I'll second getting digital calipers to make things easy. I should really just buy a pair myself already, I've just been making do with a ruler.
FreeCad is another free option I don't see mentioend yet. It works but is frustrating to use because it's buggy and fights with you.
Generally, I think of 3D design like legos or scultping. You need to build pieces and "glue" them together. It's okay to have 2 objects taking up the same space too. If you can imagine 3D objects and how they fit together you'll find it a bit easier.
My brother happened to have some and I spent some time this morning doing my first attempt. After a few failed prints, I finally have a finished piece.
It doesn't fit, even kind of, but it exists. Something I entirely designed myself and brought into existence.
Good to hear! Next step is to look at why it didn't fit. Where do dimensions need tweaked? Is the printer calibrated correctly and printing at 1:1 scale? I'm not sure how to recalibrate if the printer is the problem, but you could scale the whole print up/down when you generate the print file.
To test the printer, make a simple cube that's something like 1" on each side. I'd use 25mm for metric. Then, check how large the final print is. You'll want to check each direction since there are different stepper motors controlling each axis of movement, so each one could be slightly different
I think my brother did this when we first got the printer, but simply put, I believe the mistake is mine. I eyeballed a few numbers and didn't account for some specific things.
I missed a few rounded corners and in one place I clearly measured from the wrong spot, I'm more than a couple millimeters out.
It's pretty close, and honestly, really good for a first try, if I do say so myself.
I kinda knew it wasn't going to work right before I hit print, but I couldn't, or rather, wouldn't, guess, not check everything just to find out what I bodged.
I'll get on it tomorrow, hopefully. Even when I get out to fit, I'm going to need to make adjustments to make it work in my application. For now, I just want one that fits over the battery.
I'll second getting digital calipers to make things easy. I should really just buy a pair myself already, I've just been making do with a ruler.
FreeCad is another free option I don't see mentioend yet. It works but is frustrating to use because it's buggy and fights with you.
Generally, I think of 3D design like legos or scultping. You need to build pieces and "glue" them together. It's okay to have 2 objects taking up the same space too. If you can imagine 3D objects and how they fit together you'll find it a bit easier.
My brother happened to have some and I spent some time this morning doing my first attempt. After a few failed prints, I finally have a finished piece.
It doesn't fit, even kind of, but it exists. Something I entirely designed myself and brought into existence.
Good to hear! Next step is to look at why it didn't fit. Where do dimensions need tweaked? Is the printer calibrated correctly and printing at 1:1 scale? I'm not sure how to recalibrate if the printer is the problem, but you could scale the whole print up/down when you generate the print file.
To test the printer, make a simple cube that's something like 1" on each side. I'd use 25mm for metric. Then, check how large the final print is. You'll want to check each direction since there are different stepper motors controlling each axis of movement, so each one could be slightly different
I think my brother did this when we first got the printer, but simply put, I believe the mistake is mine. I eyeballed a few numbers and didn't account for some specific things.
I missed a few rounded corners and in one place I clearly measured from the wrong spot, I'm more than a couple millimeters out.
It's pretty close, and honestly, really good for a first try, if I do say so myself.
I kinda knew it wasn't going to work right before I hit print, but I couldn't, or rather, wouldn't, guess, not check everything just to find out what I bodged.
I'll get on it tomorrow, hopefully. Even when I get out to fit, I'm going to need to make adjustments to make it work in my application. For now, I just want one that fits over the battery.