I have the day off tomorrow, and have a part I’d like to 3D print, but I have never used a 3D printer. The part is a whopping 6 1/16 X 3 X 1/8. Is it possible to give a quick tutorial on here, or is that something that has to be done in person? The 3D model is done in sketchup, so how do I turn that into machine code / G code for the printer?
Do you have 3D CAD software?
If yes, post about the particulars, if no, see about getting open source stuff.
This is the best info I could find quickly.
http://grabcad.com/questions/which-is-the-best-free-software-for-generating-cnc-part-program
Per Bj. Bro about 1 year ago
Jon, Sketchup can generate the STL file you need for 3d printing. Last time I used it you got 30 days free trial of the full features. After that there is a free plugin you can download to export/convert to STL. There are some other apps that will check your file to make sure it’s water tight and things like that. Then you load your STL file into the software that runs the 3d printer. There are youtube videos and plenty of tutorials. Here’s one that looks good.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Basic-workflow-for-3D-design-in-Sketchup-and-3D-pr/
I've got the hang of it now. Thanks everyone(and Ryan) for the help.