#soberoctober day 9: blender looks easy amirite

Today’s project: Make a 3D Printable STL file!

I don’t have a 3D printer but a colleague just got one and has kindly offered to collaborate if I give him an STL.

I know that’s a filetype of 3D models but I’ve never made one. Time to figure it out.

Inkscape

• Learned to trace a rastered image into svg by placing and modifying bezier curve handles
• Learned to set fill of a closed path (took an embarrassingly long time)

Blender

• Learned to set an object’s pivot center
• Learned to import and extrude an SVG
• Learned to convert curve to mesh
• Learned the boolean difference modifier
• Learned what a “non-manifold mesh” is (but not how to fix it)
• Learned that some 3D printers consider Y axis to be vertical

Figuring out the above and producing this stl took ~3 hours.