For my 3D printing project, I decided to make these rats from Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5268216
There were many struggles in the making of this project.
First was the TPU prints. I first tested one rat to check the size and to see if it would print correctly, and it was way too big, as pictured below.
So, I made one more rat that was smaller, and it was the perfect size to just fit snugly into the container when the tail was bent.
Then, things started getting worse. Since the rat would just barely fit, I wanted to make it slightly smaller in case the lid broke the tail, so I printed two more that were scaled down a little bit. However, when I tried to peel it off the rafts, both broke. So I tried one more time because I thought I had used too much force when trying to get them off. But, when I came back to collect my rats, someone had tried to take it off the raft and both tails were broken off. I realized the raft was not a good idea, so I printed two more with just the brim. But the next day, I saw that the print had failed due to a clogged nozzle. I thought that might have been because of the brim, so I went back to my rat that would just fit in the container so it would be a bit larger and less susceptible to breakage and I used a raft again. I printed three more, and they finally came out ok.
But it did take a lot of effort to get it off the raft and the articulated joints were still pretty stiff, so I decided to print one last time with the brim. The brim was much easier to take off and used way less filament, and the articulated joints worked much better.
Then was the SLA. I had printed a perfect rat with the resin printer. I bathed my rat in alcohol, cut off the supports, and cured it. I also accidentally ripped off the tip of the tail and dropped it between the floorboards at the Maker Bar, but I didn’t think anyone would notice so I decided to keep it. However, it was still a bit shiny at the top, so I put it back in the curing thing and was going to get it the next day. But then, tragedy struck. When I came back to collect my rat, it was GONE. Despite searching every nook and cranny in the OEDK and even sending a frantic message in the GroupMe, it was pointless. My rat was gone. Forever. Here is the last photo ever taken of my resin rat.
I was planning to reprint the resin rat, but one of the printers broke and the other was in use every time I was at the OEDK, so unfortunately I was unable to.
If I did this project again, I would try out different types of supports to find the best one before printing so many different variations. I would also wait the 15 minutes while my rat was curing so no one could take it.
Cost Analysis:
Time: 2hr * $15/hr = $30
Materials: negligible
Total: $30
