3D Printed Elephants! | ENGI 210: Prototyping and Fabrication

For the 3D Printing project I decided to make articulated elephants! I found this cute design on Thingiverse by LeFabShop.

For my first method of printing, I did FDM printing on the Bambu. I measured the gumball capsule to have a diameter of about 45 mm. I set this as the x value (in the direction of the trunk) for my first print. I set the layer height to .15 mm, the wall thickness to 1 mm, and the infill density to 15%.

I used tree supports, which ended up working well. My first print came out well, with the articulated joints working correct. However, it was too small. I increased the x-dimension by 5 mm once again. Although this print fit the capsule more fully at an angle, I determined it could likely be even larger because the lid of the capsule is curved.

I increased the x-dimension to 55 mm. When testing this size, the printer ran out of filament. However, the trunk fully printed so I was able to determine it was an adequate size that filled the capsule fully. I printed four elephants of the correct size on the Bambu.

I then moved on to a SLA print, which was quite the struggle. I set up and queued my print, which ending up taking over 5 hours to print. Once done, I put on disposable gloves and removed the build platform. I made sure to minimize the time the printer was open since the resin can cure quickly when exposed to UV light. I removed my part and wiped the build platform with a paper towel and IPA.

I washed my part for 15 minutes. I then sprayed it with compressed air to remove any of the resin that was stuck. I let it air dry before then curing it for 30 minutes.

I then removed my supports and was disappointed to find out that my articulated joints didn’t work. I tried applying force and even carving the legs out a little bit, but there was no luck and it only ended up making my piece look worse. I accidentally broke the trunk off during this struggle. I asked a lab assistant if they had any advice to try to get the joints working and they suggested sand blasting. We gave it a try. Not only did it not help, but it just left my piece with sand stuck in the small areas, so not a good move. I sprayed it with compressed air again to try to remove some of the sand. I glued the trunk back on and tried to place it in the gumball capsule. However, the elephant of this size fits tightly when the legs are able to move, so without them it was unable to fit. The trunk ended up breaking again. I glued some of the trunk pieces back on. The elephant could now fit in the capsule with its shortened trunk.

I decided that with the immense about of other work I needed to do that I would have to turn in this failed SLA elephant. I learned that resin is definitely not best for joints, and even though I followed all the steps it still didn’t work (how sad).

I printed small slips with the user that created the design’s name and the URL. I put one in each of the capsules and cleaned up my workspace.