Digital Media Tutorial Written By John Eberhart

Using Cura to generate tool paths for Ultimaker 3D printerUsing Cura to generate tool paths for Ultimaker 3D printer

This tutorial will walk you through how to export a 3D model from Rhino and generate a fi le for the Ultimaker 3D printer.

To change the units, click on the Options icon. Click Units and choose Millimeters.

If you are changing the units, you will see a window pop up to scale the model. Click YES to scale the model.

Step One:Cura only works in millimeters so you will want to change the units in Rhino before hand.

Step Two: Position your model and export it as an STL fi le.

Move the model you want to 3D print to the origin point of Rhino.

Step Three: Export your model as an STL fi le.

Choose File>Export selected

Choose fi le format *.stl

At the prompt, choose Binary and keep “Export open objects” checked on.Click OK to export.

Step Four: You need to complete the Basic Model Preparation with Meshmixer tutorial on the Digital Media website to ensure your model is watertight.

Step Five: Open the Cura SoftwareClick the Start Icon, Choose All Programs>3D Printing and Fabrication>Cura

The Cura interface

Step Six: Click the “Load Model” Icon.

Browse to your STL model you exported from Rhino.

Choose Open

Step Seven: Adjusting your model’s resolution and position.

Choose your quick print Profi le. This will either speed up or slow down your print times.

Fast Print = Z Layer Thickness of 0.15mm - Recommeded Profi leNormal = Z layer Thickness of 0.10mmHigh = Z layer Thickness of 0.06mm

You need to decide if you should print support, this will help hold the model up while printing but is hard to remove. Most of the time you do not need support.

Do make sure you check on Brim, this will print a border around your part helping it to stick to the bed.

Select your model. You can move it around on the bed. If the model turns grey, it is beyond the printing limits of the machine. You can add additional models at this point if needed.

Note: Clicking the “Expert” menu will allow you to fully customize the print settings. We do not recommend you do this.... However, if you still want to, refer to the advanced Cura tutorial on the Digital Media website.

Step Eight: You can adjust the Scale, Rotation, and Mirroring of your model with these buttons.

If you imported your model in inches, you can change the scale to millimeters.

Click on the scale button and in scale X, Y, and Z, set this to 25.4. This will convert the model from inches to millimeters

Clicking “Reset” will restore the model to its original imported size.

Step Nine: Rotate and Lay Flat OperationsClicking on rotate, you can grab a rotation handle and rotate the object in 15 degree intervals. Reset will restore the models to its original imported rotations.

It is very easy to create a model that does not lay perfectly fl at on the build bed. When the model prints, it will often dislodge from the bed because it is not laying fl at. Clicking the “Lay Flat” button will help get the model to rest on at least 3 points on the bed.

We strongly recommend you do this for every part, even if you are sure its fi ne!

Part not properly resting on the bed Part after “Lay Flat” operation performed

Step Ten: Verify the Tool paths

Cura calculates the tool paths after each operation. Once this is fi nished calculating, click the normal button and choose Layers instead. This will show you the tool paths and build layers for the model.

Tells you how many grams1 ounce = 28.35 gramsNote the print time, this will vary depending on the quickprint profi le you have selected and the overall size of the print.

Slide this up and down to see individual layers. This is good to verify the build of the model

Step Eleven: Save the G-Code fi le

Click the button “Save GCode” to save your tool paths. This is loaded into the print submission system.

Model in layers view