This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
© 2018 TKNIKA, IMH, Gipuzkoa, Spain | Nachwuchsstiftung Maschinenbau gGmbH, Bielefeld, Germany
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 | How to use this learning unit |
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Design principles for Additive Manufacturing |
 | Changes of design and technology |
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Additive Manufacturing design concepts |
New concepts brought by Additive Manufacturing |
Obtaining a digital file of a part |
 | How to obtain a digital file |
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 | File size and 3D file quality |
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Source: Juan Bauer [CC BY-SA 2.0], via flickr Source: Creative Tools [CC BY-SA 2.0], via flickr Source: Creative Tools [CC BY-SA 2.0], via flickr
Additive Manufacturing software always needs a 3D digital file for creating the CAM manufacturing paths. The most commonly accepted file type for 3D printer software is STL, AMF, 3MF while a number of other files types (including .OBJ, which can store colour and texture profiles) may be supported depending on the program.
There are three ways to obtain a digital file:
The most common way is to draw a 3D model with a traditional CAD program and then convert this file into a 3D file.
Without any knowledge about 3D design, it is also possible to obtain free or paid 3D printable designs in some of the 3D format directly from platforms like Thingiverse, Pinshape or GrabCAD.
The third way is to use a 3D scanner as a simple Xbox Kinect or any professional 3D scanner.
Any organic form can be scanned and converted into a 3D file format.