Q&A from 3D Print Anything with the Blender API

Since I got a few questions after my talk, I thought I’ll summarize them here. If I’ve missed a question, feel free to ping me.

Q: How to smooth a model in Blender?
A: Use subdivision surfaces modifier. Note: the more subdivisions you have, the more vertexes/edges/faces it creates, which might lead to slower performance.

Q: How to create SVGs to import into Blender?
A: You can use Inkscape, another open source software, to trace your picture into a vector image.

Q: What are some resources for 3D scanning objects?
A: 123D Catch is a good starter tool by Autodesk. There’s also lots of open source alternatives.

Q: What are some other resources to learn Blender?
A: CGCookie has really nice Blender tutorials.

Q: Can you talk more about what you did for mesh repair?
A: Here’s a blog post I wrote a while ago about mesh repair. I submitted my mesh repair script as a patched for Blender’s 3D Print Utility Add-On. Check it out here.

Q: Can you control the fill of the model, when 3D printed, through Blender?
A: If you’re printing the model yourself, you usually control the fill downstream of creating the model. For example, take a look at the different fills for Slic3r. If you’re sending off your model to be printed by a service, they’re usually filled solid.

Hopefully this is helpful to folks.