With this instructable I want to share my experience doing a 3d Print of a model I designed!

Step 1: Model Design

How I did my model?

Through a very simple tool called Tinkercad. At http://tinkercad.com you can also create yours and share it, print it or download it for minecraft. It is very easy to learn, just with 3 or 4 little tutorials (it's done for kids!).

Can you edit the model?

Of course! You just need a Tinkercad account and select the tinker this option in the following links:

https://tinkercad.com/things/4H7upgDq1YT-exquisite...

https://tinkercad.com/things/3EQuz27Q7c2-smooth-bo...

Can you directly print it?

Yes! Just download the stl. files and go to the next step!

PD: Boat&Bottle files are the ones that I printed. The other file is the boat without the bottle, in case you want to print it separate.

Step 2: First Setup

Before sending it to a 3d printer you need to prepare the file with a specific software.

I used Cure, which allows to print different stl files at the same time, change the size, and another very important option in my case: support material. This allowed me to print a model with a convex shape that had curves and had space between the supporting base. To make it more understandable, if you want to print a pyramid in 3d it's ok, but if you want to print it inversed, you need to activate this option.

After setting it up I exported it to an Sd Card and ran to the 3d Printer to test it!

Step 3: Watch It Grow!

This is the most intriguing part!

It had some rest of thread from other people prints so I had to watch out to remove the other color that sometimes messed up with my print.

Each time the printer passes it draws a line with a certain thickness. Depending on your set up step, your print will have more or less quality, which relies on how thick is each layer.

The machine I used had a Wantai Stepper Motor controlled with an Arduino, one of the DIY print machines at the Fablab Cascina at Italy (http://fablabcascina.org), a workshop where you can do it yourself if you live around the area.

Step 4: The Result

The unpredictable happened!

The transparent thread were not so transparent! And the ropes did not build up as the boat was too small. I recommend if you are going to print this model to try other materials or altering the size and the shape in order to make the boat more visible.

On the other hand it's cute the little swirl on the top of the boat! :)