So this time the task is on 3D printing and improving my understanding of the manufacturing technique. To this end, we had to select an already made impossible object, that could only be made from 3D printing, from Thingiverse and then print multiple copies of it using at least 2 different 3D printers in the OEDK. The only constraint was that the piece should fit in a case that would go into a vending machine such that people could buy the pieces when they visit the OEDK. Initially I thought about having a reticulated dragon as my piece and attempted to 3D print it twice, but because of how detailed the surface of the dragon was, scaling down the print becoming very difficult and the prints kept failing because of the level of details. So, I changed course and decided to print a reticulated trilobite for no other reason other than I found they looked weird. My first print didn’t work because of how small the ends of the trilobite were so I decreased the layer thickness and then printed it using a Brim to increase the adhesion of the print to the plate. This worked and the parts came out really well from the prusa printer and I was  able to print 4 more like this seamlessly, although on one of the prints the printer filament clogged up and I had to start again. Below, you can see pictures of the prints with the brim support and after processing them by removing the brim.

For the second 3D printer I used the form lab printer and again, this was simple enough to use although it required additional steps of washing and curing the piece. The biggest challenge I faced with this was the fact that removing the print from the adhesion on the plate was extremely difficult. I had to use a substantial amount of force to scrape the piece off causing one of the ends of one of the trilobite legs to break off slightly. But overall, the piece was successful. Below you can see all 5 finished prints processed and in their capsules.

Cost estimate

Labour – $10/hour x 7 hours – $70

Membership in a maker space – $20 a month

Material cost – 3D printer filament – $15

Total = $105