3D Printing can seem straight forward, however the process has different stages and steps. 3D printing professionals use different types of software to design the models and different materials depending on the type of model being printed. There are however some mistakes that one may encounter while designing a 3D model for 3D printing. 

Though 3D printing can help in creating things in a short span of time, extreme precautions need to be taken into account by designers to ensure that the model does not fail. Each step has to be monitored minutely or else slip-ups can happen leading to loss of material and waste of time and effort for everyone involved in the chain.

These mistakes can be avoided by keeping in mind few rules while 3D printing.

Choose the correct material

A very common mistake is the choice of wrong 3D printing material. Understanding material and its properties is very important as the accuracy for each differs. Also, every 3D printer is different and one must learn the materials that the printer is calibrated with. Hence the output will depend on the material.

Wall thickness

The wall thickness is the distance between the two surfaces of a model. It has to be accurately calculated to hold the model correctly. Model will not be printed if the wall thickness is incorrect. Even if it does get printed, it may end up being fragile or likely to crack. Hence, finding the precise wall thickness is the key.

Select Correct 3D Printing Process

The 3D model properties alongwith the material needs to be kept in mind while selecting the process.

File Resolution

File resolution determines the smoothness and accuracy of the file. Each 3D printer is equipped with certain resolution capabilities. Hence correct settings need to be selected or else it will hinder the quality of the output.

Correctly handling the machine

Not every 3D printer is equipped to detect if the printer is out of filaments. Hence one needs to keep it in check. Apart from this attention needs to be paid to the overall settings of the 3D Printer to avoid any 3D Printing mistakes.

3D Printing can be a task if mistakes are not detected beforehand. Hence, one must read the guidelines and get oneself acquainted with the materials, processes and how to correctly use the 3D Printer. To learn about terms and terminologies related to the jewellery industry enroll in the 3 years BSc. in Jewellery Design.