Introduction

For this assignment, I chose to create 5 flexible cats with joints that would be printed with the Prusa and the Bambu 3D printers. The link to the file I used is here.

Procedure

After I chose my file, I measured the capsule. I found that the capsules we were using were about 2 inches in diameter. As this cat was flexible, I thought that perhaps an x-length of 2.5 inches would be adequate, with 15% infill. I also decided to print 3 inches and 3.5 inches. This was definitely because I thought that the capsule would still be able to fit these cats and definitely not because I wanted to keep these larger prints for myself.

When the prints were complete, I found that the 2.5 inch long cat was a little bit too large for the capsule, snapping and breaking after I tried to close the lid. As such, I decided to do my final prints as 2.35 inch-long cats. I printed 3 on the Prusa and 3 on the Bambu.

Returning for my prints and removing supports, I found that the ones from the Bambu had pretty visible defects on the outer surface. I must have had my print settings slightly wrong. I tried to wet sand these down, but this process exacerbated the problem. Thus, I decided to stop post-processing and just place the prints in the capsule.

I was surprised to find that the prints were a tad bit small, jiggling and moving around a bit when shaken in the capsule. Perhaps I should have done 2.4 inch-long prints instead. However, for the sake of my time and cost of the print materials, I decided to stop my assignment at this point.

I printed out paper slips with the link to the print and the original creator’s name, and placed them within each capsule. During this entire process, I made sure to clean the 3D printers as I took off my prints and disposed of supports in the trash.

Conclusion

I’m quite happy with my flexible cat key chains and would honestly be elated if I were to acquire one from a gumball machine with a hard-earned quarter. Luckily, I do happen to have two larger prints that incidentally don’t fit in the gumball capsules and happen to not be deliverables for the project.

Cost Analysis

Total: $45.25

Labor:

$40 = $10 x 4hrs

Print costs:

$4 – $0.50 for each individual print

$1.25 – $0.25 for each capsule