For this project, I created a spiral as my impossible object.  It turns out the most impossible part of the project is finding an empty printer near the end of the semester to print on!

I started by choosing my file on Thingiverse.  I then brought the file into the 3D Printer slicing and printing program.  For the 5 objects, I printed 4 spirals on the FDM printers and 1 on the resin printer.  Due to the amount of time and tool demand this seemed like the best breakdown.

The FDM printers created parts that mostly looked like clean prints with the exception of the center spirals.  I believe that the center spirals were a bit too small for the size of the printer to get a clean spiral shape.

The resin printer did a great job with the part and created a really nice spiral shape on the top and bottom.  The downside to using the resin printer was the amount of time I spent transferring the print from the resin printer to the wash basin to the curer.

  

For future projects, I would opt to make a part with fewer small details in order to get a cleaner print.

Cost Analysis

FDM prints: I would estimate a $5/hour cost for using someone’s machine for outsourcing or in a maker space.  My print took about 4 hours for 4 pieces so I would estimate $40 for printer use.  For my filament use, the 3D printer OS tool that we used estimated about $0.60 for my prints, which I will round to $1.

Resin prints: I would estimate that the use of resin printer is 2x as expensive as the FDM printer, roughly $20 for 2 hours of printing.  I don’t know how much the resin we used costs, however, I would estimate it to be about 2x as expensive as PLA.  In total, I think I used about $1 in resin.

Time: I spent roughly 5 hours on this project finding my file and waiting to get a printer.  I am paid $25/hour as a tutor, so my labor expense is $125.

Total Cost: For these 5 small 3D prints, the total comes to $187!