State of Ohio shape with lettering for Dual Extruder

thingiverse

I created this as a test for dual extruding. Included are two STL files, one with the state outline and another with the lettering infill. The STL files are 3mm thick by default but I've included the Sketchup drawing files if you want to adjust this thickness. Print Settings Printer: Multec M420 with 2Move Rafts: No Supports: No How I Designed This Step 1: Get shapefile Download US states shapefile and load into TileMill or another similar program Step 2: Export shapefile to SVG Use TileMill to export SVG of desired area (in this case the shape of Ohio) Step 3: Clean up SVG file and add text Edit and simplify the path using Inkscape. Trim any unwanted areas surrounding the border outline. Add text (OHIO in this case) Step 4: Convert to STL Use the following online converter to convert the file from an SVG to STL http://svg2stl.com/ Note, this converter can't handle very complex shapes. I'm looking for a better way to do this step or another route to import into Sketchup. Step 5: Clean up file in Sketchup and split into two files for dual extrusion Delete unnecessary edges and flatten to 2D image. Save file and create a duplicate. Edit one file to be lettering only and the other to be background. Note, don't move the shapes or polygons after splitting into two files. The origin needs to be preserved in the same relative location so that the two STL files can be aligned in your slicer program. Step 6: Set height in CAD program and export to STL Extrude both drawings to the desired height and use a third-party extension to export each drawing as an STL file. Step 7: Import files into slicer software, align and print Import your two STL files into your slicer software. Because we were careful to maintain the position of the origin in each file, we can simply align the origins of the STL files and print after assigning the appropriate processes to each file.