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title: Nikolai's Simple Guide to 3D printing

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# Nikolai's Simple Guide to 3D printing

This guide is written for an FDM (fused deposition modelling) 3D printer, the kind that melts plastic from a hotend to print.

> **Disclaimer:** This is still a work in progress

## How Does an FDM Printer Work?

In brief, a printer draws out layers of plastic in the X and Y axes, stacking them ontop of one another in the Z axis to form the finished 3D object.

In most cases, the layer thickness is usually from 0.1mm to 0.2mm, which is why printing can take hours.

## Obtaining The Model

You can either design the object by yourself using CAD software, or download an already exisiting design online.

### Designing the object by yourself

For this, I recommend checking out the following CAD programs:

- Fusion 360 - Sophisticated yet easy to use application with which you can make complicated designs (free version for students)
- TinkerCAD - Primitive web-based application that works great for simple designs (free to use)

> When you are designing the part, it is important to think about the limitations of FDM printing—such as [overhangs](https://all3dp.com/2/3d-printing-overhang-how-to-master-overhangs-exceeding-45/)—and in what orientation the part will be printed. [Here](https://3dinsider.com/3d-printing-parts/) is an article giving advice on how to design parts with these limitations in mind.

### Using somebody else's design

A Google search works great for this, but here are some reputable websites:

- [Thingiverse](https://www.thingiverse.com)
- [Youmagine](https://www.youmagine.com)
- [Cults](https://cults3d.com)

> Keep in mind that you always have the option of modifying other designs to suit your own needs with CAD software

## Printing the Model

After exporting the model from the CAD in STL or OBJ format, it is ready for printing. But what material should you print it out of?

### Different Types of Materials (Filaments)

Ones I recommend for most cases:

- PLA - Rigid but brittle (good for prototyping and is also compostable)
- PETG - Tough without the brittleness (good for end products)
- TPU - Flexible and extremely durable, sort of like rubber (good for vibration dampening, flexible parts, etc)

> Some fascinating, exotic materials ranging from carbon fiber infused filament to glow in the dark filament can be used, the limit is your imagination!

### Using a Slicer

A slicing program, called a slicer, will be used to process this part into its constituent layers and into [G-code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-code) for the printer to understand and print from. 

I recommend using [CURA](https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura) as this is the most popular open-source program. It pretty much supports any printer. 

<p><center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5l_Eqcy9Z4s" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></center></p>

> Generally the default material settings should suffice, although I strongly encourage playing around with the values such as infills and temperature to see what they have an effect on

# AI Art

"Painting of a 3D printer in the style of Claude Monet" by [Stable Diffusion](https://stablediffusion.fr/online):

![](https://i.imgur.com/Bvs32wT.jpg)

Shoutout to my girlfriend and friends for their questions that insipired this guide.

