Pi Day Decoration - Intro to AutoCAD and 3D Printing

For a little history, Pi Day was founded in 1988 by physicist, curator, and artist Larry Shaw at the San Francisco Exploratorium. This day was created to celebrate the mathematical constant pi (3.14159...) on march fourteenth or 3/14. The first ever Pi Day celebration featured a circular parade and eating fruit pies.

Pi is found in many places throughout nature including the pupil of your eye, rainbows, ripples, and planetary orbits. It is also seen in the size and spacing of patterns, like zebra stripes; it can describe light and sound waves; and it is used in formulas governing electromagnetism. It is even used to model the behavior of black holes!

Fun Facts:

1. March 14 (Pi Day) conveniently falls on the great mathematician and physicist Albert Einstein's birthday.
2. In 2015, there was a super Pi Day (3/14/15) and at 9:26.53 (AM and PM) it would have represented the first 10 digits of pi (3/14/15 9:26.53 - 3.141592653).

This is a 3D printed Pi Day decoration. It's a fun Pi Day craft to learn how to use tools in AutoCAD and to help familiarize yourself with 3D printing. Designing this shouldn't take longer than half an hour. I hope you have fun designing and printing this and HAPPY PI DAY!

*Note: The pictures linked in every step follow visual step-by-step instructions on how to complete every part of the process.

Bill of Materials:

1. Autodesk Fusion 360 (or another modeling software)
2. 3D Printer - I used a K1 Max
3. The slicer software for your 3D Printer - I used creality
4. PLA Filament (any color)

*Note: You will need to download the first image in both steps 2 and 4.

*WARNING: This instructable teaches you how to make your own model in CAD. If you just want to 3D print this finished product, use my model linked about. Otherwise, skip this and start at step 2.

To go this route, you can skip steps 2-5 by using this pre-made model that I created. Just upload this to a slicer software and follow the instructions in steps 6-7.

*Note: Download the file as a .stl

The image of pi that I used is above. Go to Inkscape and open a new document. Import this image into the document then right click on the image and select "Trace Bitmap." Once that is done, drag the Bitmap away from the original image and delete the original image. Export your new image as an SVG.

*Note: If you don't have Inkscape, you can use an online SVG converter.

Create a new design. Once your design workspace is open, select "Create Sketch." In your sketch, select "Insert" then "Insert SVG." A new window should pop up. In that new window, click "Insert from my computer..." Select the file you previously uploaded, then finish the sketch.

Next, select the "Extrude" button and select the image. Extrude it 1" out, then click OK.

Upload the image of pi above etched with the numerical value of pi into Inkscape and follow the instructions on step 2 to convert it into an SVG.

Go back into Fusion and create a new sketch. In your sketch, select "Insert" then "Insert SVG." A new window should pop up. In that new window, click "Insert from my computer..." Select the file you just created. Scale the file until it fits over the original image of pi you just created during the last step. Don't worry if it doesn't fit perfectly! Just play around with the scale factor and the x and y axis until the top bar of the new pi image fits directly over the old pi image.

Now, select the "Extrude" button. You might have to hand select each number if it won't let you select all of them without selecting the original pi image. It is very important that the original pi image is NOT selected!! Extrude only the numbers into the original pi image by 0.25" and click OK.

Now go into the utilities tab and click the button that says make. Select "3D Print" from the drop-down menu.

Once the 3D print bar has opened up the right it is very important to switch from "Manufacturing" to "Export."

Now select our shape and click OK.

Name your file something that you will remember and select the "Save button. This will save it to your file explorer.

Open your slicer software. I use Creality because my 3D printer is a K1 Max. If you have a different printer, you might have a different slicer software, so make sure to check!

Open up the files and import your design into the software. If you want to change the size, go to scale, then increase by the percentage that you want. I chose to increase the size of mine to 150%.

Now, you are going to find something called stock bottom. Go to the tool that says "Stock Bottom" and click the circle of the backside (the side without the numbers on it). This will orientate the shape to lay flat of its back.

Next, select "Slice" and what for it to generate.

Once generated, click "Export to Local." PLug in your USB drive and find it on your file Explorer. My USB drive was called Cad files, and that is the folder that I have selected in the images above. Select your USB drive, and label your design something that will be easily recognizable.

Select "Save" and your done! Pop out your USB drive and take it over to your printer.

Plug your USB drive into your printer and on your printer, select files. Once in files, click USB drive and find your design in the folder. Select print, wait for it to copy the code you uploaded to the USB drive and select print again. You can now take your USB drive out.

My print took about 8 hours, but printing times may vary depending on printer, size of print, filament type, and a variety of settings.

And while your design is printing, you can sing my favorite Pi Day jingle:

🎶When the moon hits your eye like 3.1415, that's amoreeeee!🎶

Once your print is finished (and your jingle is sung) - CONGRATS! You now have a cute little Pi Day Decoration. Happy Pi Day everyone!