Simulic
English

CAD and 3D Printing – From Design to Printed Part, CAD and 3D Printing Technician Careers

Design & TechnologyCareers in TechnologyAges 15–16

Loading…

Share Report a problem

Build a part from primitives (a filleted box, a boss, a through hole and an overhang tab) with dimensions in mm in a rotatable 3D view, check its three orthographic views, then slice it like a slicer program: choose layer height, infill, wall count and supports for overhangs steeper than 45°. Watch a layer-by-layer print preview with estimated print time, filament length and mass (PLA, 1.24 g/cm³), material cost and a strength–mass–time trade-off chart, and finish with job profiles of a CAD technician and a 3D printing technician.

Lesson: Careers in mechanical engineering: CAD technician and 3D printing (additive manufacturing) technician; the design–slice–print workflow

What it shows

This simulation follows a real workflow shared by two technical jobs. A CAD technician builds a part from simple solids: a box with filleted edges, an added cylinder, a subtracted hole and an overhanging tab, all dimensioned in millimetres. A 3D printing technician then slices it into layers, choosing layer height, walls, infill and supports, since overhangs steeper than 45° from the vertical cannot be printed on air. The slicer estimate is simplified (0.45 mm lines, average speed 75% of the set speed, 15% support density), but it shows clearly how settings trade strength against material, time and cost.

How to use

In 1. CAD design, drag Length, Width, Height, Fillet R, the Boss and Through hole sliders, then Overhang tab: length and Tab: underside angle, and compare the 3D model with the orthographic views. In 2. Slicing, change Layer height, Infill and Wall count, drag View layer and drag on the chart. Untick the supports box, then press ▶ Print in 3. Print to see the failure.

Parameters you can change

  • Starting step 1. CAD design, 2. Slicing, 3. Print, 4. Careers
  • Box length L 20–80 mm
  • Box width W 20–60 mm
  • Box height H 5–30 mm
  • Fillet radius 0–10 mm
  • Boss diameter (0 = no boss) 0–40 mm
  • Boss height 2–30 mm
  • Through-hole diameter (0 = no hole) 0–16 mm
  • Overhang tab length (0 = no tab) 0–25 mm
  • Tab underside angle from the vertical 20–90 °
  • Layer height 0.1–0.3 mm
  • Infill density 0–100 %
  • Wall count (perimeters) 1–5
  • Add supports for overhangs steeper than 45°
  • Print speed 20–100 mm/s
  • PLA filament price 10–60 USD/kg

Questions to explore

  1. How do strength, mass and print time change when infill rises from 20% to 100%, and which setting suits a prototype?
  2. Why does a tab whose underside is at 60° from the vertical need support, while one at 40° does not?
  3. Which steps of this workflow are done by the CAD technician and which by the 3D printing technician?

Related simulations