How to Solidify a mesh for 3D Printing in Blender | Tutorial

In this video, I show you the trick I learned to make a model solid without it "Boiling over".

[@slakjawnotsayin5451]

FANTASTIC Video man!!! Thank you for this!

[@slakjawnotsayin5451]

I've been having a hell of a time with these Nascars I cut up to just print the bodies for, and I think this is the problem and the solution with them. The other thing I was going to try, which I know works well, but is a pain in the ass is, opening the model in 3D Builder, hitting repair to make it manifold, then going to Edit and choosing Hollow, and adjusting the thickness, BUT THEN opening it back up in Blender and cutting the bottom out of it. I'll try this Solidify Modifier first though, because I'd rather not have to mess around with removing the area that was added underneath after making it manifold... At least I have options and now know and understand what the problem was with the body thanks to this video, so thanks again man, it's super appreciated!

[@titiliko]

Seus vídeos são sensacionais!!! Parabéns pelo conteúdo!

[@TheBadBone23]

This is exactly what I've been struggling with for the last few months. I have hundreds of 3D models that I would like to print but all of them are just plain thin wall meshes so I need to find a way to solidify the walls without loosing too much details. I've tried multiple softwares to do it but all of them give unusable results, messy meshes, bugged vertices and what not. Also, how can I print a mesh as a closed object if inside contains more meshes and or empty spaces? For some reason chitubox doesn't like that

[@codyfahnestock4791]

How are you getting the extra options under output vertex groups?

[@ianmcleod8898]

Now I know. Thankyou.

[@TwinTurboCometSR]

In the future will you make an updated blender car tutorial using a more modern vehicle combined with the new skills you've learned?

[@Leander98]

Yeah, will do. You're not the first to ask either, so it's a necessity

[@TwinTurboCometSR]

@@Leander98 thank you, looking forward to it

[@LLeao]

Hi! I'm having a different problem. I have some stl files of cars already modeled. But they are set to render in games. Is there a way to get these files and modify them for printing? They only have meshes, for example, the wheel is made up of more than 30 different meshes and they are separated within the same object. In Prusa they are all separated and you can't print them. In Blender I can't join these meshes because they are the same object. Can you think of a solution to this problem?

[@Leander98]

Yeah, you'll have those problems. Best thing to do is remake the model from scratch. Game models really aren't designed to be 3D Printed. As long as the models are "manifold", they should be printable. Try clicking Face Orientation under the Viewport Overlays.if you see red, that might be your first place to start.

[@LLeao]

@@Leander98 Thank you very much! I've been trying to use these models for some time. I tried using modifiers, editing, joining, boolean... and it always gives an error. It was an attempt not to start the work from scratch. If you ever find a solution, make a video for us. I only found similar content on your channel. Congratulations on the work and the channel.

[@slakjawnotsayin5451]

@@Leander98 Isn't there a way to Remesh and or Retopolgize them or something, where Blender will take the outer shape of your object and recreate it the best it can? I could have sworn I used to use a tool like that in Blender a few years back when working on game characters, but Retopology in this newer version of Blender doesn't seem the same to me... Maybe it was an addon or something that I used back then, but it sure worked well for that sort of thing.

[@deepsam7678]

*IMPORTANT* I'm actually designing some jewelleries but when I'm putting them to 3d print it's showing that it's hollow from the inside in the preview... What can i do to solidify it completely from the inside (for ex. an earring) should i use softwares like meshmixers or something I'm trying to solve this for so long...

[@Leander98]

Sorry for the delay, wasn't notified on this comment. As long as the mesh is manifold, it should be able to print solid. If it's still hollow, you may have a hole somewhere in the mesh.

[@slakjawnotsayin5451]

Isn't there a fill setting in your slicer program that you can set for this? You can grab 3D Builder from MS for free, which might help you out. It will tell you if there's a problem with the object and will make it manifold if you click on repair, and then allow you to edit the model to set thickness after hitting hollow, where you should be able to thicken it up inside? Or just check it in Cura after hitting the repair option in 3D Builder, and see if it's solid? If those don't work for you, it's probably a setting in Cura where you can adjust the infill? I'm not the best at this stuff, but those are some things you can try out if you want to, and maybe comment in here after to let us know if or when you figured it out. I hope that helps.

[@slakjawnotsayin5451]

@@Leander98 Oh ok, that makes sense now that you said this. Thanks for the advice again man!