For this assignment, we were supposed to use one of the OEDK 3D printers to make a small tridimensional object, preferably one that could not be made by a different process. I searched the website www.thingiverse.com to find a object that fit these requirements.
After some minutes, I found this mini-wrench that looked pretty interesting:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1435970
It was small enough and I dont think it could be produced by any other method unless it was split into parts. Using the 3D printer, I could create it all in once. Also, the fact that it has moving parts makes it even nicer.
With the CAD model, it was not hard to print it. Lab tech Sammy Soyebo assisted me in the process. The first step was opening the file (in .stl format) in the computer located on the 3D printing room and choosing a correct scale for it. Then we chose also the printer, which was the Dimension SST 768, because it was the only one that was not being used at that time. To save some material, and reduce printing costs, we configured the printer to make the interior of the object hollow, which also made the printing time shorter. Some support material was required because our mini wrench had some complicated geometries, with 90 degree angles, but it was not a problem, since the support material used by that printer is soluable (I just had to leave the wrench in a sodium hydroxide bath for a some hours and the support material vanished). After that, the mini-wrench was finished and almost perfectly functional (just sometimes it gets a little bit hard to move the parts because the imperfections of the object.
