Due Dates
Assignment : 9am, Tuesday April 12th
Initial comments: 9am, Thursday April 14th
Comment responses: 9pm, Saturday April 16th
Description
The purpose of this assignment is to explore the direct generation of the code (g-code) that controls 3D printers and other fabrication machines. You will also explore structures that cannot be generated by slicing software.
Write a program that generates g-code for three different shapes that cannot be generated by a slicer. The shapes might include non-planar paths, interesting surface texture, and/or design elements that use individual lines of filament. The three different shapes can be members of the same basic family (ie: generated by changing parameters in a single basic program), or each shape could be entirely different. Each print should have a total volume of at least 2″ x 2″ x 2″ (50mm x 50mm x 50mm).
You are welcome to use any programming language and environment you wish for this assignment.
Some references that might be inspiring or useful:
LIA filament sculptures: https://www.liaworks.com/theprojects/filament-sculptures/
3D printed ceramics by Emerging Objects: http://emergingobjects.com/project/gcode-clay/
A paper on g-code techniques: https://haruki.xyz/pdf/efdm_preprint.pdf
A news article about 3D printed brushes: https://3dprint.com/32480/3d-print-paintbrush-bridging/
A paper about the extruder turtle library: https://handandmachine.org/publications/Extruder_Turtle.pdf
Clay 3D printer
You are welcome (encouraged) to use the clay 3D printer for this assignment. You can find an in-progress tutorial for the printer here: https://handandmachine.org/index.php/potterbot/ Touch base with Leah or Amy for a short tutorial before you use the machine. You will want to use the following parameters in your g-code:
extrusion diameter: 3mm
layer_height = 2.2mm
extrude_rate = 3.0 (mm extrusion/mm distance traveled)
speed = 1000 mm/s
What to Hand In
Create a post on this website that documents the work that you did. Your post should include:
- A description of your process and how your code generates your three shapes.
- An explanation of why your shapes cannot be generated by a traditional slicer.
- A discussion of any challenges you encountered.
- Your code. Name your files or folder for this assignment: FirstnameLastnameLA4.
- A screen shot of each g-code file in Cura.
- Excellent images of your three printed artifacts.
Add your post to the “Large Assignment 4 – G-Code” category.
Discussion
Read all of your classmates’ posts and comment at least three of them. Try to comment on projects that haven’t been commented on or that have fewer comments. Respond to at least two comments. If you don’t have enough comments to respond to, email Leah.