I LOVE 3D PRINTING. For this assignment, we had to choose an object that had some sort of impossible
geometry which would be difficult to manufacture using the conventional methods we had learned of so far. Thus, I chose an articulated shark model which had some linked connections to make it flop around. The methods to create this shark were two forms of 3D printing. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) and stereolithography (SLA). Originally I tried to do a hammerhead shark but unfortunately, the geometries of the file did not allow for a sizable print for the gumball machine where it was still able to freely move and fit inside the ball.
As such, I moved to a more regular shark, which I 3D printed using PLA on the Bambu 3D printers. These came out relatively well with the new file, but I did not try to articulate the mouth out of fear of breaking them. Below is a comparison between the SLA (yellow) and the FDM (white). These prints came out very well on the FDM, with only some layer lines on the top of the shark’s head.
As for resin printing, there was a long queue on the Formlabs (I HATE FORMLABS), so I had to fix up my own personal resin printer, which had its FEP ruptured and LCD screen cracked. The printer I used is the ELEGOO Mars 5 Ultra, a very good printer with very good quality. I also used their ABS-like resin v3.0 in the yellow color(bc it was on sale at the time). After fixing my printer, I put the file into the ELEGOO SateLite slicer and after putting it in the fles at roughly 30 degrees from the build plate with the head oriented towards the build plate. Due to time constraints, I used the auto-supports, but the size of the supports led to some dimpling later on. I have heard this can be lessened by submerging the washed part in hot water and removing the supports, but I have not tried and do not wish to waste water.
After an 1hr and 54m (an hour less than what the formlab would have taken), the print completed, and I removed it from the printer and put it into my dirty IPA wash in the jar, then the larger bucket to remove the bulk of the resin first. The washing in the bucket lasted 10 minutes, while the final wash in the clean IPA was only for 5 minutes.
I then let the parts air dry to evaporate any leftover resin, but I did not have much time left, so I cured them for 3 minutes on each side after 5 minutes of washing and then removed the supports before curing, as the hardened supports would become harder to remove.
After that process, I cleaned up my setup with some IPA and some wipes, and it was back to normal. Have I mentioned how much I love ELEGOO?
The resin print definitely had way better fidelity and quality, even though I have not even fully dialed in my settings with an exposure test, and for this particular model, it came out very good with great articulation, except for the last tail piece, which is a little hard to move (due to sizing and exposure settings most likely).
For cost analysis:
- Bambu X1 FDM Printer – $1,119.00 (on sale)
- Bambu White PLA – $19.99
- Bambu Studio (Slicer) – Free
- ELEGOO Mars 5 Ultra – $269.99 (Currently on sale for $249.99)
- Mercury Plus V2.0 (Wash and Cure) – $76.00
- Nitrile disposable gloves – $6.98 (Amazon)
- MaxTite IPA (99.9%) – $30.30 / 4 gal -> $7.57
- 3M half Mask – $14.34
- 60926 VOC filter – $11.99
- Elegoo SateLite Slicer – Free
- ABS-Like Resin v3.0 -$55.65/6kg -> $9.27
- Time working – 2 Hours * $10 = $20 (was not a lot to do, just sitting and waiting)
The overall cost of everything would be $1535.13. However, the only things I actually bought were the resin printer things, so it came out to be ~$376.14, not including my labor, which is definitely cheaper than the FormLabs, which, although I cannot find a clear price, the Form 3+ costs around $2,499 base, so definitely way cheaper.
