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Functional Design for 3D Printing: Designing 3D Printed Things for Everyday Use
This improved second edition features twice the illustrations, a more readable format, and tons of additional information.
Second Edition:
3D Printing is changing the way we think about design, distribution, and manufacturing. By bringing the factory to the desktop, this technology opens the door to a multitude of new opportunities, and challenges paradigms from the drawing board to the boardroom.
Designing usable products for 3D printing poses some unique challenges, and blends the roles of designer and engineer. In Functional Design for 3D Printing, the author explains and instructs how to leverage the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of the 3D printing process. From material selection to design details that will tolerate the design-to-printing process, this book gives the reader the tools to transform their designs into durable, useful products that print reliably on a variety of machines.
Functional Design for 3D Printing will help you to:
- Minimize printing time, material use, and weight
- Minimize the chance of print failure, on a variety of machines and software
- Make interlocking / snap fit joints
- Maximize strength for maximum utility
- Make objects that flex without breaking
- Incorporate multiple materials into your design for multi-extruder machines
- Reduce stress concentrations for maximum durability
- Solve bed adhesion issues in your design
- Use the correct structural design paradigm, including mixed paradigms for maximum utility
- Decide how and when to use support; when it is worth it to design support features into your model
- Design objects to print in multiple materials or colors
- Turn your design ideas into practical designs that print efficiently and assemble into a durable, functional object.
Also included are many more practical details on the design process, including appendices on printing very thin, flexible structures, printer calibrations, structural strength, and more.
If you are an experienced designer, Functional Design for 3D Printing will show you design practices that will help you to quickly create functional, printable objects well beyond what is possible with simple model-to-printing work-flows.
If you are a novice designer, Functional Design for 3D Printing will be a useful supplement and reference, giving you the technical framework of functional design, helping you to progress from neophyte to high proficiency with a minimum of trial and error.
Functional Design for 3D Printing covers the intersection of design, printing, and utility, enabling the reader to accelerate their path to creating high utility objects within 3D design and printing workflows. This volume will help you to incorporate design practices that open up the possibilities for durable, functional, printable objects that print quickly and reliably- delivering the full potential of the “desktop factory”.
180 pages, 78 illustrations
Second Edition:
3D Printing is changing the way we think about design, distribution, and manufacturing. By bringing the factory to the desktop, this technology opens the door to a multitude of new opportunities, and challenges paradigms from the drawing board to the boardroom.
Designing usable products for 3D printing poses some unique challenges, and blends the roles of designer and engineer. In Functional Design for 3D Printing, the author explains and instructs how to leverage the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of the 3D printing process. From material selection to design details that will tolerate the design-to-printing process, this book gives the reader the tools to transform their designs into durable, useful products that print reliably on a variety of machines.
Functional Design for 3D Printing will help you to:
- Minimize printing time, material use, and weight
- Minimize the chance of print failure, on a variety of machines and software
- Make interlocking / snap fit joints
- Maximize strength for maximum utility
- Make objects that flex without breaking
- Incorporate multiple materials into your design for multi-extruder machines
- Reduce stress concentrations for maximum durability
- Solve bed adhesion issues in your design
- Use the correct structural design paradigm, including mixed paradigms for maximum utility
- Decide how and when to use support; when it is worth it to design support features into your model
- Design objects to print in multiple materials or colors
- Turn your design ideas into practical designs that print efficiently and assemble into a durable, functional object.
Also included are many more practical details on the design process, including appendices on printing very thin, flexible structures, printer calibrations, structural strength, and more.
If you are an experienced designer, Functional Design for 3D Printing will show you design practices that will help you to quickly create functional, printable objects well beyond what is possible with simple model-to-printing work-flows.
If you are a novice designer, Functional Design for 3D Printing will be a useful supplement and reference, giving you the technical framework of functional design, helping you to progress from neophyte to high proficiency with a minimum of trial and error.
Functional Design for 3D Printing covers the intersection of design, printing, and utility, enabling the reader to accelerate their path to creating high utility objects within 3D design and printing workflows. This volume will help you to incorporate design practices that open up the possibilities for durable, functional, printable objects that print quickly and reliably- delivering the full potential of the “desktop factory”.
180 pages, 78 illustrations
182 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 2, 2014
15 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 5, 2024
Excellent book! I was looking for book that explains what designs make sense for 3d printing and why they work, and what to be careful about, after I've watched some video where they mentioned how item has to be designed having 3d printing constraints in mind, and not just put any model (like for injection moulding or from other industry) into slicer, print and expect great results. Then I've read through bunch of book reviews and table of contents and none seemed to be quite covering what I was interested in - until this one.
It's definitely not a beginner book, neither from 3d printing perspective, nor from modelling perspective. It'd say it's intermediate/upper intermediate level - you won't become master in modelling just from this book, however, you'll definitely jump significantly higher and faster than it'd take you to grow from guessing how to make something or copying others without quite understanding why/how it works.
It doesn't provide detailed descriptions how to do something, it's more about why/what to choose, and sometimes language might be quite technical - so you'll need google to decipher it, or watch tutorial how to make some specific thing if just drawing isn't enough for reconstruction.
I appreciated that it was pretty succinct, illustrations would repeat some things from text, but text itself was straight to the point. You can spend days in watching youtube videos where people share this or that idea - I haven't found anyone who has such detailed and organised information btw, but some bits and pieces I did see before. Or you can just read this book cover to cover, even skimming at first to get the overview and then go deeper when you encounter some situation to double check your plan.
Great reference book IMO.
I would recommend it to anyone who wants to understand more about why some choices make sense, and which options there are, however, if you come too early, it might be quite overwhelming - come back later. Basically, come back when modifying and copying others can't solve your problems at hand anymore or if it looks to cumbersome, or if you want to make your model stronger.
Table of contents to help others decide if it's useful for them:
CHAPTER I: THE MEDIUM................................10
DESIGNING FOR USABILITY..........................................................11
THE PALETTE: MATERIALS FOR FFM MANUFACTURING..............13
THE CANVAS: UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF FFM STRUCTURES. 15 ANISOTROPY............................................................................... 18
SLICES OF STRUCTURE................................................................21
THE PRINT NOZZLE... WHY IT CAN MATTER IN DESIGN.................26
SHELL AND INFILL SPECIFICATIONS............................................27
COMMON INFILL GEOMETRIES....................................................32 PERMEABILITY........................................................................... 37
CHAPTER II: DESIGNING FOR FFM...................40
PRINTER LIMITATIONS................................................................41
UNSUPPORTED STRUCTURES.......................................................42
PRINT ORIENTATION AND DESIGN REFACTORING........................46
BED ADHESION..........................................................................50
OVERHANGING STRUCTURES......................................................56 BRIDGING.................................................................................. 57
SUPPORT STRUCTURES...............................................................61
MANAGING AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED SUPPORT....................66
CHAPTER III: DESIGN FOR STRENGTH...............76
A BRIEF PRIMER IN BASIC MECHANICAL DESIGN..........................77
FORCE VS. STRESS..................................................................77
TYPES OF STRESS...................................................................79
STRESS LOCALIZATION...........................................................84
CORNERS, INTERSECTIONS, BOSSES, AND RIBS............................89
LAYER FUSION...........................................................................94
CROSS-SECTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS.........................................97
DETERMINING FAILURE AND WORKING LOADS..........................102
CHAPTER IV: DESIGN PARADIGMS...................106
CHAPTER V: DESIGNING FOR FIT......................116
CHAPTER VI: FASTENING AND JOINERY............124
SCREWS AND BOLTS..................................................................124 JOINERY................................................................................... 130
CHAPTER VII: FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS AND ENGINEERED FEATURES..................................136
HINGES.................................................................................... 136
LATCHING ASSEMBLIES.............................................................141
MULTI-MATERIAL PRINTING.....................................................145
BUILDING LIGHT.......................................................................151
CHAPTER VIII: UNDERSTANDING THE SLICER. . .154
LAYERS AND SLICES..................................................................155
SHELLS: PERIMETERS AND SOLID LAYERS..................................157
APPENDIX I: MATERIALS FOR FFM PRINTING.....................168
APPENDIX IIA: PRINTING ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS USING FUSED FILAMENT MANUFACTURING (FFM)..................................180
APPENDIX IIB: ANISOTROPY IN FFM PRINTING..................199
APPENDIX IIC: INFILL AND STRENGTH................................212
APPENDIX III: FASTENER TABLES......................................220 GLOSSARY:........................................................................ 222
It's definitely not a beginner book, neither from 3d printing perspective, nor from modelling perspective. It'd say it's intermediate/upper intermediate level - you won't become master in modelling just from this book, however, you'll definitely jump significantly higher and faster than it'd take you to grow from guessing how to make something or copying others without quite understanding why/how it works.
It doesn't provide detailed descriptions how to do something, it's more about why/what to choose, and sometimes language might be quite technical - so you'll need google to decipher it, or watch tutorial how to make some specific thing if just drawing isn't enough for reconstruction.
I appreciated that it was pretty succinct, illustrations would repeat some things from text, but text itself was straight to the point. You can spend days in watching youtube videos where people share this or that idea - I haven't found anyone who has such detailed and organised information btw, but some bits and pieces I did see before. Or you can just read this book cover to cover, even skimming at first to get the overview and then go deeper when you encounter some situation to double check your plan.
Great reference book IMO.
I would recommend it to anyone who wants to understand more about why some choices make sense, and which options there are, however, if you come too early, it might be quite overwhelming - come back later. Basically, come back when modifying and copying others can't solve your problems at hand anymore or if it looks to cumbersome, or if you want to make your model stronger.
Table of contents to help others decide if it's useful for them:
CHAPTER I: THE MEDIUM................................10
DESIGNING FOR USABILITY..........................................................11
THE PALETTE: MATERIALS FOR FFM MANUFACTURING..............13
THE CANVAS: UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF FFM STRUCTURES. 15 ANISOTROPY............................................................................... 18
SLICES OF STRUCTURE................................................................21
THE PRINT NOZZLE... WHY IT CAN MATTER IN DESIGN.................26
SHELL AND INFILL SPECIFICATIONS............................................27
COMMON INFILL GEOMETRIES....................................................32 PERMEABILITY........................................................................... 37
CHAPTER II: DESIGNING FOR FFM...................40
PRINTER LIMITATIONS................................................................41
UNSUPPORTED STRUCTURES.......................................................42
PRINT ORIENTATION AND DESIGN REFACTORING........................46
BED ADHESION..........................................................................50
OVERHANGING STRUCTURES......................................................56 BRIDGING.................................................................................. 57
SUPPORT STRUCTURES...............................................................61
MANAGING AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED SUPPORT....................66
CHAPTER III: DESIGN FOR STRENGTH...............76
A BRIEF PRIMER IN BASIC MECHANICAL DESIGN..........................77
FORCE VS. STRESS..................................................................77
TYPES OF STRESS...................................................................79
STRESS LOCALIZATION...........................................................84
CORNERS, INTERSECTIONS, BOSSES, AND RIBS............................89
LAYER FUSION...........................................................................94
CROSS-SECTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS.........................................97
DETERMINING FAILURE AND WORKING LOADS..........................102
CHAPTER IV: DESIGN PARADIGMS...................106
CHAPTER V: DESIGNING FOR FIT......................116
CHAPTER VI: FASTENING AND JOINERY............124
SCREWS AND BOLTS..................................................................124 JOINERY................................................................................... 130
CHAPTER VII: FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS AND ENGINEERED FEATURES..................................136
HINGES.................................................................................... 136
LATCHING ASSEMBLIES.............................................................141
MULTI-MATERIAL PRINTING.....................................................145
BUILDING LIGHT.......................................................................151
CHAPTER VIII: UNDERSTANDING THE SLICER. . .154
LAYERS AND SLICES..................................................................155
SHELLS: PERIMETERS AND SOLID LAYERS..................................157
APPENDIX I: MATERIALS FOR FFM PRINTING.....................168
APPENDIX IIA: PRINTING ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS USING FUSED FILAMENT MANUFACTURING (FFM)..................................180
APPENDIX IIB: ANISOTROPY IN FFM PRINTING..................199
APPENDIX IIC: INFILL AND STRENGTH................................212
APPENDIX III: FASTENER TABLES......................................220 GLOSSARY:........................................................................ 222
March 8, 2023
This book was OK with high level principles, but a bit light on actual examples that could help the user. For example, the author talks about creating a dovetail joint for joining two pieces, but doesn’t explain how to create the matching joint while accounting for tolerances of your printer. Good book for someone that has some design or 3D printing background, but not for a beginner.
January 21, 2018
had some helpful information
December 12, 2023
Helpful, interesting, slightly oddly written. Good primer on designing things for 3D printing.
May 10, 2018
Packed with useful information but...
There is a lot of information in this book but I seemed to need additional color pictures or illustrations to communicate the more complicated points. I will use the book in the future to inspire ideas of multi part connections. I would like to see a chapter on parts that need entities appeal like enclosures.
There is a lot of information in this book but I seemed to need additional color pictures or illustrations to communicate the more complicated points. I will use the book in the future to inspire ideas of multi part connections. I would like to see a chapter on parts that need entities appeal like enclosures.
Read
August 13, 2016Great book with a ton of useful information on getting the most out of FDM printers. If you work with hobby 3d printers and want to achieve better results for engineering projects, this is well worth your time.
November 13, 2017
A great book for serious 3d printers. Goes into depth on important issues such as grain formation and the relation between grain alignment and strength, etc. This will remain on my shelf as a serious reference book.
Want to read
October 25, 2016My kindle screen broke, so I couldn't keep on it. I need it back, this book is too good.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews