Guides
3d printing with blender works great a few things to note are.
- importing/exporting stl files
- calculating normals to outside
- checking exported models in cura layer mode – sometimes its missing layers or has filled in holes.
- ruler and compass tool usage.
- tab gets you into vertex mode,
- you use ctrl tab in vertex mode to switch between vertex edge and face select.
- the hot keys to know are n and t for properties and how to add mesh modifiers like boolean.
- 5 on keypad for ortho mode
- also enable the some plugins by default for spacebar menu’s and exporting stl files
- also if your measure ments dont add up apply the scale and rotation before exporting with shift + A. there is an option to see edge lengths and it has different measurements than the ruler sometimes because of that.
- shift c centers the part shift s snaps part to center
- use spacebar -> mesh ->normals calculate to outside to make the object more uniform its easy to see faces that are wound the wrong way
- period on the keypad focuses onto the selected part
- merge verticies to simplify parts that have too many with w
Links
very usefull app for both 3d printing, game and movie making.
RenderFarms
https://cgcookie.com/tutorial/setting-up-a-renderfarm
there is a network plugin for multiuser and rendering in 2.67+ versions of blender now.
BlenderVerse was the old version of the multi user editor.
Models
Tutorials
- basic setup includes opening settings after first application startup and selecting plugins to enable. main one is the space bar function access which should be enabled by default.
- basic tutorial would be texturing a plane and drawing on it. making easy measurements with the ruler and calipers. getting familiar with the interfaces / locations / hotkeys.
- good advanced tutorials are animating a box using a bone , building stairs , level design, rigging , building a fan / windmill using dupliverts
- https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/782/how-can-i-automatically-generate-vertex-groups-for-an-armature
- creating staircase with empty’s
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9dEqM3H31g
- https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/114142/bevel-just-a-face
Plugins
dynamic plugin menu and 3d print toolbox are essential
https://www.katsbits.com/tutorials/blender/edge-length-face-vertex-normals.php