Hey! This is my first time 3D printing and look at what cool thing I made!

            

 

This is classified as an impossible object as the joints within the octopus legs are just too physically small to manufacture without a 3D printer. For this beginner assignment, I was tasked to create 5 impossible objects that can fit within a gumball machine using 2 different 3D printing techniques. I personally chose to 3D print with FDM Prusa machine and the SLA printer.

To begin, I found the part I wanted to print on thingyverse For the FDM printer I used PrusaSlicer to slice the object and scale the part. I initially went with an x coordinate of 45 mm (given the size of gumball), but realized since the joints can roll, I could opt for a larger size of 60 mm. Leaving the rest of the setting such as infill and layer size as normal, I only added a brim and supports to the enforcers only. The figures below capture my layer height and other settings.

The first time I printed, 1 out of the 3  octokitties was a successful print. A few of the joints didn’t fully lock in together, possibly due to how small the prints were.

 

However, given the larger scale, the second iteration 3/3 octokitties were successful 🙂 Removing the supports brim were relatively easy, and then post processed any rough edges and excess supports with flesh cutter.

For the SLA printer I used the preform to slice, scale, and add supports to my part. This program was very easy as I just used the autogenerate supports to fix any issues with the part. I used the same scale of x direction to be 45 mm. After I sent my part to print, I did a wash of any excess resin. Finally, the I cured the resin given the follow settings. The following images show the process.’

Finally, since my joints were so tiny, some of the joints on the SLA prints are not very functional. I did post process by using flesh cutters to cut the smaller supports between the head and tenticles. However, the part still fits in within the gumball.

Overall, I learned a lot about the process of 3D printing and realized there is still WAY more to learn. I didn’t have the chance to really test out strength in parts or various infill parameters, but I hope to explore that more in future projects. This was a very short but rewarding process. I hope to use all the other 3D printers over this course of the semester.

 

Cost Analysis:

PLA (3 FDM Prints)  = $1.62 (3DPrinter OS)

Resin (2 SLA prints) = roughly $1.00 (SLA OS)

Labor

1 hours = $15/hr

= $17.62