Key Rack
You may know this. There is a drawer in your house where everyone "stores" their keys. This is the case in my house and it is getting annoying. I had to search too long for my keys so I decided to create a key rack to store my keys and no one else's.
Because I use 3D printers at the school where I work I thought it was a good idea to create this and also produce an assignment for the students at the same time.
The assignment: Create something usefull for in your house combining a biological and a modern shape.
I wanted them to think about the future where people may have a 3D printer in their house and they can make things they need when they need them. This concept is new to students but they really enjoy the thought.
Brainstorm to Find Something Usefull for in Your House.
Brainstorming is possible in multiple ways but mine is to scetch out some ideas. What you see in the picture were my initial scetches.
Creating a Design on Tinkercad
To create a design on tinkercad you have to create an account. This is really easy to do and tinkercad is a really easy program to work with. I initially wanted to scan my own hand with a 3D scanner to use it for my key rack. But since I or the school I work at doesn't own one I had to borrow it from someone. This proved harder then expected and so the hand in my design is downloaded. Sorry :-(
To create a modern looking shape I needed something that was big enough to be attached to a wall or something you want to attach it to. It also had to have a couple of holes to attach it. That is why I chose this design. You can easily create something like that using the different shapes in tinkercad.
Exporting Your Files From Tinkercad
To use the 3D printer you need a program that has the settings for the printer. The program I used was Cura.
But first you need to save the model to an .stl file before you can import it in Cura. In the added pictures you can see how to do that.
The Last Touches With Cura
If you don't have the program Cura on your pc you can download it here:
https://ultimaker.com/en/products/cura-software
When the stl file is imported in Cura you can make the final ajustments before printing your design.
If you have never worked with Cura before the following link shows you how to use the program.
Printing Your Design
When you finished the last touches in Cura you can print your design.
Mine turned out like you can see in the pictures.
Links, Files, Tools and Materials.
To create your designs you need tinkercad. To get your model ready for printing you are going to need a 3D printer you can find all the info about printers here. The PLA you need for printing. The software used for creating the files needed for printing is Cura. How to use Cura can be found here.
If you want to print this design the way I made it you can use the .gcode file and print it instantly.
When you want to make adjustments you can use the .stl files to specify it to your needs.