Fablab: Haute Ecole Francisco Ferrer

Hi, I’m a student at Haute Ecole Fancisco Ferrer and here I’ll share my little fablab experience.

In the fablab we had multiple types of machines in our disposition but they all uses the g-code, so Cura software was basically all we needed to prepare our models. It was my first time doing a 3D print, I tried before but never really got a chance to print something. Thus, I wanted to do some testing by printing a very simple model at first. Also I focused on a filament printing machine. Sure, the laser and other complex printing methods are interesting and useful, but it’s not something that everyone can have at home and print what they want. The filament, on the other hand, is more common and view as the future of the technology that would be accessible to everyone. So I was curious to explore those machines for the little time that we had.

My first model was a boat, a very simple one. I made my model in Maya, then exported it to Cura to prepare a g-code file for print. It was print in few hours without any additional support and came out pretty nicely. I had no problems with it, I didn’t even need to fix anything after the print, it was print just how it should be.

My second model was little bit more complex, it was some sort of futuristic car. Same as for the boat, I did a model in Maya and then prepare it in Cura. This model needed the support, so I chose that option. The support was made for most of the parts but not for all. There was no support for the upper wheels and the filament fell during the print. I don’t know why there was no support, those wheels were the same as the bottom ones. That’s not a very big problem but it’s going to be tricky to fix.

From my impression, the 3D printing is a very interesting concept, but it still have a way to go. Don’t expect to just push a button and the 3D object will magically appear, there’s a limitations and you need to prepare your model very good. There’s a research to be made in the technology and the software. Hopefully, the fablab will help the development of the 3D printing, it seems like a good idea.