Getting Started

Getting Started



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tinkercad.com




  1. To design a 3D model. Log in and click on Design a new thing


  2. For greater precision I change the Snap grid value to 0.1


  3. To add shapes, letters and numbers drag your selection from the palette on the right to the workplane:


  4. You can get the dimensions by moving the cursor over these handles:
     

  5. You can also get and modify dimensions by laying down the ruler:




  6. You can resize your form by dragging the corner points or using the ruler:



  7. Dragging the corner point while holding shift will increase the X,Y and Z axis equally:


  8. You can copy and paste your forms using the standard keyboard commands. When you paste, Tinkercad will move your new form to the right:


  9. You can raise the height of your form by dragging the node below the up arrow


  10. You can subtract shapes from each other by placing the shape you want to remove, selecting it and then clicking on the the hole icon


  11. You can still adjust the location of the hole by dragging the form


  12. When you want to remove the shape, drag your cursor over both objects to select them (or Shift+Left Click)

    Then click on Group


  13. To view the hole, rotate with the mouse


  14. You can easily rotate your objects by clicking on the rotation icons




  15. You can move the workplane by placing it on a side of your form


  16. To reset the workplane, just drag the workplane from the palette to the work area


  17. You can measure distances using the ruler
    Place the ruler then click on objects



  18. If you select two or more shapes, clicking on this icon allows you to align your shapes


  19. To save the STL file, click on the Print 3D button


    Then click on the Download STL button:


  20. Experiment, have fun, print





To get Tinkercad to run on Mac with Firefox you'll have to do the following:
  1. Type about:config in the Firefox 4 URL bar
  2. Type webgl in the search box
  3. webgl.force-enabled = true
  4. Go to https://tinkercad.com and refresh the page
Background: Driver support on older OS/Graphics card combinations is bad so the browser vendors have blacklisted a number of devices. All of Mac OS X 10.5 is blacklisted in Firefox, what you did above is circumvent this blacklisting.

Windows

on Windows XP, WebGL and acceleration is blacklisted.

To enable it, in command line: 
	chrome.exe   --enable-webgl
or
  1. Close any open Chrome windows
  2. Find the Chrome shortcut you use (normally on the desktop or in the start menu) and right click on it.
  3. Select 'Properties'
  4. Add the '--ignore-gpu-blacklist' flag without the quotes at the end of the 'Target' box
or
  1. type "about:flags" on address bar of google chrome
  2. under "Override software rendering list" click "enable"
  3. scroll down and "relaunch google chrome"

Linux

In command line: 
./chrome --enable-webgl
or 
google-chrome --ignore-gpu-blacklist



Mouse shortcuts:

Right Click is the same as CTRL+click.

  • right drag/CTRL+drag rotate the camera
  • shift-right drag/CTRL-shift drag pan the camera
  • mouse wheel zoom in and out