If some parts of the drawing are not connected, they will print out as separate parts and not together. You will need to think about how your drawing will print out. When you make a design you need to think about certain elements that will be effected by the manufacturing process. This is where the Educator/Youth worker can talk about the ideas behind Design for Manufacturing.

USB stick or SD card (depending on your 3D printer)Ĭreate your free-hand drawing on paper making sure to use a black marker pen.

Computer with InkScape software downloaded To learn about Design for Manufacture and creating a design that is printable To gain experience using drawing software such as Inkscape To learn about vectorisation of an image To be given an introduction to 3D printers and what files they can understand Using a computer to transfer the 2D design into a 3D printable design Integration of different disciplines (free hand drawing and 3D printing) Exciting way of bringing creative designs to life It allows participants to be less restricted with their creativity as well as showing them how to transfer an image into a file that can be understood by a printer. It is accessible to all ages and abilities by not requiring participants to design something on the computer. This activity is a great way of introducing 3D printing and Design for Manufacturing. The 3D printed drawings can then be used for further activities such as stencils, stamps or creating keyrings. The activity will involve editing and transferring the image to a file that can successfully read by a printer. This will involve drawing on paper and transferring the image onto the computer.

Inkscape for 3d printing