After much anticipation, 3D printing is now available at the BWG Library!
Now, you can create your own unique projects with our 3D printer inside the Creative Lab.
Our emerging technologist Wendy Zwaal has been busy the past few months, learning all the ins and outs of the machine and its accompanying software programs to help our community bring their unique projects and designs to life.
I had the chance to sit down with Wendy this week, where she showed me and a few coworkers how to make our own keychains using TinkerCAD, a free 3D design software.
I didn’t realize how many things you can make with a 3D printer. Bookmarks, keychains, business card holders ... the possibilities are endless.
First, Wendy had us all log in to TinkerCAD, one of the free 3D design softwares available online, where she was able to show us the basics of the program. There are plenty of other free sites you can use for project inspiration, like Thingiverse, with free designs to download and print, but for this lesson, we used TinkerCAD.
We were set up on Mac computers, which I am not used to using, but I find them great for design work.
On the main page, there is your ‘Workplane’ where you design your projects on a grided backdrop. On the right side, there is a menu where you can add various shapes and letters to the Workplane.
Wendy had us add letters to spell out our names for our keychain design. In the spirit of my favourite pop culture icon, I used the name Barbie and decided it would be printed using a magenta filament colour.
Our Ultimaker S3 3D printer can print eight different colours: black, 2hite, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and magenta. We have two nozzles, so you can use up to two colours per project.
As I added each letter to my design, I was able to tinker (get it? TinkerCAD!) with their size, shape, and thickness. Wendy showed us how to group the letters together to ensure they would print out in one piece.
The hardest part for me was creating the actual loop to put the keys on. We made these using the ‘cylinder’ and ‘hole’ shapes in TinkerCAD. This required a bit of geometrical thinking, but with Wendy’s help, I was able to do it.
The neat thing about TinkerCAD is that you can look at your design from all angles, so you know exactly what the item will look like once printed.
Once we completed our designs, Wendy had us save our projects as STL files and then open them in another free program called Cura.
Cura is where the project is prepared for printing. It slices your project and builds your piece from the bottom up in layers of filament. It also gives you an estimate of how long it will take to print. The bigger your project is, the longer it will take to print and the more expensive it will be.
Costs
3D printing at the BWG Library is run on a cost recovery basis – the cost of prints is $1 base fee + $0.25 per 10 minutes of print time.
In Cura, it showed my keychain would take 30 minutes to print, which means it would cost a total of $1 + 0.25(3) = $1.75
Using the 3D printer
In order to use the 3D printer at the library, you must have a valid BWG Library Card. If you don’t have one, you can sign up for one in person at the service desk or online here.
For those already experienced with 3D printing, you can submit your project files to us directly for printing via email to [email protected] with the following information:
- Name
- Library card number
- Phone number
- Desired filament colour
- Estimated print time
- Project attachment (it must be a . STL or . OBJ file). Please submit one project per email. If you have multiple projects, send multiple emails.
Once your project has been received, Creative Lab staff will confirm the details and cost and send you an email. Projects with a cost of $5 or less will automatically be processed. Larger projects with a cost over $5 will require confirmation from you before being printed.
When your project has been completed, we will contact you to pick up and pay for your project at the service desk.
For those new to 3D printing, we have workshops available where you can sit down with our staff and go through the design and print process step-by-step.
Our first set of workshops is for those aged 12-14. You can sign up for those on our Eventbrite page here.
Stay tuned for more workshops for other age groups coming soon!
For more information and FAQ about the 3D printer, visit our website at bradford.library.on.ca
‘Til next week, happy reading ... and tinkering!
Natasha Philpott is the marketing and communications co-ordinator for the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library.
