Design a Cookie Cutter Using Inkscape & OpenScad for 3D Printing
by Tanju-B in Cooking > Cookies
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Design a Cookie Cutter Using Inkscape & OpenScad for 3D Printing
A simple way to create custom cookie cutters. This is a simplified compilation of various information scattered across the interwebz.
The simplest method of all is to just print a design with zero infill... although this does not generate a "true" cookie cutter.
The method in this instructable generates a "true" cutter with a flange and side walls that are tapered from the base up to the tip resulting in more of a cutting edge and making it easier to remove the cookie dough from the cutter with minimal distortion or damage to the cut dough.
Draw in Inkscape & Add Nodes
- Draw your shape in Inkscape
- For gears, use the Menu Option > Extensions > Render > Gear
- Add Nodes... OpenSCAD can only render and process straight lines... so add a bunch of nodes so that curves get approximated appropriately
- Click on the "Edit Paths by Nodes" button, and then click on the drawing, node boxes will appear
- Select the entire drawing by dragging a selection box around it, the nodes will turn blue
- *Note: do a quick visual to make sure you selected all the nodes and didn't miss any around the edges
- Click on the "Add Nodes" button, at least twice, or until sufficient nodes appear so that each segment is fairly short
- Click on the "Make selected segments lines" button
- *Note: Don't forget this step! If you forget, OpenSCAD will not render any curved segments
Save As .DXF File
- Save as .dxf file option = Desktop Plotting Cutter (R13)(*.dxf)
- * NOTE: Be sure to also save a copy as .svg if you want a copy that can be modified in the future
OpenSCAD Cookie Cutter Script
- Modify the attached cookiecutter.scad file to point to your .dxf file
- Shown as highlighted line 38
- Make sure sure that script and .dxf file are in the same folder location
- *Note: the cookiecutter.scad file won't work if it is not in the same folder as your .dxf file
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Click the render button /F6
- Export the .stl file that can be used for 3D printing
- Menu > File > Export > Export as STL...
Downloads
Optional - Add Reinforcements or Features
- Add features using OpenSCAD or TinkerCAD or any CAD program at your descretion.
For my Gear Cookie cutter, I needed to connect the gear outer diameter to the inner bore. Since I don't know how to modify the cookie cutter script to add connectors without it generating cutting edges to connectors, I found it faster to add connectors using TinkerCAD. (www.tinkercad.com)
My goal is to get cookies baked not getting hung up with the CAD tools or elegant script.