Drone Project Week 1: 3D Printing and Documentation

Oscar Lemus
Sep 8, 2018 · 4 min read
Printing Drone Motors!

Introduction

This post documents part one of the Drone Project, it includes:

  1. Basic functions of loading a project onto Ultimaker Cura.
  2. Prepping the file for creation in the Ultimaker 2+ 3d printer.
  3. Starting the “print job” and trouble shooting.
  4. Additionally, a section on safety, and a short reflection is included.

The Tools (of todays’ trade)

  • Laptop
  • 3d Printer: Ultimaker 2+
  • Software: Ultimaker Cura (now is a good time to download it)
  • Material: Polylactic Acid (PLA)
  • Storage: SD Card (any size, for now)

Safety

  • Keep hands out of 3D printer and do not touch the inside of the 3D printer while it is doing a print job.
  • Abort any failed jobs (rotate the wheel on the Ultimaker 2+ to the “abort” selection)

Process

Step One: Gathering the Files of the Project

First log into to IU Canvas and search for the section titled Makerspace in the dashboard, click on it. Once in the Makerspace section, click on files > Design Files > click on the three dotted button to download the “Drone Motor Mount.stl” file. Save the file to a project folder

ps: creating a new folder helps :)

Step Two: Preparing the Printing File

Go ahead and install the Ultimaker Cura software file. Once installed, go to your “project folder and double click on the “Drone Motor Mount.stl” file. Ultimaker Cura will open up, the a visual representation of the drone mount will be on the grid of the virtual 3D printer. Make sure the “drone mount” has no overt issues or deformities; if you are looking to make copies, simply highlight the mount and right click “multiply selected models”. if you are happy with the models, it is time to prepare the file for printing. On the right side of the screen, there are two options:

  1. Material
  2. Nozzle

The material chosen should be PLA and the Nozzle 0.44.mm

Ultimaker Cura

Print Setup: Click reccomended and make sure that “general support” is not selected. You are now ready to “slice!

Now click, “prepare” (the blue button). The software will now prepare the file, once ready the blue button will change from “prepare” to “save to removable drive”. Click the blue button and save it to the SD card.

The file will save as a “.gcode” file extension, make sure this is the file type on the SD card.

Step Three: Setting up the Printer and Making Things!

The printer..waiting for a file.

Take the SD card and make your way over to the 3D printer. First, turn on the printer (the button is in the back, make sure the printer is plugged in).

on/off it’s your choice.

Once the button is clicked, the lights from the machine will turn on and the small LCD screen in the front will turn on (it is bright blue), place the SD card in the front card reader. Now click on “select file” and roll the wheel until you find the file titled: “UM2E_Drone Mount.gcode” now push the wheel, this will select the file. It will now give you the option to “print”, select that option with the wheel (it now becomes a waiting game!)

Waiting for the printer to heat.

Step Four: Waiting! and Retrieving the Print from the Mount.

The blue screen in the front of the printer will tell you the waiting time. It will be around seventeen minutes for this project. You can utilize those minutes to explore other projects on this page or take pictures of the machine at work; feel free to upload those to your preferred social media website.

Once the print is done, you need to wait until it “cools off” a good rule is to follow the counter on the blue lcd screen; once cooled you can remove it with a scraper or your hand (be very gentle!)

Done! you now have a drone mount.


Reflection

This was my first time working with a 3D Printer and within a Makerspace. The biggest lesson learned is the importance of how good process leads to good practice, and vice versa. Documenting my process taught me to be more aware of every single step taken during the making of the mount, missing a step would of ruined the print, the machine, or taken a much longer amount of time to complete. Secondly, the lessons learned were foundational; a keen understanding of safety, and attention towards the equipment utilized. Lastly, taking photographs and short videos helps with remembering; however it makes focusing on in the moment activities much more difficult.

Oscar Lemus

Written by

Human| Son| Phd Student @ IUB| Interested in the entrepreneurship of everyday life, Technopolitics in Guatemala, and human-computer interaction design

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