Module 6 of 19
Module 6: 3D scanning and printing
What the official assignment asks for, and what bare-minimum and exceptional work could look like.
Unofficial
Paraphrased from the Fab Academy 2026 class page, retrieved 24 Oct 2026. The official page is the authority and may have changed: read it on fabacademy.org.
What the official assignment asks for
Group assignment
- Test the design rules for your 3D printer(s).
Individual assignment
- Design, document and 3D print an object that could not be made subtractively (small, a few cm³, limited by printer time).
- 3D scan an object (and optionally print it).
Bare-minimum vs exceptional
Author's interpretation
Author's interpretation, not official Fab Academy grading. Use it to aim your work and check your documentation, and confirm what counts with your instructor.
Bare-minimum
- Group work: a test print that checks design rules for your printer (for example clearances, overhangs, bridges, thin walls or tolerances), with the slicer settings, photos, measured results and the rules you will now follow.
- An object that could not be made subtractively (for example internal cavities or interlocking moving parts), with CAD files, slicer settings and photos of the print.
- A written argument for why the object cannot be made subtractively.
- A 3D scan of an object: the method you used, the resulting mesh, and any problems you hit.
- Printing the scan is optional in the assignment; if you skip it, say so.
Exceptional
- The group test results are visibly used in your own design (for example a clearance you measured), not just reported.
- Print preparation is deliberate: orientation and support choices compared, with photos of the outcomes, including failed prints and what you changed.
- The scan is cleaned up (mesh repair), checked against real measurements of the object, and printed.
- Parametric or editable CAD in open or widely readable formats, so others can modify it.
- A link to your final project: where this part or technique will be used.