Research Guides: 3D Printing Resources and Tools: Design video tutorials

Tinkercad - Getting started

Creating a simple geometry in Tinkercad
A beginner-friendly tutorial on Tinkercad on using the shapes panel and editing tools. It shows you how to create and customize both simple and complex 3D designs for various creative projects.
Generating and customizing shapes
A tutorial on using Tinkercad’s Ring shape generator. It shows you how to utilize the inspector panel to change the shape’s profile in 2D to be revolved and form a radially symmetrical 3D shape.
Importing an existing file
A demo of Tinkercad’s import features, on bringing in 2D SVG files and 3D STL files for editing. You can edit these files to further customize your designs. Additionally, more shapes are available in the 3D Model Libraries page of this guide.

Tinkercad - Basic modifications

Resizing, scaling, orienting, and rotating your design
A guide on using the ruler tool to help you achieve precise designs, aligning objects to the ruler grid, and using advanced techniques for accurate measurements and resizing.
Extruding your design to join objects together
A guide on joining objects together to obtain a customized geometry by turning a flat 2D shape into a 3D object by adding depth.
Revolving your design to obtain spheres, bowls, or hoops
A guide on how to obtain radially symmetric 3D objects by rotating a 2D profile around an axis, using adjustments in the inspector panel.
Lofting your design from cross-sectional shapes
A tutorial on using the lofted intake feature to create a smooth 3D structure, transitioning between multiple cross-sectional shapes. This creates shapes that gradually change throughout its length.
Sweeping your design to obtain a pipe-like object
A tutorial on creating a 3D object by moving a 2D profile along a set path to give a continuous and curved shape.
Filleting your design to round the corners and edges
A tutorial on simulating fillets by manually combining shapes, like cylinders or spheres to create smooth transitions. This is a simple workaround for the fillet feature with other advanced CAD software.
Mirroring your design to creating a symmetrical copy
A tutorial on duplicating the object along a specific axis, by using the flip function to achieve this effect.
Making an array with your design to make multiples
A tutorial on creating multiple, evenly spaced copies of an object, by duplicating your design element and manually aligning the copies.
Slicing your design to cut an object into halves
A tutorial on cutting a model into sections, useful for creating separable parts by using shapes as holes to subtract material and then grouping the remaining pieces.
Combining 2 objects together
A tutorial on combining objects by grouping them together. You can merge various shapes into one whole entity.
Subtracting 2 objects to create holes
A tutorial on subtracting one shape from another by designating it as a hole, or extracting the overlapping portion of two objects.

Tinkercad - Preparing for 3D printing

Reducing the file size
A tutorial using Blender to reduce the file size and prepare the model for 3D printing in STL format.
Understanding 3D printer slicer parameters
A comprehensive introduction to the basic parameters in 3D printing slicer software: layer height, extrusion width, walls, shell, infill, temperature, speed, retraction, and support material.
Converting different file types
An introduction on the differences of file formats for 3D printing: STL, OBJ, AMF, 3MF, and STEP files are covered
Setting up multi-coloured prints
An introduction to 3 different approaches to obtain 3D printed objects with various colours, with some tips and guidance on how to design for multi-colours.
Example: customizing the text on a hot dog stand
A step-by-step guide on importing custom shapes and images to be displayed on a storefront.
Example: designing snap-fit joints
A step-by-step guide on how to make the connections that mechanically snap together, used for bike helmets and bag straps.
General library: toys and decorations
A library of step-by-step guides on making toys, models, and decorations as a 3D printing hobby.

3D printing and modelling with DICOM files

Preparing CT and MRI files to an STL (spinal cord)
This video guides you through converting CT or MRI scans from DICOM to STL using a 3D-Slicer. It covers key steps such as importing DICOM files, selecting a series, cropping the volume, performing segmentation with various tools, and finally exporting the model as an STL file.
Preparing a 3D printable file from an MRI (brain)
This video gives a walkthrough of converting an MRI scan into a life-scale 3D printed brain model, complete with added LED lighting that transforms it into a reactive lamp and music visualizer. Note that this is intended solely for educational and artistic purposes and is not validated for medical use.
Adjusting the threshold to specify a tissue type (abdomen)
This video starts with the DICOM Browser view and segmentation modules, demonstrating manual segmentation techniques as well as thresholding. Thresholding is a crucial process that isolates specific ranges of image intensity values, in order to filter and highlight particular tissues or targeted structures.
Automatic full body segmentation from CT scans (organs)
This video demonstrates how to use the TotalSegmentator extension for 3D Slicer to automatically segment over 100 anatomical structures in a whole-body CT image, using entirely free and open-source software (code on GitHub in video description).
Slicing the model from an MRI to customize the print (cranioimplant)
This video shows the process of evaluating the CT scan, segmenting the skull to create an implant blank through subtraction, fusing preoperative and current scans, refining the design, verifying the fit, 3D printing a PLA model for a final preoperative check, and manufacturing a patient-specific implant.
Full cardiac model from CTA and MRI information (heart)
This video uses paid software to study the Left Ventricle and analyze CTA and MRI images separately, before fusing them into a full view of cardiac anatomy. While the software is paid, the underlying processing steps can be replicated using open-source alternatives.
3D printed oncology model from a scan (lung)
A quick demonstration of the processing behind a 3D printed oncology model, which offers a tangible, detailed view of cancer’s complex structure to improve understanding of the disease.
3D modelling for Covid-19 visualization (lung)
A video of 3D visualization showcasing a COVID-19 patient’s lungs derived from CT scans. By manually segmenting each region using MySegmenter and compiling a comprehensive database of 2D DICOM and 3D files, a ground truth dataset is derived for a better understanding of the disease's impact on lung anatomy.
3D models for oncology research (interview)
This video highlights how 3D models can provide a unique insight into cancer progression by analyzing protein profiles and uncovering unexpected patterns in cell lines. The researcher discussed how 3D modelling is relevant to in vivo studies and their innovative use of transparent zebrafish larvae for rapid, real-time tracking of tumor development.

Research Guides

3D Printing Resources and Tools: Design video tutorials

Tinkercad 3D design video tutorials

Tinkercad - Getting started

Tinkercad - Basic modifications

Tinkercad - Preparing for 3D printing

3D printing and modelling with DICOM files

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