Posts Tagged ‘ vase

New 3d prints: More big vases on the c-bot

As I continue to calibrate the c-bot, I continue to crank out vases.  The big one below is just about 21″ high, took around 4.5 hours.  The smaller one took around 3 hours.  Each have one shell, printed in “vase mode” in Simplify 3d.  They both have bases and also make good drums :)

The smaller one definitely suffered from some gaps in the layers.  Not sure what this has to do with yet:  Questionable filament, filament not being cooled fast enough, not sure.  But they currently look good next to my fire place 😉

You can download them from Thingiverse here.

cbot-vases02

Building the C-Bot 3D printer: Part 27 : First ‘really big’ print

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Emboldened by the success on my previous ‘big print‘, I thought I’d go for a ‘really big print’:  Something that would really take up the whole build volume.  In Maya, I quickly modeled up a simple vase, sliced it in Simplify3D, and a few hours later, I had a… really big vase :)

Print specifics:

  • Size:  20″ tall, base diameter of 11″.  Could go an inch larger in each direction, but didn’t want to push it (yet).
  • Sliced in Simplify 3D, ‘vase mode’: 1 shell (plus no floor or roof, its a tube)
  • Gray PLA
  • 500 micron layer height, 1.0mm E3D Volcano nozzle
  • 250 deg extruder temp, 50 deg bed
  • Print bed:  Glass, slathered with wood-glue/water mix.
  • Print speed:  45mm/sec
  • Total print time:  3 hours, 9 minutes.  Adding a floor would have definitely pushed the time up.

Learnings:

  • I’m happy with the print quality, but I can see where the neck narrows how the filament isn’t being cooled enough (gets slightly lumpier compared to the larger base):  I have a pair of 20cfm fans on order to see if this helps:  My current fans are around 4cfm each, which isn’t nearly enough considering this machine easily pushes out 3x the volume of material compared to my Replicator1, at a higher temp.  And the cooling fan I have on my Rep1 has around 8cfm.
  • Once I bolt the printer down to the table it’s on, it should help lessen the vibration that comes from all that moving mass up on top, and get better quality.  On the todo list…
  • Even though I have all my stepper voltages tuned in, my Bowden extruder stepper was still getting pretty warm after about an hour, so I pointed a fan at it.  Didn’t want a repeat of before

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New 3D Print : HexVase 04

This vase was created entirely to test Simplify3D‘s “vase mode” feature: It prints the walls as one contiguous corkscrew spiral. Turned out great.
Modeled in Maya.  Printed on my Makerbot Replicator (1).

Download the files for print and get more info over on Thingiverse.

[sketchfab id=”15be6cd9211c49c1aface6807498c7ce”]

New 3D print: Flux Vase

Vase modeled in Maya: Wanted to try my hand at an undulating, twisting, ephemeral form. It is constantly “in flux”.

Download the file for print and get more info over on Thingiverse.

[sketchfab id=”140db65867e64158a93307abf5ba1999″]

Two new 3d prints: Hex vases

Hexagons are a great form to build with when it comes to 3d-printing: for FDM machines, like my Makerbot Replicator (1) that print layer by layer, overhangs past a certain angle don’t print well, or print at all.  While my machine can print overhangs less than 45 degrees, that is the rule of thumb when it comes to making 3d printable items that won’t require support:  Make sure all overhangs are 45 deg or greater.  And if you tip a hexagon on its point, then the angles it creates for overhangs are exactly 45 degrees and avoids any bridging:  Complex structure, no support needed.

With that in mind, I made a Python script in Maya that will turn polygonal quads into hexagons with the click of a button.  The below two “Hex Vases” are the first tests with it.  You can find more info + downloads on their Thingiverse pages here, and here.