TRAINING HAS ENDED
Standard Rate: $249 and Groups of 3 or more save 20%. Learn more.

Course Description

No experience required. Learn the basics of CAD and the design rules for 3D printing. This course will cover the full design process, from conception to final prototype. The initial group of course registrants will receive a complimentary 3D print of their design mailed to them courtesy of Formlabs. Register now to qualify!

Each session in this 4-week intensive course focuses on learning design principles and applying what you’ve learned to a different tool, with assignment prompts to go check out the tool and create a design within the next week.

Each session will explore different approaches to designing in 3D, such as how to create a cube and sphere, combine objects, and add and subtract material. Once you complete this introductory course, you will be ready to take Advanced Design for 3D Printing, which begins one week later.

Course participants who attend all sessions (or view the recordings) and complete all assignments will receive a certificate of completion from 3DPrint.com.

Course Schedule

Thursday, March 9
2-2:45pm ET (11-11:45pm PT)

Speaker: Carrie Jost, Technology Specialist, Arapahoe Libraries.

Beginning Design Principles – Part 1

An overview of ways to think about designing basic shapes for 3D printing, followed by a demonstration of Tinkercad, an easy-to-use 3D CAD design tool that allows you to turn your idea into a CAD model for a 3D printer.

Thursday, March 9
2:45-3:30pm ET (11:45-12:30pm PT)

Speaker: Jordan Pelovitz, Training & Development Lead, Formlabs

Beginning Design Principles – Part 2

Learn how you can optimize a part for additive, rather than subtractive manufacturing. Topics covered will include the design-slice-print workflow, designing for different 3D printing processes, part orientation at print time, and more.

Thursday, March 16
2-3:30pm ET (11-12:30pm PT)

Speaker: Poppy Lyttle, 3D Instructor for Printing and Design, former Customer Education Lead at Makerbot

3D Printing Engineering Principles in Fusion 360

This session, led by 3D educator Poppy Lyttle, will open with a follow-up to the first week’s assignment to answer your questions about using Tinkercad for your initial designs. Then the focus will shift to a demo of Fusion 360 to aid in 3D printing. It will teach concepts for designing without 3D print supports and cover various features of the program. The session will close with a focus on designing assemblies to print slightly more complicated models. And it includes an extended Q&A session with participants.

Speaker: TBA

How To Make Printable Products More Accessible for Consumer Use

This session will cover a layperson’s guide to printable products, including grab and go design for digitally delivered FDM (fused deposition modeling) products. It will include how to work with hybrid product platforms that combine conventional and additive manufacturing techniques. Plus how to harness personalization by using coded parametric designs to fulfill users’ thirst for differentiation. And a look at fabripreneurs: how to set the stage for artisanal micromanufacturing and fab-driven boutique retail.

Thursday, March 23
2-3pm ET (11-12pm PT)

Speaker: Kyle Houchens, Trainer and Tech Support, Robert McNeel and Associates

Sculptural Designs & Animation

Learn how to create, edit, analyze, and translate NURBS curves, surfaces, and solids in Windows using Rhino.

Speaker: Mark Trageser, Founder, InsaniTOY

The Shape of Digital Fabrication

Digital fabrication, including 3D printing, is changing every level of design and manufacturing. Learn about the most important trends in design today, how the 3D printing industry has changed already, and what the future holds for this amazing new tech. The session will include real-world examples from toy design, consulting, and other manufacturing industries. The session will remove the hype and show the awesome potential for everyone.

Thursday, March 30
2-3:15pm ET (11-12:15pm PT)

Speaker: Jordan Pelovitz, Training & Development Lead, Formlabs

Intro to Parametric Modeling

Parametric modeling is used in virtually every engineering and design office on the planet. In this session, you will learn best practices for designing a model that is meant to be modified after testing. Topics covered will include constraints, mating, and how to arrange your model features to give you maximum editability. Software: Onshape.

How to Prep Your Models For Printing

Learn how to troubleshoot potential problems in your designs before printing. This session will cover how to prepare your meshes using Meshmixer and how to optimize your designs for printing on an SLA (stereolithography) machine. The focus will be on how to prep your model before sending it off to Formlabs for printing and how to catch mesh errors and check for things like water tightness. The session will also cover the capabilities of the Form 2 3D printer.

Final project

Learn how to make your design printable in 3D. After completion of your design, you will submit it to Formlabs, which will print your design and ship it directly to you.

Standard Rate: $249

GROUP DISCOUNTS OF 3 OR MORE ARE AVAILABLE, SAVE 20%!
Register in groups for a unique team-building experience and get everyone working together. Contact us to learn more.