3DPrintUK’s Basic Rules for STL Export for 3D Printing
3DPrintUK has made an excellent tutorial on things to avoid when making a CAD file fit for exporting to 3D Printing.
I’d add a few things to their list of suggestions myself:
1.) Know the minimum thicknesses for details and supporting walls you can get away with on the material in which your printing. This varies by 3D printing material, but Shapeways has a good starting list for 3D printing tolerances.
2.) Keep in mind how the model will be ultimately used. Just because a piece is thick enough to survive 3D printing doesn’t mean it’s thick enough to survive casting or wear.
3.) If the model is destined to be polished or finished in some way, think about how reachable any surface details are going to be. If it helps, it might be a good idea to measure your polishing tools.
Have a look at the rest of the article on 3DPrintUK’s website.
Jack Meyer
Bespoke jewellery designer, and specialist in jewellery CAD/CAM and emergent technologies that affect jewellery.
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hi,
can you advise me which software is better and low cost for manufacturing of jewellery
Dear M. Adnan:
Since this is such a frequently asked question, I made a FAQ page to answer it: https://www.cadjewelleryskills.com/frequently-asked-questions-part-1-comparisons-of-cad-jewellery-software-on-the-market/
Have a look. This should handle most of your answers.
In terms of cost, there are two other articles I’ve come up with which attempt to address that issue.
The first link is answering questions about affordability of software (and includes some low cost alternatives to common jewellery CAD software choices):
https://www.cadjewelleryskills.com/frequently-asked-questions-7-how-can-i-afford-5000-of-jewellery-cad-software/
The second link is a list of general list of product design CAD software choices, and includes some additional low cost or free alternatives:
https://www.cadjewelleryskills.com/product-design-cad-software-list-digits2widgets/
I hope that helps.
Regards,
Jack
Hi Sir,
My name is Jawad and I am living in London, And I want to do CAD full time or I can do part-time please tell me were I can get it please.
Kind regards
Jawad Shoaib
Hi Jawad.
A good place to start would simply be to contact Holts Academy of Jewellery, and ask about CAD courses. http://www.holtsacademy.com . You can also find their link on the right side of this blog.
Regards,
Jack