I printed small spiral planters that fit inside the gumball capsule for this assignment. I chose this spiral planter design from Thingiverse by Maindog (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3280319) because it’s difficult to manufacture at this scale using traditional methods. The spiral shape wraps continuously down into the integrated water dish at the base, and creating that geometry through machining or molding would require several separate parts and assembly. With 3D printing, everything is one piece.
I began by measuring the gumball capsule with calipers to get the maximum outer dimensions. I then imported the STL into Bambu Studio and scaled it to fill as much of the capsule volume as possible without forcing the capsule to bulge. I printed three versions using the Bambu FDM printer to hone in the size. These prints did not need supports because the spiral angle is gentle enough for the printer to bridge layer by layer. All three printed reliably, and the surface finish had visible but fine layer lines consistent with FDM.
To complete the second required process, I printed two more planters on the Formlabs SLA printer. I imported the file into PreForm, oriented the model to avoid cupping, and auto-generated supports. After printing, I washed the prints in IPA, let them dry, and cured them under UV. Once the supports were removed, the SLA versions matched the FDM geometry exactly, but with a smoother surface and slightly sharper internal edges. The SLA prints feel a bit more brittle, while the FDM ones feel slightly tougher.
The difference between the two processes was mainly surface texture and workflow time. The Bambu prints were faster and simpler to remove from the bed, while the Formlabs prints required washing and curing but produced a cleaner finish. Functionally, both sets fit the capsule and held their shape well.
Lastly, I printed and cut slips of paper with the original creator’s name (Maindog) and the Thingiverse link, and placed each slip with its corresponding planter in the capsule.
For cost, I estimated based on material use. Each FDM planter used about 5 g of PLA. PLA filament is roughly $20 for 1 kg (https://us.store.bambulab.com/products/pla-basic-filament), which comes out to about $0.10 per print. Printing three FDM versions cost about $0.30 total. Each SLA planter used about 6 g of resin. Resin is roughly $79 for 1 liter, (https://formlabs.com/store/materials/clear-resin/?srsltid=AfmBOopVsrz43kDZ81cMtyi253V2gnhFV6VxVSfmDz55jRi1_yvYA6ve) which is about $0.48 per planter, so printing two SLA versions cost about $0.96. In total, the five planters cost about $1.26 in materials. Labor was 1 hour so for $10/hr, the total cost to print all 5 planters was $11.26, so this has been the most affordable homework yet!
This is my cleaned workspace:
