Hello i’m new around here and to rhino. My company is getting a massivit 3D printer and i’m to be in charge of it and the work for it, I have been designing and researching and need some help on picking which template to use to begin modeling with. The printer I am working with can print 6’ x 5’ x 4’. I am aware that tolerance and selecting a unit of measurement is vital with rhino and modeling a file for 3d printing. I’m just trying to figure out which template would suit my needs best, or how to create a template to fit my needs.
Greetings Carlos, I am envious! Best to create your own template based on the ‘small object - inches’ default. Assuming you model in inches, of course. You can add the structures needed on a daily basis, as well as an envelope bounding box - whatever you need to start a print layout - right in your custom template.
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Hi Carlos - I would start with a template at .001 units - build your stuff, and if (as can happen) you find that you cannot easily close things up, you can, as a last resort, or a quick fix, back the tolerance in the file out to .01 and try to join things - if the key is to get a decent closed mesh out of the object, having supre fine tolerances may not be crucial, but Rhino is happiest at .01> .000001. If you keep that .01 as the ‘fall back’ tolerance, you should be OK. BTW, a tricky hidden test command that comes in handy when trying to close things up and seeing those pesky ‘point’ naked edges when anlayzing for nakeds (ShowEdges command) is
testRemoveAllNakedMicroLoops
It can get many if not all of those tiny nakeds. Type the entire command, it does not autocomplete.
-Pascal
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would it matter what I have the units set to? I’m most comfortable working with inches as my form of measurement, however i’ve read that rhino works better with millimeters as its form of measurement. Would this matter at all if i’m only modeling for 3D printing?
For Rhino it is just a name on a unit. Millimeters don’t work any better or worse than any other unit.
Not that I understand why anyone would be comfortable working with inches 
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One more thing.
I’m currently making a few templates for efficiency later down the line. I have worked with other cnc software for a cnc router and was able to set up a plate to a specific size, e.g. 2’ x 2’, 5’ x 4’. Is there anyway I can setup the x,y, and z axis’s to be constrained to a set value. I would like to create different templates for various different sizes and one of them that I would like to create would be the max size my 3d printer could print which would be 4’9" x 3’9" x 5’9". From my tinkering with the grid options I found that I am limited to making the grid a perfect square all around.
No, Rhino space is endless in all directions.
That is correct. Also, it will always be centered around the origin.
Note that you don’t need to show a grid at all if you don’t need it or if it will confuse you.
You could make a template with a box with those dimensions on a locked layer and e.g. object display mode set to wireframe.