There are several ways to produce a 3D molecular model for 3D printing. This particular method uses UCSF Chimera, a program for interactive visualization and analysis of molecular structure. Chimera may be downloaded from the given link, or you can use Chimera on the computers in the Kenan Science Library
Note: some people have been having problems loading .mol files into Chimera on Mac OS X. The computers in Kenan Science Library are available to use.
If you have any questions on this process, please contact David Romito at the email address on the right.
1. If you have your desired molecule in ChemDraw, download your molecule as an MDL Molfile (*.mol)
2. In Chimera, load the .MOL file: File > Open...
3. Alternatively, you can search for a particular molecule in PubChem, note the CID number, and fetch the molecular: File > Fetch by ID...
4. Your molecule should appear on the Chimera screen as a stick model.If you would like to use a ball-and-stick model, select Actions > Atoms.Bonds > ball & stick
If you would like to change the size of the balls or sticks:
5. To save as an .STL file for printing, select File > Export Scene... and be sure to select File type: STL [.stl]
6. If you are printing a ball and stick model you will also need to make the model solid by using Meshmixer. Meshmixer is free to download, or may be used on the computers in the Kenan Science Library.
7. Your molecule .STL file is ready to print!