Converting a 3D object into a mould With Tinkercad and Inkscape
What you need Tinkercad Inkscape a STL file to convert Create an account now Download for free now Pick up one for free now
To make better moulds Choose the object to convert wisely Not all objects can be converted into moulds, choose simple objects, with smooth angles and no inner folds About this tutorial About colors Colors are here to help you, using the same color shapes as that you see in this tutorial will make your life easier. Some screenshots also include red circles to guide you About the shape we used The shape we used as an example in this tutorial comes from Scan The World
Let s learn a bit more about Tinkercad Overview of the most useful tools
Use this tool to group shapes
This is the alignment tool, select at least two shapes and click here to align them properly
Use this button to switch between perspective and orthographic views (very useful)
have a terrible sense of direction? Keep an eye on this and you won t get lost!
Made a mistake? It s never too late to go back!
Get started! Time to create your mould
01 Import the object into Tinkercad, resize it as you want (hold Shift while resizing to keep proportions)
(!) The next step is crucial for the success of the design, stay FOCUSED!
02 Rotate and move the shape so that its largest section matches the workplane
(!) Switch to the FRONT orthographic view The shape must be COMPLETELY out of the red areas
(!) Switch to the LEFT orthographic view The shape must be COMPLETELY out of the red areas
(!) If you can t meet the two conditions at the same time, the shape you chose might not be convertible : (
03 Export the design to SVG
04 Open the SVG file in Inkscape Do not resize the shape
05 Right-click on the shape, choose the Fill and Stroke menu, and set the stroke width to 1 mm
06 Open the Path Editor (F2), choose Convert the object strokes to paths (Ctrl + Alt + C), and save the object as SVG
07 Go back to Tinkercad and change the shape to a hole
08 Switch to BOTTOM orthographic view
09 Create a box that encompasses the entire shape
(!) Four pins will be added later to the corners of the box Make sure to leave enough space!
10 Switch back to perspective view
11 Set the thickness of the box so that the top of the box is 1 mm above the top point of the shape
12 Move the box 1 mm upward
13 Duplicate the box (Ctrl + D) and repeat steps 11 and 12 symmetrically
13 This is what you should see in the FRONT orthographic view
14 Import the two SVG files, the one you first exported from Tinkercad, and the one you modified in Inkscape
15 Select the two shapes (hold Shift to select several shapes), and align them using the alignment tool
16 Group them
17 Set the thickness of the yellow shape to 1 mm
18 Move the red box away
19 Switch to TOP orthographic view
20 Align the yellow shape with the hollow shape
21 Select the yellow and the hollow shape, and use the alignment tool to adjust alignment
22 Move the red shape back in place
23 Switch to the FRONT orthographic view
24 Move the blue shape downward
25 Duplicate the yellow shape, and move the copy downward until it meets the top of the blue shape
26 Group the red shape with the yellow shape, and the blue shape with the green one
27 Duplicate the hollow shape (Ctrl + D) without moving or resizing it
28 Group the red shape with one of the hollow shapes
29 Move the red and the blue shapes upward until the top of the blue shape meets the workplane
30 Group the blue shape with the hollow shape
31 Move the blue shape upward
32 Switch back to perspective view
33 Move the red shape away for a while
34 Create a 6 6 mm based hollow cylinder, and place it 2 mm away from the edges of the blue shape
34 This is what you should see from the FRONT orthographic view The top of the hollow cylinder must be 1 mm above the top of the red shape
35 Duplicate the hollow cylinder without moving the copy, resize the copy to 5 5 mm, move it 3 mm downward
35 This is what you should see from the FRONT orthographic view The top of the yellow cylinder must be 2 mm under the top of the red shape
36 Add a 5 5 2 mm half sphere at the top of the yellow cylinder You can use the alignment tool to have it perfectly aligned
36 This is what you should see from the FRONT orthographic view
37 Switch to the TOP orthographic view
38 Select the two cylinders and the half sphere, duplicate them and move the copies to the three corners of the blue shape
39 Move the red shape back to its place
40 Select the red shape and the four hollow cylinders, and group them
41 Return the red shape
42 Group all the other shapes
And Here it is! Don t forget to share this design on myminifactory.com!