Finally, it’s time for 3D printing!
In my imagination, I always think that the 3D printer should be really big (I guess because it is a very powerful machine, it must be huge and magnificent), but when I saw them in the OEDK and I was like, okay this is a pretty small one π Β That’s a short story of how I met my first 3D printer in my life.
Since it is an impossible project that can not be made by other methods andΒ has to fit in the toy capsule, I decided to print this flexible dog with joints that can move.
My first try is printed on the PRUSA printer and the printing method is FDM. I first downloaded the file from thingiverse.comΒ and opened it up on the software 3DPrinterOS. Once I opened it, I basically just changed the scale so that the dog could fit in the capsule (the capsule is around 47mm in length so I chose to change the x-axis of my project to 42mm to make sure it can fit) and pressed “On bed”. Then I sliced it and also decided to add “Raft” and no support. After that, it’s all set and I can just print it. It works!
My very first piece
Then I repeatedly printed my dogs with the same type of machine but in different colors. They all work so well! The only thing I must be careful of is when removing the raft. The joint doesn’t look so strong and I truly don’t want to break my dog’s body.
After printing four of them on the FDM one, I moved on to the next method, SLA. Raniyah and I together figured this out and I’m so glad we did it!
PRUSA SL1S printer
PRUSA CW1S curing machine
I sliced my dog.STL file on the PrusaSlicer software, exported as a G-Code file and we are good to go. The most important thing to do before printing is to make sure there is enough but not too much resin in the tank. It took 20 minutes to print my dog on this PRUSA machine. After successful printing, I removed the metal plank to see my dog and it’s kind of wet (there is some remaining resin around). The next step is to insert my printed dog with the plank into the curing machine on the right to wash out the remaining resin with aΒ bath of isopropyl alcohol (this smells so bad!) and cure the printed object. Make sure your object is clean and dry before starting the curing process. The purpose of the curing process is to make the resin harder.
Finally, remove the raft after curing and it’s done!
Here are my five Flexi-dogs.
The top orange one is made by SLA and the other four pieces are made by FDM.
Notice! The one made by SLA is not flexible at all. All the joints are fixed and I think it’s because the resin melts. Although this one can’t move, I still think it is cool to print the same project with different materials and methods! It’s a good lesson for a 3D printer beginner.
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Cost Analysis:
Materials:
PLA 3D printer filament:Β $18.99 / 20 * 4= ~$3.8
Prusa resin for SLA : $69 (1000ml) * 60/1000 = $4.14
Labor:
printing for FDM:Β 0.5 hours each * 4 pieces= 2 hours
printing & curing for SLA: Β 20 min (printing) + 10 min (washing) + 30 min (curing) = 1 hour
3 hours * $15 (RiceΒ minimum wage per hour) = $45
TOTAL COST: Β $3.8 + $4.14 + $45 = $52.94
