For the main clear box, I’ve selected VeraClear and for the letters I’ve chosen the FLX9050 version of TangoBlack. I can then select the materials for the different parts. When I first bring my STL files into Objet Studio, I need to make sure that the Assembly check box is turned on, since this gives me access to edit the individual parts. Objet Studio allows me access to apply different material variations to specific bodies, as well as orienting my example block in the machine. I can now send these 8 STL files to our printer machine to do some pre-processing of the files. This time, my STL preview shows me that my number of files being saved is 8, unlike when there was just a single file before. There is an important check box in this options menu that needs to be unchecked to create a multi-material printed part, and that is the “Save all components of an assembly in a single file.” If this is turned on, I lose the ability to pick bodies to apply different materials to in the printing processing phase. This opens up the Export Options window where I can edit my resolution in terms of deviation and angle between the triangles which generate the printed part. I accomplish this by doing a File -> Save As and changing the “Save as type” to STL (*.stl) and selecting the Options button. I’m now ready to save my assembly as STL files. By reapplying my appearance settings, I can verify that my part is the same, with the exception that the 3 features from my original part have become 8 parts in an assembly. I’m now done with my part file and I will finish up using the assembly file I just created. I’ll create our STLs from this assembly in the next stage. The Create Assembly option in the Save Bodies side panel allows me to create and save a new assembly.
The last step in this stage is to Create an Assembly with the body files. This name gives the printer tech the information he needs to process this body using the Vera Clear material. The key feature that needs a descriptive name is the block that will be printed in clear. You can use the “Auto-assign Names” feature to quickly name these objects or you can save each body as a descriptive name. To do that I need to save each body out individually using the Save Bodies command. What I’m looking for is each of my 8 Solid Bodies to have an associated STL file. If I just try to save it out as is, I only get a single file that will be printed out as a solid, single material block, which is not our desired outcome.
In order to print my 3D design, I need to generate an STL file type to send to the printer processing software (Objet Studio for this project). I now have the geometry that I’d like to print out. Notice that I have 8 Solid Bodies in my part: 1 for the block and 7 for the letters. I’ll also add some appearances to my main block and letters to better see what is going on internal to my part. This means I have no gaps that need to be filled by support material nor do I have any overlapping bodies.
In order to create separate bodies I first extruded cut out my word and then reuse the sketch to extrude the new letter bodies into the same space (making sure ‘Merge result” is turned off). For this example, I will be working with a single part that has letters placed inside a block.