In this tutorial I will show you how to design and print a Minecraft Shovel.
You can eat your yogurt with this.

Questions for Make- to- Learn Contest:

What did you make?

I made a small 3D extruded shovel from the game of Minecraft that could be useful as a small spoon or just a geeky decoration.

How did you make it?

To make this I created a model of it in SolidWorks (Such a terrible program. I would much prefer Autodesk Inventor but sadly cannot afford it!)

Where did you make it?

I worked on this project in the 3D Rapid Prototyping lab of my school.

What did you learn?

I learned that I learned that it is fun to be able to create something out of nothing and have it be extruded on a 3D printer and watch it come to life right before your very own eyes.

Step 1: Create the Sketch

Open up a new sketch in SolidWorks. Use Sketch Tools ------> Sketch Picture. Then choose the photo of the shovel.

Step 2: Outlining the Photo

Then, make lines all around the shape of the shovel. This is simple because this shovel is from Minecraft an is made up of little squares.

Step 3: Extrude

Next, extrude the sketch. To do this go to Features Menu -----> Extruded Boss/ Base.

Step 4: Save and Print

Now that that is done, save your part as a normal SolidWorks part. After doing that, go to Save As and save it as an STL file. Once this is finished, my job is done. You can go print it on a 3D printer.

Note: If you save it as a DXF file, you will be able to cut it on a plasma cutter or laser blaster, but will not be able to use a MakerBot.