend it to
launch RepG and point it at the STL file. So, you'd still have to install a
Sketchup plugin and still have to install RepG along with any dependencies of
the two which weren't bundled in.

What does this save someone from doing manually? Essentially

0. Launching RepG
1. Drag and dropping the STL to RepG

or, equivalently,

0. double clicking the STL to launch RepG with STL loaded

I understand the desire to streamline things for children. I have two of them
myself, one of whom is quite fond of OpenSCAD and the other Blender. But, the
effort of writing and maintaining a plugin to ease what is generally a simple
desktop task isn't too compelling IMO (as someone who has the know-how and ability
to write what you are asking for).

So, that's my long answer to your question, "Is there a reason why a plugin direct
from within Sketchup would not work / cound not be developed …?"

Dan

[Jason]

It's also worth noting that RepG is essentially a wrapper for Skeinforge, so it would make more sense to me to make a Skeinforge plugin that integrates into Sketchup. But I do agree wholeheartedly with Dan here - opening RepG, loading an STL and hitting "Generate GCode" is really not too strenuous as to need streamlining. In fact, I think it would be beneficial for kids to learn how to use TWO very simple pieces of software to make a 3D print - it may help them to grasp the concept that a 3D model is different than a 3D print, and that you need to convert a 3D model into a bunch of commands to make the machine do what you want!

[Howie]

Thanks everyone - I appreciate the feedback. 

My opinion (as an early stage technology investor - not an engineer)

For 3D printing to become truly "main street - opening up even one other program is one step too much.

What would Steve Jobs do with 3D printing if he was still alive?  You would go to the file menu and click print (and select your Makerbot) from whatever software you were in.
(no other steps required)

3D printing will only become mainstream when you can walk into Best Buy - pick one up off the shelf, go home plug it in and press 'print' from whatever simple 3D software you are using.

Its a bit sad that I have had my Makerbot for 5 days and I  can't even print something from Thingverse directly forget about my own designs . . .

If you want to sell 1 Million or 10 Million Makerbots the above needs to be solved.

take care
Howie

On Saturday, September 1, 2012 12:45:55 PM UTC-4, Luis E. Rodriguez wrote:

[Jason]

Might be a suggestion better suited for the owners of MakerBot Industries, rather than a casual users group. Remember to keep in mind (and, even, embrace) the fact that you're taking part in a massive DIY / Maker ecosystem with people across the entire spectrum of comfort levels with technology.

I personally would not want to see what Steve Jobs would do with 3D printing - it would ensure more roadblocks for developers and innovators, and place a higher priority on image than functionality.

I understand your frustration, but I would suggest being a little more flexible in your thinking. New technology is inherently complicated and multi-faceted; some people really love that phase and love to feel a part of that phase (even contribute to it), but I do understand how others may feel differently.

I would recommend checking out the workflows of any other 3D printer in the MakerBot price range and below, and learning about how their user communities discuss their activity. MakerBot has actually contributed an amazing amount to the 'usability' aspects of 3D printing. 

As Gandhi said, "you must be the change you want to see in the world." Along those lines, I would suggest that if you feel that it would be a great idea to integrate some slicing software into CAD / 3D modelling programs as plugins, I encourage you to make it a mission to see it happen! If you don't have the time / interest to invest in learning to code and doing this yourself, you can find a like-minded developer to get the ball rolling. After all, that's the spirit that drives people to make things like MakerBot Industries :)

[joe...@gmail.com]

I understand the point about it being a bit frustrating to set up, but keep in mind that we are at the starting stages of low cost "personal" 3d printing.  

Steve Job's first computer offerings were not so polished, either... :-)

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[Howie]

thanks guys - don't take my comments the wrong way - I am very excited about the future of 3D printing - I am just approaching this as a 'consumer'.

I got RepG working - and had my 8 yr old son design a skateboard ramp in Tinkercad (thanks for the suggestion) its printing now - there goes my Sat night now I am going to watch my Makerbot print for the next 2 hours

On Saturday, September 1, 2012 12:45:55 PM UTC-4, Luis E. Rodriguez wrote:

Use Tinkercad or 3d tin!

On Saturday, September 1, 2012 12:45:55 PM UTC-4, Luis E. Rodriguez wrote:

[PropellerScience]

What would Steve Jobs do? He'd lock everything down so you can't do
anything with it without his permission! If the 3D model didn't
conform to his moral code you wouldn't be able to print it. If it
resembled something that was copyrighted the software would detect it,
and prevent you from making it unless you paid a fee. Sure, you could
"click print", but what if you wanted to do something else? I'll take
the frustrations and extra steps of open source any day. Where would
computers be today if IBM followed the Apple model, and not opened it
up for everybody? How many software and hardware projects do you find
on the Internet for Apple computers vs IBM compatible computers? Why
not teach your kids how to use the computer, not just blindly click
buttons?

[Chris Connors]

Sketchup has been my 3D software of choice for a while. 

There are a few reasons

• It's easy for kids to learn
  
• Many kids have already tried it out
  
• It's already on a lot of computers at home and school
  
• There are free plugins that extend it
  
• You can make some pretty complex designs before you bump into Sketchup's real limitations
  

When working with Sketchup, I suggest you keep a few things in mind:

• Design small things (initially) for 3D printing
  
• Use the tape measure to create guidelines for the max size of your design envelope before you start designing
• With the tape measure tool, click on the red and green axis lines and drag it out to 2" or so, then keep your design inside
• Make the design close to the origin where the three axes come together
• Use relatively simple geometry without zillions of faces
  
• Check your designs to see if you are missing faces
• Orbit around and find places where you can see the inside geometry of the shape
• Check the design to see if you have reversed faces, which usually show up as purple in the default Sketchup configuration 
• Fill the missing faces by drawing a line along the edge, or adding a rectangle that heals the hole 
• Make only one design in a document
• Name each document with a descriptive title so you can find it later
• These steps have helped me to consistently create objects that can be printed

As to the What Would Steve Jobs Do With A 3D Printer thread, you should keep this in mind: http://www.cedmagic.com/history/apple-1-2-steves.html

In the mid 1970's, personal computers were unlikely to have much more than switches, lights and a power cord. Keyboards were an exciting innovation. As this latest nascent technology we call 3D printing evolves, the workflows are getting both easier and more diverse. 

Printing on paper as a seamless set of steps didn't come until nearly a decade later, in the mid 1980's. Nowadays, you don't even need a cable to connect the 'computer' to the printer. Give it time. If you want some aspect of the technology to improve faster, you can start working on that problem. At some point, somebody else may pick up your cause, and add the feature.

Let me know if you can use any help on the Sketchup workflow.

Chris

[g. wygonik]

I'll second Chris' reasons and "things to keep in mind".

I'd add that it is good to learn about turning items into components sooner than later. Components make it easy to just jump in, put some pieces together, and get a working object.

Think of them like building blocks; you can make a bunch of common pieces and add, arrange, resize, rotate, etc to make many new things. Pretty much the way Tinkercad works (but without the "hole" objects, which are awesome in Tinkercad). You can even modify one component, and it will update all of the same components in the object. Alternatively you can make added components "unique" so you can change that one without affecting the rest.

Besides allowing reuse of common objects, working with components will save some major frustration when, after you've edited something you realize you need to modify some base part but can't really get to it and you don't want to undo the last 50 steps. If pieces are components, you can keep parts separate until you want to join them (if you want/need to join them).

And, you're not wrong for wanting more "consumer friendly" 3D printers and software. This is an area where others are going to innovate and eventually take the lead (see: Cube 3D printer's form-factor, materials, spools, instruction manual, software, etc...). Apple became what it is because they saw that creative people wanted to be creative (and later consumers just wanted to consume), and not have to be engineers, so they put together a complete package (hardware/software) that made creation easy and simple. IBM didn't care about that until too late (OS2 Warp) and you see where that got them (no longer relevant in the consumer PC space).

Some people buy a chainsaw to turn logs into eagles, some people buy a chainsaw to take it apart and see how engines work. ;-)

g.

[Kai Backman]

Howie,

This is Kai form Tinkercad. We have been talking with the Makerbot guys about direct to SD integration. The idea is to give you single click download from Tinkercad to your SD card. Our main concern has been the speed of Skeinforge, we strive to have all operations in Tinkercad take just seconds instead of tens of minutes. That said, this is something that we want happening sooner rather than later, we have several Makerbots at the office so this is a concrete problem for us as well.

  Kai

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[Ward Elder]

That sounds like a fantastic idea! Could you use Slicer instead?
Thank you
Ward Elder
Eldersoft
(204) 791-7754

[Chris Connors]

Well, there you go! 'Somebody else' is taking up your cause and adding the feature. Thanks Kain.

Tinkercad is great, and has a very important feature: there's no software installation.
Most of us haven't endured the joys of cajoling the it staff into installing an experimental software onto the school's computers. Getting all 25 installs done correctly is a challenge that most people wouldn't enjoy.
I'd be excited to try it out.

[Kai Backman]

We have been eyeing Slicer as well. I think the key question is finding something that is fast and produces toolpaths that are reliable on the printer. It's easy to produce toolpaths quickly in our cluster environment, we just don't know how to measure fidelity yet.

Obviously with a group of friendly testers willing to do a lot of prints we could probably iterate on this pretty quickly.. :-)

Take care,

  Kai

[Ward Elder]

I am more than willing to test. I have a TOM and a Replicator running on Win7 x64.

[Cymon]

Steve Wozniak's first offerings were not so polished. Pedantic but important difference.

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread. As you were.

[MacGyver]

My kids 8 and 10 years old are loving Sculptris it's pretty easy to make very cool things with it.  After they make something that is remotely printable I export their model as an *.obj file then import it into Netfabb and slice it in half then export that as an *.stl which is printable.

See http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:27536 for a pic of my daughter with her dragon head she designed.