For this assignment, we were tasked with 3D printing something that could only be produced with 3D printing. I decided that IronCAD was not going to be the program I was going to use. The biggest reason for this was convenience and accessibility. I used TinkerCAD, so I could work on the assignment anywhere I had internet. This made working a lot easier. At first, I wanted to do something super easy, so I wanted to make a chain of cubes that would become earrings. But after messing around with TinkerCAD for a bit, I found that this was too simple. So instead, I decided to make a bird in a bird cage, nicknamed “Tori.” Ultimately, there would be two small prints that would become little earrings.

The majority of the figure is comprised of cylinders of different sizes. There are a couple of torus’ that make up the window, a part of the base, and the ring up top. I found a half torus shape, which I rotated and duplicated to make the top of the cage. The bird itself was actually found in a 3D file site. I simply imported it and stuck it in the cage. The original design called for a hanging swing within the cage, but instead, I settled on a simple perch.

For my first print, I scaled it up somewhat larger than I intended just to see how the bars would hold up. The first printing came out better than I thought I would. The bars, while longer than I would’ve liked, were reasonably solid-ish. With enough force, you could probably snap them, but they weren’t as flimsy as I was afraid they might be. I was overall pleased, but decided to go back to TinkerCAD to alter the file. Also, hurrah, I finally found out how to rotate the pictures.

   

In TinkerCAD, I kept the bars the same width, but shortened them with the hope that in the end they would become stronger in relation to the smaller overall size. I played around with the idea of adding the swing, but decided against it. I scaled down the entire thing as I planned to go back to my original idea of making the bird cages into earrings. Printing went fairly well, though honestly I haven’t had the opportunity to physically inspect the finished products. From the pictures I have, all seems to have gone well. My only concern is the ring at the top. It seems a little fragile/thin. Harrison suggested that instead of 3D printing the ring, I simply leave holes to place a metal jewelry ring. If I want to print another couple of copies, I’ll probably do this instead.

  

 

All in all, I am pretty happy with what I came up with. A little finishing and tweaking will probably make more smooth edges on the earrings!