Tilt Brush / HTC Vive VR to 3D printer Tutorial and Proposal
By Emma Osle
Fall 2016
USEFUL LINKS:
TOOLS:
STEPS AND SETUP
AFTER SKETCHING IN TILT BRUSH
TILT BRUSH TO BLENDER
PRINTING WITH A 3D PRINTER
OTHER OPTIONS
What may be an even better option for sculpting in VR and then transitioning over to a 3D printer is SculptrVR, which is another VR object creation software. SculptrVR is inexpensive at 19.99 for the app, much unlike your own HTC Vive which is just a hair under a grand. Think of SculptrVR as WAY better and more advanced VR-based Minecraft.
The process is much easier. From SculptrVR, you can export your file directly as an .obj. Just click on Scene / Save / Export as .obj. You should find the file in C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Local\SculptrVR\Saved. SculptrVR innately creates manifold and water-tight forms. Cubes will connect on all sides to create an object which takes up space.
From here, you can use any variety of .obj - .stl software which are available for free online with a little bit of hunting. Convert your .obj to .stl and you will be ready to upload your file directly into your printer.
Pros of SculptrVR:
By Emma Osle
Fall 2016
USEFUL LINKS:
- http://www.3ders.org/articles/20161102-3d-printed-art-created-with-htc-vive-vr-goggles-to-go-on-display-at-royal-academy-of-arts.html
- https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/4fpfkj/tilt_brush_has_export_now/#bottom-comments
- https://printrbot.com/project/simple-metal/
- https://sketchfab.com/tags/tiltbrush
- https://www.sculpteo.com/en/tutorial/prepare-your-model-3d-printing-blender/
TOOLS:
- HTC Vive Virtual Reality Set-up
- Tilt Brush application by Google
- Printrbot Simple Metal 3D printer (or another 3D printer variant)
- Computer
- Blender program
- Cura Software
STEPS AND SETUP
- Use Tilt Brush! Make Something!
- A tutorial for the basics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI1psMWIXo8
- Here is a great reference point for types of brushes and colors/textures which can be used in the program : https://sketchfab.com/models/9e519ae173544227b19b57f3356a2c67
AFTER SKETCHING IN TILT BRUSH
- Load Tilt Brush onto HTC Vive setup and create a 3-dimensional image with connecting positive spaces. (purely structural positive spaces which you don’t want in the finished product can be cut off of 3-D printed materials after printing in most cases)
- When finished with creating a model, click the export button and wait for the confirmation.
- Standard export produces a .fbx file in C:\Users\Username\Documents\Tilt Brush\Exports
- From here, the .fbx file can be uploaded directly to SketchFab.com as a 3D image which can be viewed online with a computer screen. This is helpful as you can move the object around in a smaller space and compare the finished product to initial ideas without looking at it in VR.
- From the same export button, Tilt Brush is capable of native exporting the file as a .obj. Export your file as a .obj in order to import it into the next necessary programs.
TILT BRUSH TO BLENDER
- In theory, from here, open the Tilt Brush object in Blender. Innately, Tilt Brush uses brush effects, mapping textures onto a series of flat, unconnected surfaces. They do not attempt to attach themselves together nor do they hold any amount of substantive space.
- From here, similar to tracing, use Blender create a mesh that is manifold and water tight. This will give the form connecting positive spaces which exist as forms within space as opposed to three-dimensional contour lines. (https://www.sculpteo.com/en/tutorial/prepare-your-model-3d-printing-blender/modeling-3d-printing-blender/)
- Think of this as sketching in Tilt Brush and then uploading to Blender for manual cleanup and overlays.
- IDEA: You can import a reference image into Tilt Brush and then sketch over it to create a three-dimensional form. This becomes endless opportunity to create and practice with any forms.
PRINTING WITH A 3D PRINTER
- The most common format for a monochrome 3d print is a .stl file. This stands for stereolithography.
- In Blender, to export as an .stl, go to File / Export / .stl
- Choose your output folder and your modifiers
- For a multicolor 3D print, files must be exported as an object file. (.obj) Textures are uploaded and read with an .mtl file, which will automatically be created when exporting as an .obj
- To export a 3D model as an .obj, again click File / Export / THEN --- Wavefront (.obj)
- In export window, choose “selection only” and then choose “copy” in the path mode.
- Sometimes, you can use a .dae format if .obj is problematic. We won’t get into that as color printing is its’ own beast.
- From here, follow included instructions that come along with your 3D printer’s manual. For info on the PrintrBot Simple Metal which exists in Rohrbach Library’s Steam works, access https://printrbot.com/project/simple-metal/
- ALWAYS stay away from overhang when whenever possible! This is a 3D printer issue, not a Blender/Tilt Brush/etc. issue.
OTHER OPTIONS
What may be an even better option for sculpting in VR and then transitioning over to a 3D printer is SculptrVR, which is another VR object creation software. SculptrVR is inexpensive at 19.99 for the app, much unlike your own HTC Vive which is just a hair under a grand. Think of SculptrVR as WAY better and more advanced VR-based Minecraft.
The process is much easier. From SculptrVR, you can export your file directly as an .obj. Just click on Scene / Save / Export as .obj. You should find the file in C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Local\SculptrVR\Saved. SculptrVR innately creates manifold and water-tight forms. Cubes will connect on all sides to create an object which takes up space.
From here, you can use any variety of .obj - .stl software which are available for free online with a little bit of hunting. Convert your .obj to .stl and you will be ready to upload your file directly into your printer.
Pros of SculptrVR:
- Very easy transition. Requires no middle-man besides a conversion software
- Virtually guaranteed results in the 3D print
- Very easy to pick up for those who have Minecraft intuition
- ALL objects will be blocky. This is the nature of the beast – objects are created by layering blocks/cubes on top of one another and shaped to create a solid, 3-dimensional form.
- May be able to build huge and then scale down in order to help minimize pixelated quality of the cubes/blocks
- No textural ability – all blocks