Printing in Plastic: Build Your Own 3D Printer (Paperback)

Printing in Plastic: Build Your Own 3D Printer is your gateway into the exciting world of personal fabrication. The “printer” that you’ll build from this book is a personal fabricator capable of creating small parts and other objects from drops of molten plastic. Design a part using a modeling tool such as Google SketchUp. Then, watch while the fabricator head sweeps back and forth and upwards, depositing plastic in all the right places. You can build anything from a replacement tab to hold a bookshelf in place, to a small art project, to a bashguard for your bicycle. If you can conceive it and design it, you can build it, and you’ll have fun doing it!

Printing in Plastic is aimed at creative people comfortable using power tools such as a table saw, circular saw, and drill press. Authors James Kelly and Patrick Hood-Daniel lead you through building a personal fabrication machine based upon a set of blueprints downloaded from their website. Example projects get you started in designing and fabricating your own parts. Bring your handyman skills, and apply patience during the build process. You too can be the proud owner of a personal fabricator—a three-dimensional printer.

• Leads you through building a personal fabrication machine capable of creating small parts and objects from plastic
• Provides example projects to get you started on the road to designing and fabricating your own parts
• Provides an excellent parent/child, or small group project

What you’ll learn

• How to assemble your own 3D printer
• The ins and outs of design software
• How to design and produce three-dimensional parts made from plastic
• How to replace small plastic parts in household objects
• How to create art objects

Who this book is for

Printing in Plastic is aimed at creative people comfortable using power tools, such as a table saw, circular saw, drill press, and so forth. The book is aimed at those who want to create and fabricate tangible objects from plastic. Crafters, carpenters, electronics hobbyists, and others comfortable working with their hands will find the instructions easy to follow and the projects rewarding.

Table of Contents

1. What to Expect
2. Hardware and Tools
3. Tips & Advice
4. Cutting the Parts I
5. Cutting the Parts II
6. Advanced Cuts and Drilling I
7. Advanced Cuts and Drilling II
8. Advanced Cuts and Drilling III
9. Advanced Cuts and Drilling IV
10. Beginning Assembly
11. Sub-Assembly Work
12. Adding Structure
13. Motors and Movement
14. The Extruder
15. The Filament Feeding Mechanism
16. Mounting Electronics
17. Final Assembly Check
18. Software I
19. Software II
20. Trial Run I
21. Trial Run II
22. Self-Replication
23. Troubleshooting