Library Guides: Emerging Technology: 3D Printing

What is 3D Printing?

3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process where special printers assemble three-dimensional objects.

How does it work?

A special 3D design file is sent to the printer. The printer reads the file and squeezes out melting plastic through a robotic tip which moves back and forth to create an object layer by layer. Use the library's 3D printer to create replacement parts for unique items, prototypes for class projects or entirely new objects.

Getting Started

3D printing is temporarily suspended during the semester break and will resume on May 23rd. Thank you for your patience!

1. Create or Find a Design

3D printers work by reading special 3D design files in STL format. You can create your own design using 3D modeling programs or find your own. There are lots of resources to help you create or find a design.

Check out the Resources section below for a list of places where you can find or create your design.

2. Submit Form and Your Design

Once your design is ready, complete the library's online form. Then you can either:

Link to your design in the form
Email your design file to makerspace@centennialcollege.ca
Submit your file in person on a USB drive to the Library Help Desk

PLEASE NOTE: We require at least 10 business days (M-F) for processing print requests.
Requests received after 12pm on Fridays will not be processed until the following Monday.

3. Pick-up Your Design and Pay

Once you submit your design, library staff will send you a cost estimate. Items cost 10 cents per gram. Jobs are printed on a first-come, first-served basis and pick-up dates cannot be guaranteed. Library staff will email you when your print job is ready.

Resources

Check out the resources below to find a design, create a design, and learn more about the 3D printing world.

Information about the library's 3D printer: uPrint Stratasys SE Plus
Tutorial on the basics of 3D printing from The Learning Portal
How Does 3D Printing Work? (A video from Mashable)
Make: Magazine
Get inspired with new maker projects, tutorials & tips
The Top CAD Software for All Levels

Create a Design

AutoDesk Fusion 360
Create stunning 3D designs, work with designs and drawings on any platform and across devices. Students and educators can download AutoCAD software for free as long as the software is used for educational purposes.
TinkerCad
Tinkercad is a free, easy-to-use app for 3D design, electronics, and coding. It's used by teachers, kids, hobbyists, and designers to imagine, design, and make anything.
Blender
Blender is the free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation.
OpenSCAD
OpenSCAD is software for creating solid 3D CAD models. It is free software and available for Linux/UNIX, Windows and Mac OS X. Unlike most free software for creating 3D models (such as Blender) it does not focus on the artistic aspects of 3D modelling but instead on the CAD aspects.
SketchUp
Easy to use 3D design software. Free for personal use.

3D Design Tutorials & How-To Resources

Find a Design

Thingiverse
A design community started by MakerBot for discovering, making, and sharing 3D printable things. All designs are encouraged to be licensed under a Creative Commons license, meaning that anyone can use or alter any design.
Wikimedia Commons
Access STL files through this free media repository, to which anyone can contribute
GrabCAD
Access free CAD files uploaded by over 5 million engineers
Youmagine
Browse through over 15,000 ready-to-print open source designs. Create a free account to collaborate on designs with other makers.

Edit or Fix an STL File

Sometimes you find an STL file you would like to print but it needs to be edited or repaired. Use the free editors below to repair your file. Learn more about these editors from Sculpteo.

FreeCAD
Free open source CAD software that is designed for mechanical use, but would also be useful for hobbyists in editing STL files.
MeshMixer
Free software that allows you to clean up 3D scans and create 3D print designs
SketchUp Free
One of the most commonly used 3D file editors, SketchUp free is easy-to-use and allows for file editing and design.
SketchUp 3D
This easy-to-use free 3D modeler works right in your web browser. Use your mouse to draw, orbit, push & pull.
SculptGL
A great tool for beginners looking at getting into 3D design & file editing.
3D Slash
A great 3D file editor and designer for beginners that uses the same block design technology as Minecraft.

See what our 3D printer can make!

For Educators

Interested in using 3D printing in your classroom, but not sure where to start? Contact your Librarian, Muyi Ogunleye (mogunleye@centennialcollege.ca) for support and resources.

Use 3D printing in the classroom to:

Foster innovation & entrepreneurship
Discuss issues related to open source, copyright & maker culture
Prototype difficult ideas & concepts

Students can:

Gain skills in CAD & 3D design
Conceptualize complex ideas
Learn about knowledge-sharing, creative commons & copyright

Learn more about the ethics of 3D printing

3D Printing Jurassic Park: Copyright Law, Cultural Institutions, and Makerspaces
The Maker Movement: Copyright Law, Remix Culture, and 3D printing
What's the Deal with Copyright and 3D printing?
Planet Money Episode 817: The Gun Man
Learn how Cody Wilson is challenging gun control laws by using a 3D printer.

Learn more about the Maker Movement

Free to Make by Dale Dougherty
Publication Date: 2016-09-27
Dale Dougherty, creator of MAKE- Magazine and the Maker Faire, takes readers on a guided international tour of the spectacular phenomenon known as the Maker Movement, a social revolution that is changing what gets made, how things are made, where things are made, and who gets to make them.
Makers: The New Industrial Revolution by Chris Anderson
What happens when DIY meets Web 2.0? In Makers, New York Times bestselling author Chris Anderson reveals how entrepreneurs use web principles to create and produce companies with the potential to be global in scope as well as how they use significantly less in the way of financial resources, tooling, and infrastructure required by traditional manufacturing.
The Zero Marginal Cost Society by Jeremy Rifkin; George Witte (Editor)
New York Times bestselling author Jeremy Rifkin describes how the emerging Internet of Things is speeding us to an era of nearly free goods and services, precipitating the meteoric rise of a global Collaborative Commons and the eclipse of capitalism.
The Knockoff Economy by Kal Raustiala; Christopher Sprigman
ISBN: 9780195399783
Publication Date: 2012-09-17
From the shopping mall to the corner bistro, knockoffs are everywhere in today's marketplace. Conventional wisdom holds that copying kills creativity, and that laws that protect against copies are essential to innovation--and economic success.

Made with Creative Commons
"This resource explores how creators, organizations, and businesses make money to sustain what they do when they share their work using Creative Commons licenses.
The Best Raspberry Pi 3D Printer Projects of 2023
A 3D printer and a Raspberry Pi are a match made in maker heaven. Here are 30 great Raspberry Pi 3D printer projects you can build yourself.

How Does 3D Printing Work?

Watch this video on YouTube

3D Printing Workshop
In this introductory workshop, you will learn how to create 3D designs using the online 3D modelling app TinkerCad. Learn how to select, cut, align and group shapes to create your very own keychain.

Our 3D Printer

Learn more about the uPrint Stratasys SE Plus

Print the Legend Documentary

Watch on YouTube
*Full documentary available on Netflix

3D Printed Robotic Hand

Watch on YouTube