Tinkercard Digital object and 3D printing

AI Thread Summary
When creating curved objects like spheres in Tinkercad, the surface may appear meshy, but the 3D printed version will generally reflect the model's accuracy, regardless of the software used. The smoothness of the printed object depends on the scale and the residue left from the printing process; smaller scales tend to be less polygonal but may show more residue, while larger scales can appear more polygonal. For smoother finishes, sanding post-printing is recommended. Floating objects in Tinkercad, which do not touch the workplane, can still be printed without issues as long as they are exported correctly as STL files and processed through slicing software. Objects that intersect the workplane, such as a sphere partially above and below it, will also be printed according to the exported design, with the printer only producing the visible portions. Direct printing from Tinkercad is not possible since it lacks slicing capabilities; models should be exported and processed in a dedicated slicing program before printing.
fog37
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Tinkercad digital object and 3D printing
Hello,

When creating a curved object in Tinkercad, something like a sphere, the spheres' surface does not look very smooth but rather meshy under close inspection. Will the 3D printed version of that sphere designed in Tinkercad have a smoother surface than the meshy surface it has in the software?

I think there is a distinction between 3D modeling softwares (like Sketchup) and 3D CAD softwares (like Fusion360).When compared with CAD softwares, can 3D modeling softwares create smoother and curvier digital objects which can then become smooth printed object?

Thanks!
 
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I've printed objects from TinkerCad before and they will be printed accurate to the models on-screen, just as any other objects from other programs. It largely depends on the residue that is created, and the scale.

Smaller scale is generally less polygonal but with more noticeable residue, vice-versa for larger scale.

If you want a printed item to be smooth, you could always sand it!
 
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Thank you.

What if the object is floating, i.e. it does not touch the TC workplane?
What if the digital object crossed the workplane with some portion of it being under the workplane itself? would the 3D print still be ok?

Thanks!
 
fog37 said:
Thank you.

What if the object is floating, i.e. it does not touch the TC workplane?
What if the digital object crossed the workplane with some portion of it being under the workplane itself? would the 3D print still be ok?

Thanks!
You're welcome!

I only printed "floating" objects after exporting format... and that was fine; it basically printed the object alone, without heeding the space between the workplane. Not sure if printing directly will make a difference. As for spaces between portions of the object (ex. extra floating objects) I believe it can still print, but may have printed portions between the parts. In regards to that latter section I discussed, I only saw it happen once as I was recommended to print such parts separately if needed. And I'd recommend others do the same. Overall though, spaces shouldn't be too big of a worry if the objects are exported :) the 3D printing program can generally take care of that
 
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Thank you. So it should not make a difference if the TC design is floating about the workplane. Saving the floating design as STL and pass it to the slicing software, then to the 3D printer is not an issue.

As far as the object "crossing"/intersecting the workplane, I meant, for example, a sphere that is half above the workplane and half below the workplane and wondered if, after saving that design as STL, etc. the 3D printer would only print the the top portion of the object...

What do you mean when you say "printing directly"? Directly from TC? Is that possible? TC is not a slicer...
 
fog37 said:
Thank you. So it should not make a difference if the TC design is floating about the workplane. Saving the floating design as STL and pass it to the slicing software, then to the 3D printer is not an issue.

As far as the object "crossing"/intersecting the workplane, I meant, for example, a sphere that is half above the workplane and half below the workplane and wondered if, after saving that design as STL, etc. the 3D printer would only print the the top portion of the object...

What do you mean when you say "printing directly"? Directly from TC? Is that possible? TC is not a slicer...
I converted 3D models to .X or .OBJ format. I meant "directly" as in creating it from a 3D printing program (which I have never done but apparently exists. Seems like the models created there won't be complicated as those created in traditional modeling programs)

And I'd recommend testing those intersecting objects...I have no experience with them either. Good luck!
 
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