MakerDroid (previously Paint3d) is an app you can use to drawout a 2D shape that will then get extruded into a 3D shape, whichyou can then print out as a physical object using a 3D printer, orcut out of wood or other materials using a CNC router. MakerDroidwas built as an educational tool to get kids excited about currenttechnologies, like Android, 3D Printing, and CNC machines. However,it could also be a useful fabrication tool.
The drawing is made by tapping out lines to form a polygon. Youtap out the main polygon and then tap out “holes” into the polygonusing more polygons. You can also add a second layer which will besunken below the surface of the object, allowing you to drawdesigns on the surface. To make drawing objects easier, you canload a photo or image into the background (or even draw thebackground freehand), and then trace out the object you want toprint. You can then preview the 3D object, which will generate anSTL file that can be viewed with an STL viewer (and can also beused to generate prints for your own model of printer). Once youare happy with the object, you can then 3D print it, which willgenerate the GCode file format for the 3D printer or CNC machine.The GCode file will be stored in the “MakerDroid” folder of yourinternal SD, or copied to an external SD card if you connect oneusing the Samsung USB connector kit. The SD card can then beinserted into the 3D printer for printing – no PC is required inthis processs, although it is wise to preview the GCode file on aPC before printing, to make sure the size is correct, etc. View thevideo above to see all this in action.
MakerDroid was made by the guys at House4Hack in Centurion,South Africa (http://www.house4hack.co.za). MakerDroid is anopen source project (GPL). You can download the source code fromhttps://github.com/tobykurien/makerdroid
Supported devices:
- App tested on the Samsung Galaxy Note (with SPen). It works fineon other devices too (even without SPen), but saved files are notinterchangeable between devices currently.
- App currently only supports the RapMap v3.1 dual-head printer. Itassumes ABS plastic in head 1 and PLA plastic on head 2.
Known Issues:
- This is a proof-of-concept alpha release. Expect bugs.
- 3D preview won’t work if you cross lines. Make sure no linescross.
- The generated STL file may have incorrect normals on some of thefaces. This will be fixed, but does not seem to affect theprinting.
Acknowledgements:
MakerDroid uses Skeinforge for generating Gcode for the RapMan andpycam for our CNC machine. The specific flavour of Skeinforge isthat released on Bits-from-Bytes for the Rapman. Both Skeinforgeand pycam uses Python and used Python for Android as a startingpoint to embed the interpreter. For the polygon manipulation andtriangulation, libraries from OrbisGIS was used.