Earbud Organizer
I chose to make the earbud organizer. Whenever I tried to keep my earbuds from getting tangled I would wrap them around my finger and put them in my backpack, but when I went back to grab them, the earbuds would always be tangled. To fix this problem, I still made a circular object for the earbuds to wrap around but made clips on the side for the earbuds to clip into so they wouldn't move and get tangled. First, I designed the earbud holder using Inventor. Then I transferred the file to Makerbot. Finally, I placed the flash drive into the 3D printer, and printed the earbud holder.
Steps:
First I made two circles in Inventor that were two inches in diameter and extruded them a half of an inch. then I created the middle circle which was a half of an inch in diameter and extruded it three fourths of an inch, and then attached it to the two bigger circles. I then made two cutouts on the outer circles for the earbuds to set in. I used the line tool to cut into the circles by one fourth of an inch and extruded them all the way through the circle. Next, I created two clips on the outside of the circles for the earbuds to clip into, so they don't move. I attached a fourth of an inch by two tenths of an inch rectangle to the circle and extruded it. I repeated this steps so the rectangles were next to each other with a tenth of an inch in between them for the earbuds to clip into. After the design was finished, I exported the file and saved it as an STL file. I opened it in Maker bot, and set it up to print by putting in supports and choosing what face to be on the board. I previewed the file, and saved it to a flash drive. I put the flash drive in a 3D printer and printed it. After it was done printing, I took off the raft and the supports.
First I made two circles in Inventor that were two inches in diameter and extruded them a half of an inch. then I created the middle circle which was a half of an inch in diameter and extruded it three fourths of an inch, and then attached it to the two bigger circles. I then made two cutouts on the outer circles for the earbuds to set in. I used the line tool to cut into the circles by one fourth of an inch and extruded them all the way through the circle. Next, I created two clips on the outside of the circles for the earbuds to clip into, so they don't move. I attached a fourth of an inch by two tenths of an inch rectangle to the circle and extruded it. I repeated this steps so the rectangles were next to each other with a tenth of an inch in between them for the earbuds to clip into. After the design was finished, I exported the file and saved it as an STL file. I opened it in Maker bot, and set it up to print by putting in supports and choosing what face to be on the board. I previewed the file, and saved it to a flash drive. I put the flash drive in a 3D printer and printed it. After it was done printing, I took off the raft and the supports.
What I learned
Throughout the making of my earbud holder, I learned many new skills and techniques. I learned how to cut a rectangular shape out of a circle, while the circle still has its arc shape. I learned how to extrude and cut different objects. I learned how to make sure all of my measurements were exact using my earbuds and a ruler. After taking the measurements, I changed all of the dimensions in Inventor. I also learned how to put supports in my 3D print using Maker bot.