Can Blender be used for 3D printing?
Created in 1995, Blender is a complete 3D modeling software, very popular in the world of animation and video thanks to the many features it offers. The particularity of Blender is that it is 100% free, open source – which is why it is constantly being improved – and that it benefits from a large community that regularly meets around the world to share best practices and user challenges. Based on polygonal modeling, it is not necessarily the most widely used solution in the additive manufacturing sector, but it does allow 3D models to be exported in formats adapted to the technology. Let’s go back to the main features of the Blender software!
The Blender solution was initially designed for an animation studio and was not intended to be shared worldwide. But the software quickly became open source and today, the Blender Foundation (the association behind the developments) estimates that there are 3 million users worldwide. The software includes various functionalities grouped into a dozen families: modeling, animation, simulation, video editing, 3D rendering, etc. It is rather oriented towards animation studios, artists and small teams working on video creation or cinema – several “Open Movies” are made on Blender. One of the latest is called Spring:
Blender is based on polygonal modelling
As you know, 3D software offers different modelling methods: surface, solid or organic. Here, Blender uses polygons to create a three-dimensional shape. The designed model is therefore composed of a multitude of polygons (or facets) that form what is called the mesh. Each polygon is composed of vertices, edges and faces. By assembling different polygons, a basic shape is obtained: for example, the interlocking of 6 polygons will form a cube. The next step is to deform basic shapes, and to agglomerate them together to design basic objects: 9 deformed cubes will become a chair for example. The user can then play with the edges and move points to progressively add complexity the model.
This method of modeling is quite intuitive because the user can move edges and points in space to deform the model until arriving at the desired shape. It also allows to have a greater complexity than through surface processes. On the other hand, it does not offer the best dimensional accuracy because the 3D model is the result of successive subdivisions. This is a major obstacle when it comes to obtaining a stable geometry for additive manufacturing.
Software features for 3D printing
We won’t go back over all of Blender’s features (animation, video, 3D rendering, etc.) because it’s really the 3D modeling part that interests us for 3D printing. You should know that the software offers export formats for additive manufacturing such as STL file but also OBJ file. However, polygonal modeling does not seem to be the most intuitive way to design printable parts. Blender still offers a feature to be added to its software called “3D Printing ToolBox”. This will allow you to analyze your mesh to identify some errors that could cause your printing to fail. For example, this toolbox can check the minimum thickness of your walls or the geometry of overhangs.
The ‘3D printing toolbox’ enables you to check your model before 3D printing
Blender is therefore not the 3D software most used by 3D printing enthusiasts but it has the merit of being free, open-source and regularly improved by its entire community. We recommend a software more accessible to all beginners like TinkerCAD for example, and Fusion 360 for the most experienced. You can download Blender HERE, the solution is compatible on Mac, Windows or Linux.
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I use blender to make all my 3d prints. The only downside is the ambiguity of the units. I’ve never been able to tell what size it will be until I load the model into my slicer would be nice if there was a fix for this.
I actually design all my models in blender. It works well enough for what I’m doing. Which is not printing art, but mostly very basic shapes for small speaker grills and the like to go on my electronics projects.
I have never ever faced issues with accuracy. In fact, I don’t even know where they’d come from since I can design an accurate model, so why shouldn’t it print accurately.
The main reason to use blender for me was that I knew it already, though. I’ve made (or tried to make) photorealistic scenes in it for years and just didn’t want to learn a new software.
Wow this article reads like you just discovered 3d modelling exists. Of course blender can be used for 3d printing. It has sculpting and regular modelling tools. It all comes down to the skill of the artist. The alternatives you mentioned are for CAD designing not standard 3d modelling. It’s like comparing forks to spoons.
I use Blender for 3d printing miniatures, characters, and action figures. The workflow of using primitives- booleans- remesh- sculpt- remesh- decimate is great for creating organic models to print.
Ive been trying to use blender for a 3d print project. Somewhat new to blender and very new to 3d printing in general. Blender is a bit painful to work with in few respects. Imagine trying to create an object like a bottle. It has curves and an inner/outer surface. Most tutorials sugest creating the outline and then either the spin tool or the screw modifier. Both options can generate a bottle like model. Ive also tried using a cylinder and extruding upward along a path. The model looks fine with all 3 methods. Then you try to bisect it and everything goes wrong. Its not a solid shape and bisecting reaveals all manner of artifacts. I want to basically split it down the center to create 2 parts. Then I want to add some pegs so the parts fit together. Once again Im relatively new to blender and a pro might bang this out in a few minutes. But for me Ill definitely try the above alternatives. This article describes the pitfalls of surface based modeling vs solid modeling and is the exact issue Im hitting. I have no confidence if I print my blender model it will work. Then again this will be my second 3d print ever. Thanks for the article.