Overview: Going from 3-D design to printed object

Recap: I've assembled a Prusa Mendel 3-D printer from a kit I purchased on nwreprap.com.  I've calibrated (post1, post2, post3) it, downloaded all of the necessary software and installed the driver and uploaded the firmware.  I also checked all of the functions using Pronterface.

Now I am ready to design an object and print it, but before I get to that, I'd like to present an overview of the process of going from a 3-D design to the printed object.

I want to emphasize that the process I'm going to present is just one of the many that are out there.  This is a simple process that works for me and is easy to get started with.

Step 1: Design your object with Sketchup
Step 2: Export your design from Sketchup to an .stl file using the su2stl plug-in
Step 3: Use Slic3r to convert the .stl file into a set of instructions to be uploaded to your printer.  This set of instructions is stored in a .gcode file.
Step 4: Use Pronterface to upload the instructions contained within the .gcode file to your printer.

Here it is visually:

For information on downloading Slicer and Pronterface, see this post.

I haven't covered Sketchup or the su2stl plug-in yet, but I hope to in a future post.