Quick Start Page

If you are looking for a basic introduction to 3d Printing in Occupational Therapy, here’s where to start.

3D printers can offer a unique solution to many problems that may arise for occupational therapists. You may have an idea for a piece of assistive technology that either doesn’t exist, is commercially too expensive, or is unattainable. You may need a replacement or custom part for a client. You might even want to use one as an educational tool for your clients. No matter the reason, this guide will help you through the 3d printing process. To start out, we can assemble a quick list of things that we will need to get started.

Materials

Access to a computer with an Internet connection
Access to a 3D printer
Material for the 3D printer (resin, plastic filament spool, etc.)
A storage device compatible with your 3D printer such as an SD card or USB drive

Finding or Making a Design

The first thing you will need to do is either find a design file or make one yourself. I encourage you to look on websites like Thingiverse, Printables, or Makers Making Change before diving headlong into a design. These websites host free designs that are ready to print, uploaded by users. Many designs like adapted bottle openers and pencil grips are readily available in this way and can save time and effort with a quick search. These websites also offer insight into recommended materials and settings that will be applied during the printing process.

If you don’t find a design or solution to the problem or idea that you are facing, you also have the option of learning how to design 3D files. While I have covered this topic in some of the videos and visual guides on this website, I can readily recommend TinkerCad, Fusion 360, and Blender to name a few. Blender and TinkerCad are both totally free, with Fusion 360 offering different pricing packages. If you are jumping in for the first time, I highly recommend TinkerCad, as it will work on most computers and is very intuitive to learn. I have a quick video and visual guide on how to use TinkerCad here.

With either method, you will be downloading a file that can be used for the next step of the process. The most common file types are .stl and .obj files, although there are others that you may come across down the line.

Slicing the File

Once you have your file, we will need to transform it from an .stl or .obj file into a .gcode file. A .gcode file is what will tell the printer how to print the object. To do this we will use a program called a slicer. In the slicer program, we can adjust the settings for the print. Two programs that I recommend are Prusa Slicer and Cura. Depending on your printer, you may find that it is only supported by one of these slicers. For either slicer, the adjustments that you’ll be making will be roughly the same. (Note: This guide applies to traditional filament printers, if you are using a resin printer please refer to this video and visual guide.)

Print Setting	What It Does
Printer	This is where you select your printer. If you do not see your printer in one slicer, you may need to use a different slicer.
Print Settings/Quality	.20 mm quality is typically seen as a good balance of speed in quality. Lower numbers will give you better quality but slower prints. Higher numbers will give quicker but less refined prints.
Filament	This selection allows you to choose the type of filament that you are using. This should update the temperature settings for the bed and hot end for your specific filament, although you may need to adjust temperatures for your specific filament by a few degrees within it’s operating range.
Supports	If you are printing a design that has overhangs (floating material) or holes in it, you should consider using supports to hold this material while it prints. Supports can be removed after the print is complete.
Infill	Infill determines the percentage of your print is plastic. If you set for 20% infill, 20% of the inside of your print will be a plastic pattern, with the other 80% being taken up by air. Higher infill will lead to higher print strength, with diminishing returns after around 60%. If directed to select an infill pattern, gyroid and cubic good for most uses.
Brim/Raft/Skirt	Each of these is designed to help with bed adhesion. A brim puts a ring around the print, a skirt connects the outer ring to the edge of the print, and a raft is a solid layer that the print will sit on top of.
Scale	Changing a print’s scale changes its size. You can generally change this as a percentage or as specific measurements.
Move	The move option allows you to move the print around the print bed. Some slicers will have an option to align all objects on the print bed as well.
Rotate	Some prints may need to be rotated to print better. Keep in mind the orientation of the print can effect the directional strength of the object you are printing (strength will typically be aligned with the horizontal plane).

After adjusting all of the settings within the slicer, you are ready to export the file onto a storage device that will work with your printer. Common examples are USB drives, SD and micro SD cards.

Time to Print

Once your .gcode file is ready, we can start the printing process. For FDM printers, or filament printers, you will follow these steps:

Check the printer itself and remove any debris or remaining filament from the print bed.
Check your filament to insure that there is enough of the correct filament loaded into the machine to complete your print. (If not, change out your filament by following the user manual or a trusted resource for your specific printer).
Turn on the printer.
Insert the storage device (USB, SD, Micro SD, etc).
Navigate the menu to the ‘Print’ or ‘Print from ‘x device” setting and select it.
Select the file for your print and select to print it.
Watch the print for the first few layers if possible to insure that it is adhering to the bed and that the hot end nozzle is level with the bed.

Finishing

Once the prints is done, you can remove it from the bed and remove any supports that were used. Craft knives, flush cutters, and sandpaper can be used to help clean and finish the print if needed. If you made any changes to the print and you plan to use it again, I recommend putting the files for the print into a folder and adding a text document detailing any changes that were made and why.