Browsing the wide world of Thingiverse, I had originally planned to print one of these articulated slugs.

I assumed this to be “impossible” because of the internal joints that allowed the slug to freely bend. The design was larger than the size of the gumball capsules, so I attempted to scale it down before printing, while still using the recommended print settings for small parts. I printed my first attempt on one of the Prusas; however, the joints seemed to be stuck together, and the slug actually broke as I tried to free the joints.

I figured that maybe I downsized the file too much, not leaving any tolerance for the joints, so I decided to try to increase the size little by little until I got a successful print. However, subsequent attempts had similar problems, and so I decided to try to find a new object to print.

I settled on this air spinner that is printed all in one piece. I thought this was “impossible” because it has moving parts and small divots throughout the design that would make it difficult to make all in one piece using traditional manufacturing methods. 

My first attempt on the Prusa was successful, but too large to fit in the gumball.

I proceeded to print four smaller copies of the original design, and for the most part, it worked; there are a few cosmetic issues on some of them, but the design still spins as intended to.

I then proceeded to the Form SLA printer in the wet lab. Having never used one before, I was interested in seeing one in action and learning how to use it. I went through the tutorial sheet in the wet lab with help from a lab assistant; however, when I returned the next day, I couldn’t find my print. I assumed it must have failed and was thrown out, so I attempted again. However, the same thing happened, and a lab assistant told me that the print had to be aborted because it broke during the print. I had initially had it in an orientation that was parallel to the print bed, so I attempted to print it slanted (as a suggestion from a lab assistant).

With this assignment, I learned a lot about the iterative process of 3D printing. Because 3D printing is quick compared to many other methods, it is easier to see any problems and go back and attempt to fix them. Up until this point, I had not used the 3D printers in the OEDK very often, but I now definitely want to explore them in a deeper sense at some point!

Cost

According to 3DPrinterOS, the four copies of the FDM prints cost about $0.37 total. My failed prints amounted to an extra $0.50. I received help from a lab assistant in using the SLA printer; for about 30 minutes, considering an hourly wage of $10, the cost of labor can be approximated as $5.