====== 3D Printing & Bukobot Frequently Asked Questions ====== ===== 3D Objects ===== ==== Where can I find and download 3D objects to print? ==== There are many sites to get 3D objects from, here is a list of a few popular ones. * [[http://Thingiverse.com|Thingiverse]] - Extremely popular site with free 3D objects to download made by the 3D printing community. * [[http://www.instructables.com|Instructables]] - A very big site of project for 3D printing and many other medias. * [[http://www.shapeways.com/3d_parts_database|Shapeways 3D Objects]] - Objects from Shapeways * [[http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/|Trimble 3D Warehouse]] - Formally Google 3D Warehouse, the site had mostly architectural designs and interior design elements. ==== Which 3D design or CAD programs are compatible with 3D printers? ==== In general, any program that outputs to a "STL" or "OBJ" file format may be used for 3D printing on a Bukobot. Here's a list of some popular software which can export to a compatible program ^App^Platform^Description^Links^License^ |[[https://tinkercad.com/|TinkerCAD]]\\ {{:tinkercad-example.png?100|https://tinkercad.com}}|Online (Firefox / Chrome Browser)|Tinkercad supports all 3D printers on the market that accept the industry standard STL file format.|[[https://tinkercad.com/]]|Free & Subscription Pricing| |[[http://www.blender.org/|Blender]]{{:blender_icon.png?100|http://blender.org}}|Mac\\ Win\\ Linux|Lots of documentation and videos online. Specific support for 3d printing: remove duplicate vertices, select non-manifold.|[[http://www.blender.org/]]|Free/ Open Source| |[[http://www.sketchup.com/|Trimble Sketchup (formally Google Sketchup]]{{:sketchup-icon.png?100|http://www.sketchup.com}}|Mac\\ Win|Dozens of video tutorials, an extensive Help Center and a worldwide user community mean that anyone who wants to make 3D models with SketchUp, can.|[[http://www.sketchup.com/]]|Free & Pro Pricing| |[[http://www.123dapp.com/design/|Autodesk 123D Design]]\\ {{:icon_Design_90x90.png?100|http://www.123dapp.com/design/}}|Win\\ Mac\\ iPad\\ Browser|In addition to 123D Design, Autodesk also have 123D Catch (for building 3D models from photos) and 123D Sculpt (for building 3D models like modelling clay). |123D Design: [[http://www.123dapp.com/design]] (Win,Mac,iPad,browser)\\ 123D Catch: [[http://www.123dapp.com/catch]] (Win, iOS and browser)\\ 123D Sculpt: [[http://www.123dapp.com/sculpt]] (iPad only)|Proprietary (but Free)| |[[http://www.openscad.org/|OpenSCAD]]\\ {{:bukobot-openscad.png?100|http://www.openscad.org/}}|Mac\\ Win\\ Linux|OpenSCAD is a software for creating solid 3D CAD objects. It does not focus on the artistic aspects of 3D modelling but instead on the CAD aspects and provides two main modeling techniques: Constructive Solid Geometry (aka CSG) and extrusion of 2D outlines.|[[http://www.openscad.org/]]\\ Manual:[[http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/OpenSCAD_User_Manual]]|Free/Open Source (GNU GPL v2)| ===== Printing Materials ===== ==== What printing materials can a Bukobot use? ==== Currently, the Bukobots can extrude [[http://www.reprap.org/wiki/PLA|PLA]], [[http://www.reprap.org/wiki/ABS|ABS]] and [[http://www.reprap.org/wiki/PVA|PVA]] thermoplastics. With ABS, a heated platform is required to produce the best quality prints. We are also developing a new nozzle design to extrude polycarbonate and nylon in the near future. ===== Bukobot Printer Software ===== ==== What software do I need to run a Bukobot? ==== Since the Bukobot is a Reprap style 3D printer, you can use almost any Reprap compatible software to run the printer. For controlling the printer, we recommend using [[https://github.com/repetier/Repetier-Host|Repetier Host (Mac, Win, Linux)]] but another alternative is [[https://github.com/kliment/Printrun|Pronterface (Mac, Win, Linux)]]. **Repetier Host** has [[http://slic3r.org|Slic3r]] included to create the tool path for 3D objects but [[http://fabmetheus.crsndoo.com|Skeinforge]] can be used as an alternative. See also [[software-to-install]]