How to cut project into pieces for printing

[banksysan]

When you've finished your beautiful model and want to print it if usually needs cutting up and dowels etc. added so you can glue it back together again.

How do you chaps manage that process?

Do you built the model from scratch split up and suitable for printing (which would make the model more complicated) or do you create a new model from the original and split that up?

I'm hoping for some tips from the pain of experience.

(Added model file)

Unprepared model

[jhackney1972 · Accepted solution]

What you want to do is the create, or use existing, workplanes and then use the Split Body command.  You can do this as many times as necessary to get smaller bodies which you can then use the Save as STL command on.  I attached a screencast shoing a model I did this process to for the same reason you need to.

Next time, please attach your model so those on the forum can give you more relevant answers.

[banksysan]

Thanks @jhackney1972  for the screen cast.  I didn't originally attach the model as I thought it might be regarded as me asking someone else to do my work for me.

The model is (I think) a bit too complex for just slicing along planes so I was going to break it up manually and add holes and dowels to ensure they glue back in place.

Would you change your original model to add all the assembly joints or create a new model from the existing one so as not to obfuscate it with post-production requirements?

[jhackney1972]

If you are going to use the Save to STL command, you have to have  bodies in model.  I would keep it our of the assembly environment.  You must remember ANY surface can be used, even one you create with extruded shapes.  Remodeling it is a big waste of time.  For example, you could make a circular surface the fits over the body of the model and create a body for just the boiler section.  You can also create alignment pins or whatever on the new seperate bodies for alignment during gluing.  Below I am show you one side of my two split bodies and the alignment dipples for later alignment.   If I lead you to believe that only flat planes could be used to Split Bodies, I apologize.

[etfrench]

Just build a bigger printer

[banksysan]

Thanks.  Did you alter the original model to add the dimples or did you build them in as you were building it?

[jhackney1972]

After splitting the one body into two, the negative and positive alignment dimples were added for later line up.  I want to mention that any unwanted split sections caused by the split plane, in either body, can be repaired with the Combine bodies command.  This will make your task a lot easier.  

[TrippyLighting · Accepted solution]

@banksysan 

You can build more complex geometric for splitting your model and you are not limited to section planes or just lines.

[lichtzeichenanlage]

Like @TrippyLighting  mentioned I would use the patch environment to create the splitting tools. But to be totally honest I would create this model from the very first beginning with 3d printing in mind and I would create most of the elements as separate components. If you can't print dissolvable filaments as support I would think about not using the lettering because you might end up using support in your prints. 

[banksysan]

Aye, I have done that in the past. I was wondering how the professionals
do it.

[TrippyLighting]

Professionals Design For Manufacturabilty (DFM). If you know something is going to be injection molded, you better make sure you have proper drafts in your design from the start. If you know it's going to be 3D printed, design. it with that in mind.

[lichtzeichenanlage]

I'm not a professional. I 3d print most of my designs. Because of this I always have this in mind. In the last time I'm taking the planed nozzle size, number of perimeters/top/bottom layers, layer height etc. into account. One major design approach is to avoid overhangs (45° might be okay as an average design rule) or bridges (size depending on the target material). Using components or splitting something might be based on logical parts or sometimes just on a fillet I want to have at a certain edge (just for optical reasons). Orientation on the print bed might be important if it comes to loads for the part. If you split things, you might consider to add registration marks or you design something to press/fit into place.

[koenpunt]

Split body doesn't seem to allow making cuts in a cylinder, to for example, create 3 segments. I think it's because the first cut wouldn't result in 2 bodies. How can I create the 3 dovetails in this ring?

[g-andresen]

Hi,

1. create only one segment with dovetails on both sides and then create a circular pattern

2. Please share the file for reply.

File > export > save as f3d on local drive  > attach to post

günther

[etfrench]

Connect two or more of the splitters together.

[koenpunt]

I realized I can split the body with 2 of the three dovetails with the extended split option enabled to have at least a single segment of the ring. Then I removed the excess bodies and recreated the ring using a circular pattern. 

And do I understand correctly that there's no tool to create a cut in a body, without actually splitting the body?

[etfrench]

The split body command must split the body into at least two pieces.  You can use a thin extrude to create a cut: 

[etfrench]

It's easy enough to create the splitting tool(s) in a sketch:

You may or may not be able to split a body into more than two pieces in a single command.  This will depend on the shape of the body and the splitting tool(s).