I’m glad this was our first project after the midterm, because I had absolutely no experience with 3d printers, and wasn’t planning on gaining any unless I was forced.  This project did exactly that, and I’ve already printed some additional fun stuff in my spare time!

Hatching a plan

After being told that the recursive centaur would be too scary and not impossible, I decided to 3d print one of the eggs shown to us during the guest lecture with Adam Hecht.  The file came with 10 options, so I picked one at random.  The egg I chose is modeled after a Schwarz “D” (Diamond) surface, a periodic minimal surface made of two intersecting labyrinths with an inflated diamond bond structure.  I liked it because it reminded me of something made by H.R. Giger.

Chicky Steps

I popped it into Bambu Studio, and printed it in triplicate.  My first prints were too big for the capsules we were supposed to put them in, so I scaled them down to 70% of their original size for the second printing.  Happily, this worked a treat!  The eggs were able to fit easily within the capsule.

 

The resin printing was equally as easy, and it was wonderful to see how much cleaner the prints were!  I cured my resin at 80C for 15 minutes, and it was all done. I also think the tree supports were super cool, even though they’re the default for the resin printer.  After that, I popped my prints in the little capsules, and that’s that!

 

 

All in all, this project was really fun.  It taught me that in this world, someone has already made a file of something you’re looking for.  And thank goodness for that.

Cost Breakdown

Category	Item	Cost	Quantity	Source
Materials	PLA	$9.99/600g	30g (approximate)	Amazon	$0.50
	Resin	$30.33/1000g	18g (approximate)	Amazon	$0.5
Labor	3D Printer Operator	$19/hr	30 min	ZipRecruiter	$9
Machine Time	Machine Time	$1/hr	6	JCAD USA	$6.00
	Total	$15.05