Mechanical Engineering - 3D Printing

Before you can print anything, you need a 3D model. There are many different types of 3D modeling software able to produce the necessary files, and many among them are free. Here are a few:

When you scan an object with a 3D scanner, you obtain a cloud of dots representing the object’s surface rather than a model ready to be printed. Based on the machine and the print software used, it may be necessary to import this result into modeling software to convert it into a group of polygons. This could be long and tedious work, depending on the complexity of the object. Furthermore, only the outside surface of objects can be scanned.

Some last-generation equipment, however, allow printing these dot clouds after minimal file processing.

Did you know? Your library offers low-cost 3D printing services!

Loyal to our mission to support teaching and research, we want to make this innovative technology accessible for its high educational and social potential.

Visit the 3D Printing page for more information.

If you are a member of the Polytechnique Montréal community, you can access all of the Library’s electronic subscription resources from off-campus by configuring our proxy server in your browser. Direct access to some of our resources (without configuring the proxy) is also available through the links marked by an arrow  in our list of all databases.