By Nicholas Provenzano, Applications Engineer at R&D Technologies

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Do you have a QR code you want to 3d print that actually scans and brings you to a website? This step by step document will walk you through the process from start to finish!

What you will need:

A JPEG picture of the QR code that you want to 3D print Netfabb Basic (Free, download here) FreeCAD modeling software (Free, download here) Insight Software or relevant slicing software for your 3D printer A 3D Printer (View our 3D printers here)

Directions

Step One

Ensure that the picture of your QR code is a .JPG and not another format such as .PNG, .TIF, .GIF...etc.

Step Two

Open your internet browser, go to http://embossify.com/, and open the .JPG of your QR code. Keep the default settings that Embossify has set, unless you run into issues later on. Once you have selected your JPEG file, clock EMBOSSIFY





Step Three

Once you have your Embossify file, open it in FreeCAD and add a base to the QR code by creating a new sketch then extruding it out. For help on how to do this, YouTube has many great step-by-step videos on how to use this software. At the end, your file should look similar to the below image. Once you have your base layer constructed, save the file as an STL by going to Save-As, STL file.





Step Four

Now, we will want to make sure that this STL is in fact 3D printable by checking it in Netfabb Basic. Open NetFabb Basic and drag your STL file into the main window. Click the button in the main toolbar, click Automatic Repair->Default Repair->Execute->Apply Repair->Say YES to 'Remove Old Part?'->Then to on the menu bar click part->Export part-> As STL. After this step is complete, you should have an STL file of your QR code that is ready to be 3D printed.

Step Five

Our 3D printers operate with Insight software so we opened our STL file, sliced it into 0.010" layers and created the necessary toolpaths and support structures.

Final Step

Print your QR code! Don't have your own printer? Contact our service department today to have it made on one of our machines! We were able to pause the job once the base layer was complete and switched from a white ABS filament to a black ABS filament so we did not have the paint the part after completion. Here is what we ended up with: