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3D printers used by microscopists

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Page Baluch

3D printers used by microscopists

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Hi All,
I am organizing a seminar at the M&M 2020 meeting called DIY: Microscopy Inspired Mkrspace 3D Printing. We will have speakers presenting information about printing 3D scaffold and cells, microscopy inspired art, custom educational tools, as well as tools and prototypes created by 3D printers. I want to reach out to the community and find out what types of tools you have created to assist in you in the lab. We hope to collect a set of templates that we can make available to attendees. We also welcome links to any established databases.
Let me know if you have any ideas that you would be willing to share!

Thanks,
Page

D. Page Baluch, PhD
Arizona State University/SOLS
Regenerative Medicine and Imaging Facility

Steffen Dietzel

Re: 3D printers used by microscopists

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Dear Page,

if this works out as you intend, it would be great if you could make the
templates available not only to the attendees, but maybe put it on a web
site for all interested. Or is there such a depository already somewhere?

We were just discussing the possibility to create stage inserts with
3D-printing and wondered if there would be a depository for microscopy
related templates.

Would anybody know about such a site?

Steffen

Am 11.12.2019 um 23:16 schrieb Page Baluch:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Hi All,
> I am organizing a seminar at the M&M 2020 meeting called DIY: Microscopy Inspired Mkrspace 3D Printing. We will have speakers presenting information about printing 3D scaffold and cells, microscopy inspired art, custom educational tools, as well as tools and prototypes created by 3D printers. I want to reach out to the community and find out what types of tools you have created to assist in you in the lab. We hope to collect a set of templates that we can make available to attendees. We also welcome links to any established databases.
> Let me know if you have any ideas that you would be willing to share!
>
> Thanks,
> Page
>
> D. Page Baluch, PhD
> Arizona State University/SOLS
> Regenerative Medicine and Imaging Facility
>

--
------------------------------------------------------------
Steffen Dietzel, PD Dr. rer. nat
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Biomedical Center (BMC)
Head of the Core Facility Bioimaging

Großhaderner Straße 9
D-82152 Planegg-Martinsried
Germany

http://www.bioimaging.bmc.med.uni-muenchen.de

Held, Marie [mheldb]

Re: 3D printers used by microscopists

*****
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http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Dear all,

Thingyverse (https://www.thingiverse.com) is a good repository. Not microscopy specific but you can find science templates there amongst many, many other things.

Best wishes,

Marie

Please note that I will be off on annual leave and then maternity leave from 05/08/2019 onwards.

-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List <[hidden email]> On Behalf Of Steffen Dietzel
Sent: 12 December 2019 14:52
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: 3D printers used by microscopists

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Dear Page,

if this works out as you intend, it would be great if you could make the templates available not only to the attendees, but maybe put it on a web site for all interested. Or is there such a depository already somewhere?

We were just discussing the possibility to create stage inserts with 3D-printing and wondered if there would be a depository for microscopy related templates.

Would anybody know about such a site?

Steffen

Am 11.12.2019 um 23:16 schrieb Page Baluch:

Barbara Foster

Re: 3D printers used by microscopists

In reply to this post by Page Baluch

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Hey, Page,
Any possibility of filming these sessions and making them available
to those of us who can't make it to M&M2020?

-Barbara Foster

At 04:37 PM 12/11/2019, you wrote:

>*****
>To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
>Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
>*****
>
>Hi All,
> I am organizing a seminar at the M&M 2020 meeting called DIY:
> Microscopy Inspired Mkrspace 3D Printing. We will have speakers
> presenting information about printing 3D scaffold and cells,
> microscopy inspired art, custom educational tools, as well as tools
> and prototypes created by 3D printers. I want to reach out to the
> community and find out what types of tools you have created to
> assist in you in the lab. We hope to collect a set of templates
> that we can make available to attendees. We also welcome links to
> any established databases.
>Let me know if you have any ideas that you would be willing to share!
>
>Thanks,
>Page
>
>D. Page Baluch, PhD
>Arizona State University/SOLS
>Regenerative Medicine and Imaging Facility

daj1u06

Re: 3D printers used by microscopists

In reply to this post by Page Baluch

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

We've used our 3D printer (ultimaker 3 extended) to print microscope stage inserts and gassing lids for our SP8 and Olympus IX81 time lapse system (for small coverslip bottom petris, Ibidi chamberslides, large petris etc), to make slicing jigs for mouse brain, human prostate (in multiple sizes!) and umbelical blood vessels and to make a clamping system to hold an electronic micromanipulator to a Nikon diaphot. Also small biocompatible "cages" for inserting stem-cell-seeded biomatrix sub cut. In addition, great for outreach printing 3D models from 3D microscopy (confocal, microCT, serial block face).

Happy to share 3D CAD files etc.

Dave Johnston,
Biomedical Imaging Unit,
Southampton.

oftakofta

Re: 3D printers used by microscopists

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

I have also designed multiple adapters, lids, holders, condenser rings,
dark field annulli, prism holders, filter mounts, and custom low profile
transwell inserts for Nikon & Thorlabs that I'd gladly share with the
community in a convenient context. Everything open hardware and with
etitable parametric FreeCAD design files.

Jens Eriksson
Selling Imaging Platform
Uppsala University

On Sun, 15 Dec 2019, 10:06 Dave Johnston, <[hidden email]> wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> We've used our 3D printer (ultimaker 3 extended) to print microscope stage
> inserts and gassing lids for our SP8 and Olympus IX81 time lapse system
> (for small coverslip bottom petris, Ibidi chamberslides, large petris etc),
> to make slicing jigs for mouse brain, human prostate (in multiple sizes!)
> and umbelical blood vessels and to make a clamping system to hold an
> electronic micromanipulator to a Nikon diaphot. Also small biocompatible
> "cages" for inserting stem-cell-seeded biomatrix sub cut. In addition,
> great for outreach printing 3D models from 3D microscopy (confocal,
> microCT, serial block face).
>
> Happy to share 3D CAD files etc.
>
> Dave Johnston,
> Biomedical Imaging Unit,
> Southampton.
>

Sverre grødem-3

Re: 3D printers used by microscopists

In reply to this post by Page Baluch

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Hi Page,

The NIH has a 3D printing file repository, it has a labware category which includes microscopy tools. This might be a great place to submit tools for confocal list members? Maybe the NIH could be convinced to open a microscopy category? I am not affiliated with the NIH in any way.

https://3dprint.nih.gov/

Best Regards,

Sverre Grødem,

University of Oslo
________________________________
From: Confocal Microscopy List <[hidden email]> on behalf of Page Baluch <[hidden email]>
Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2019 11:16 PM
To: [hidden email] <[hidden email]>
Subject: 3D printers used by microscopists

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
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Post images on https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.imgur.com&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cfb0e04abb0634e0d532408d77e8ac0bf%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637117006712094637&sdata=MvaiE4hYb7YxlZF1uHvMKPlrAGJrEtzVOSHAfqy45UQ%3D&reserved=0 and include the link in your posting.
*****

Hi All,
I am organizing a seminar at the M&M 2020 meeting called DIY: Microscopy Inspired Mkrspace 3D Printing. We will have speakers presenting information about printing 3D scaffold and cells, microscopy inspired art, custom educational tools, as well as tools and prototypes created by 3D printers. I want to reach out to the community and find out what types of tools you have created to assist in you in the lab. We hope to collect a set of templates that we can make available to attendees. We also welcome links to any established databases.
Let me know if you have any ideas that you would be willing to share!

Thanks,
Page

D. Page Baluch, PhD
Arizona State University/SOLS
Regenerative Medicine and Imaging Facility

Page Baluch

Re: 3D printers used by microscopists

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Thanks Sverre and everyone who has offered suggestions. I did check the NIH site and think it would be an excellent place to collect the templates. I have reached out to the developer to see if they would create a new category called Microscopy Tools. I will keep you all updated on the status and when it becomes available.

In the meantime I will be reaching out to all of you who have suggested templates to both encourage you to submit your designs to the NIH site and to find out if you are attending the M&M meeting and if you could bring samples. We plan to create hands-on-activity days to allow those interested to check out sample designs and learn more about how to create your own.

Thanks again for everyone's help. My direct email is [hidden email]<mailto:[hidden email]> if you would like to contact me directly by email.

Page

From: Sverre grødem <[hidden email]>
Sent: Monday, December 16, 2019 8:23 AM
To: Page Baluch <[hidden email]>; [hidden email]
Subject: Re: 3D printers used by microscopists

Hi Page,

The NIH has a 3D printing file repository, it has a labware category which includes microscopy tools. This might be a great place to submit tools for confocal list members? Maybe the NIH could be convinced to open a microscopy category? I am not affiliated with the NIH in any way.

https://3dprint.nih.gov/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__3dprint.nih.gov_&d=DwMFAw&c=l45AxH-kUV29SRQusp9vYR0n1GycN4_2jInuKy6zbqQ&r=0rRBCa7R5v2nFVXI0Fy_CnAa6u3H8l-dr7gCpZZpzBQ&m=vuSk8EhdmB4-AaPX-gbey7bHO6kZ0uFITmhFnwv1YXY&s=NZTEzJTi_dp09RcXdGdAl5qD6hF9sfbZBcwu01IbymQ&e=>

Best Regards,

Sverre Grødem,

University of Oslo
________________________________
From: Confocal Microscopy List <[hidden email]<mailto:[hidden email]>> on behalf of Page Baluch <[hidden email]<mailto:[hidden email]>>
Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2019 11:16 PM
To: [hidden email]<mailto:[hidden email]> <[hidden email]<mailto:[hidden email]>>
Subject: 3D printers used by microscopists

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
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Post images on https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.imgur.com&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cfb0e04abb0634e0d532408d77e8ac0bf%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637117006712094637&sdata=MvaiE4hYb7YxlZF1uHvMKPlrAGJrEtzVOSHAfqy45UQ%3D&reserved=0<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com_-3Furl-3Dhttp-253A-252F-252Fwww.imgur.com-26amp-3Bdata-3D02-257C01-257C-257Cfb0e04abb0634e0d532408d77e8ac0bf-257C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa-257C1-257C0-257C637117006712094637-26amp-3Bsdata-3DMvaiE4hYb7YxlZF1uHvMKPlrAGJrEtzVOSHAfqy45UQ-253D-26amp-3Breserved-3D0&d=DwMFAw&c=l45AxH-kUV29SRQusp9vYR0n1GycN4_2jInuKy6zbqQ&r=0rRBCa7R5v2nFVXI0Fy_CnAa6u3H8l-dr7gCpZZpzBQ&m=vuSk8EhdmB4-AaPX-gbey7bHO6kZ0uFITmhFnwv1YXY&s=DqvMRI5oyR1XAum-5VLQ4BktpbNL8JqCz1uTxZzZzQ4&e=> and include the link in your posting.
*****

Hi All,
I am organizing a seminar at the M&M 2020 meeting called DIY: Microscopy Inspired Mkrspace 3D Printing. We will have speakers presenting information about printing 3D scaffold and cells, microscopy inspired art, custom educational tools, as well as tools and prototypes created by 3D printers. I want to reach out to the community and find out what types of tools you have created to assist in you in the lab. We hope to collect a set of templates that we can make available to attendees. We also welcome links to any established databases.
Let me know if you have any ideas that you would be willing to share!

Thanks,
Page

D. Page Baluch, PhD
Arizona State University/SOLS
Regenerative Medicine and Imaging Facility

Page Baluch

Re: 3D printers used by microscopists

In reply to this post by Barbara Foster

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Hi Barbara,
I am not sure about the filming but can check with some people at MSA. We are looking to start a new collection at the NIH 3D Print Exchange where we will encourage everyone to upload their templates. I will keep the group updated on when that new collection is active and if there are any plans on filming the session.

Page

D. Page Baluch, PhD
Arizona State University
Regenerative Medicine Imaging Facility
Biosciences | Advanced Light Microscopy Cores

-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List <[hidden email]> On Behalf Of Barbara Foster
Sent: Saturday, December 14, 2019 12:03 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: 3D printers used by microscopists

*****
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Post images on https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.imgur.com&d=DwIBAg&c=l45AxH-kUV29SRQusp9vYR0n1GycN4_2jInuKy6zbqQ&r=0rRBCa7R5v2nFVXI0Fy_CnAa6u3H8l-dr7gCpZZpzBQ&m=P6HWPlnwPHD8UYKJ31cMDtk22-pzmtfp6Ab1j0YFGcQ&s=XkVgz3Sgkj3Nq2DrZtaus6CGUg7yrYfw4RlDH0Dse98&e= and include the link in your posting.
*****

Hey, Page,
Any possibility of filming these sessions and making them available to those of us who can't make it to M&M2020?

-Barbara Foster

At 04:37 PM 12/11/2019, you wrote:

>*****
>To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.umn.edu_cgi-2
>Dbin_wa-3FA0-3Dconfocalmicroscopy&d=DwIBAg&c=l45AxH-kUV29SRQusp9vYR0n1G
>ycN4_2jInuKy6zbqQ&r=0rRBCa7R5v2nFVXI0Fy_CnAa6u3H8l-dr7gCpZZpzBQ&m=P6HWP
>lnwPHD8UYKJ31cMDtk22-pzmtfp6Ab1j0YFGcQ&s=bBjKZArAv4VqXUPI51F3dJcktsiqLO
>3p9JYqhVVwlvM&e= Post images on
>https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.imgur.com&d=DwIBAg&c=l45AxH-kUV29SRQusp9vYR0n1GycN4_2jInuKy6zbqQ&r=0rRBCa7R5v2nFVXI0Fy_CnAa6u3H8l-dr7gCpZZpzBQ&m=P6HWPlnwPHD8UYKJ31cMDtk22-pzmtfp6Ab1j0YFGcQ&s=XkVgz3Sgkj3Nq2DrZtaus6CGUg7yrYfw4RlDH0Dse98&e= and include the link in your posting.
>*****
>
>Hi All,
> I am organizing a seminar at the M&M 2020 meeting called DIY:
> Microscopy Inspired Mkrspace 3D Printing. We will have speakers
>presenting information about printing 3D scaffold and cells,
>microscopy inspired art, custom educational tools, as well as tools
>and prototypes created by 3D printers. I want to reach out to the
>community and find out what types of tools you have created to assist
>in you in the lab. We hope to collect a set of templates that we can
>make available to attendees. We also welcome links to any established
>databases.
>Let me know if you have any ideas that you would be willing to share!
>
>Thanks,
>Page
>
>D. Page Baluch, PhD
>Arizona State University/SOLS
>Regenerative Medicine and Imaging Facility

Jeffrey Kuhn

Re: 3D printers used by microscopists

In reply to this post by Page Baluch

*****
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Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Just to throw in my two cents... I have printed a LOT of 3D parts for optics, etc over the past few years.

I think it is also important to learn *how* to design parts for the 3D printer. Autodesk's fusion 360 CAD is free for academics and works equally well on Mac and Win. It is a great starting point for learning to design parts.

Here are some rules of thumb I like to use. These are somewhat difficult to explain without pictures, but I will try.

1. Plastic extrusion is not exact. Always design with part tolerances. Always. If you are trying to fit something into a 25mm hole, don’t design a 25mm plastic peg. Make pegs slightly small (say -0.05mm) and holes slightly bigger (say +0.05mm). Fitting will depend on the plastic type, how tight the printer bearing are, how much the part shrinks as it cools nonlinearly as the z axis moves away from the heat-bed, and even the day.

2. Plastic shrinks when it cools, ∆L/L. The larger the part, the more the shrinkage. It also depends on infill percentage and bed heating. Design for it. You will never be able to exactly match hole placement on large machined parts. Expand through holes a little, or design holes as slots with a little slop in them. For example, I print a lot of plastic plates that go into Thorlabs cage mount systems (https://www.thorlabs.com/newgrouppage9.cfm?objectgroup_id=2273). Printing the rod hole centers exactly 30mm apart at the plate corners never works. It will always be too tight. But designing the rod holes as slightly elongated slots [ie (_)] with a 6 mm diameter and a 0.5 mm length rather than 6mm diameter holes [ie O] gets over the slop. I point all four slots toward the optical axis so the plastic plates always self-center.

3. Know your overhangs. Design parts that print from the bottom up with little support. Think about placement and which end should be down when you print. If you need a part that expands as it goes up, print it with a gradual 45 deg overhang [ie Y not T shaped]. For smaller internal holes, especially horizontal screw holes, a printer can cover those up quite nicely (i.e. small overhang span). As the hole gets larger, you might need to go in with your slicing software and add support material. If your slicing software is not that sophisticated, design a cut-away or tear-away support directly into the part. Design a thin-walled plane or zig-zag extrusion that mimics the “support” a typical slicing software might use.

4. Plastic can make decent threads for assembly, but not for repeated adjustment. If you just need a female threaded hole to assemble a screw into, you can use a “modeled” thread in your CAD software. Your STL file will be a little bigger, but the slicer will make a nice spiraling thread. You can use a tap or just a machine screw to finish reaming the plastic thread out after the print. If you need an adjustment mechanism, design a nut catch to slide a metal machine nut into your plastic part. This is a slot with a hexagonally shaped end that a nut slides into from the side.

5. Only the bottom surface will be flat (the first layer attached to the bed), but you can force semi-flatness on other surfaces. Slicing software almost always cross-hatches your topmost layers. This produces a relatively rough surface at the top of any part. If you need a smooth surface on top of a part for a sliding interface or an optic mount, design some grooves into your part to break the surface into narrow strips or concentric rings, say 0.5-0.6mm wide. Make them high enough for a couple of layers. This will force the slicing software to lay down parts of a top surface in smoother parallel or concentric extrusions. This trick works for intermediate layers too! You can mount coverslips to these or even make decent sliding or rotating interfaces.

6. Bevel parts, especially bottom surface. The first printed layer is usually extruded a little thicker to make the part stick to the bed. This means the bottom of your part will be a little over-dimensioned. Over-extrusion usually happens at all sharp 90 deg corners, but the bottom is especially bad. Add a small (0.5mm) bevel to sharp edges, especially at the bottom of the part. This will give you better fits with larger existing parts.

7. Bonus tip: Design thin supports into your part and remove them after. If you need a recessed screw hole with the recess at the bottom of a part, you will run into an overhang issue [ie ’T T’ shaped hole where the screw ‘_|_’ faces up]. The tops of the recess where the hole suddenly shrinks won’t print well on its own. Fill in the top of the recess with a thin plate, about 1-2 layers thick [ie span the tops of the T’s]. Slicing software will span that overhang with a flat crosshatched plane instead of concentric overhang. Just punch through it after printing.

Cheers,
— Jeffrey R Kuhn, PhD
Scientific Director, Microscopy Core Facility, Koch Institute at MIT
Room 76-281C, 500 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
tel (617) 324-3804 email [hidden email] inkedin drjrkuhn twitter @CellJeffe

Page Baluch

Re: 3D printers used by microscopists

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Thanks Jeff,
These are great tips!
Page

D. Page Baluch, PhD
Arizona State University
Regenerative Medicine Imaging Facility
Biosciences | Advanced Light Microscopy Cores

-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List <[hidden email]> On Behalf Of Jeffrey Kuhn
Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2019 7:57 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: 3D printers used by microscopists

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Just to throw in my two cents... I have printed a LOT of 3D parts for optics, etc over the past few years.

I think it is also important to learn *how* to design parts for the 3D printer. Autodesk's fusion 360 CAD is free for academics and works equally well on Mac and Win. It is a great starting point for learning to design parts.

Here are some rules of thumb I like to use. These are somewhat difficult to explain without pictures, but I will try.

1. Plastic extrusion is not exact. Always design with part tolerances. Always. If you are trying to fit something into a 25mm hole, don’t design a 25mm plastic peg. Make pegs slightly small (say -0.05mm) and holes slightly bigger (say +0.05mm). Fitting will depend on the plastic type, how tight the printer bearing are, how much the part shrinks as it cools nonlinearly as the z axis moves away from the heat-bed, and even the day.

2. Plastic shrinks when it cools, ∆L/L. The larger the part, the more the shrinkage. It also depends on infill percentage and bed heating. Design for it. You will never be able to exactly match hole placement on large machined parts. Expand through holes a little, or design holes as slots with a little slop in them. For example, I print a lot of plastic plates that go into Thorlabs cage mount systems (https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.thorlabs.com_newgrouppage9.cfm-3Fobjectgroup-5Fid-3D2273&d=DwIFaQ&c=l45AxH-kUV29SRQusp9vYR0n1GycN4_2jInuKy6zbqQ&r=0rRBCa7R5v2nFVXI0Fy_CnAa6u3H8l-dr7gCpZZpzBQ&m=dHG5UINgAKnFLR6gH6eo9hvnYJKpak4jWwRYxHqzKNM&s=UAmzdS3FK0dBpnD9GL4ImS8PQgFnWQ4HFVRwh7Yyx4Q&e= ). Printing the rod hole centers exactly 30mm apart at the plate corners never works. It will always be too tight. But designing the rod holes as slightly elongated slots [ie (_)] with a 6 mm diameter and a 0.5 mm length rather than 6mm diameter holes [ie O] gets over the slop. I point all four slots toward the optical axis so the plastic plates always self-center.

3. Know your overhangs. Design parts that print from the bottom up with little support. Think about placement and which end should be down when you print. If you need a part that expands as it goes up, print it with a gradual 45 deg overhang [ie Y not T shaped]. For smaller internal holes, especially horizontal screw holes, a printer can cover those up quite nicely (i.e. small overhang span). As the hole gets larger, you might need to go in with your slicing software and add support material. If your slicing software is not that sophisticated, design a cut-away or tear-away support directly into the part. Design a thin-walled plane or zig-zag extrusion that mimics the “support” a typical slicing software might use.

4. Plastic can make decent threads for assembly, but not for repeated adjustment. If you just need a female threaded hole to assemble a screw into, you can use a “modeled” thread in your CAD software. Your STL file will be a little bigger, but the slicer will make a nice spiraling thread. You can use a tap or just a machine screw to finish reaming the plastic thread out after the print. If you need an adjustment mechanism, design a nut catch to slide a metal machine nut into your plastic part. This is a slot with a hexagonally shaped end that a nut slides into from the side.

5. Only the bottom surface will be flat (the first layer attached to the bed), but you can force semi-flatness on other surfaces. Slicing software almost always cross-hatches your topmost layers. This produces a relatively rough surface at the top of any part. If you need a smooth surface on top of a part for a sliding interface or an optic mount, design some grooves into your part to break the surface into narrow strips or concentric rings, say 0.5-0.6mm wide. Make them high enough for a couple of layers. This will force the slicing software to lay down parts of a top surface in smoother parallel or concentric extrusions. This trick works for intermediate layers too! You can mount coverslips to these or even make decent sliding or rotating interfaces.

6. Bevel parts, especially bottom surface. The first printed layer is usually extruded a little thicker to make the part stick to the bed. This means the bottom of your part will be a little over-dimensioned. Over-extrusion usually happens at all sharp 90 deg corners, but the bottom is especially bad. Add a small (0.5mm) bevel to sharp edges, especially at the bottom of the part. This will give you better fits with larger existing parts.

7. Bonus tip: Design thin supports into your part and remove them after. If you need a recessed screw hole with the recess at the bottom of a part, you will run into an overhang issue [ie ’T T’ shaped hole where the screw ‘_|_’ faces up]. The tops of the recess where the hole suddenly shrinks won’t print well on its own. Fill in the top of the recess with a thin plate, about 1-2 layers thick [ie span the tops of the T’s]. Slicing software will span that overhang with a flat crosshatched plane instead of concentric overhang. Just punch through it after printing.

Cheers,
— Jeffrey R Kuhn, PhD
Scientific Director, Microscopy Core Facility, Koch Institute at MIT Room 76-281C, 500 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
tel (617) 324-3804 email [hidden email] inkedin drjrkuhn twitter @CellJeffe