Devlog #1: The big 3d printing days are here
Slicing plan was locked, chunks numbered, gravity out-smarted, and the Builder Extreme 1500 on standby. All that was left was the invoice - and a hollow face I didn't know about yet.
All what was left was to decide on the maximum height of the statue. You see, with the way I have sliced the model, it was possible to go beyond the original 1 meter (3.28 feet) height.
Size vs price
Since the Builder Extreme 1500 has a maximum print volume of L 110 X W 50 H 82 cm, it was possible to go up to 1.4 meters (4.59 feet) tall. But, it would come with a huge price, 1,268.72 EUR (plus delivery) to be exact.
That was almost double the price of the 1.0 m (3.28 ft) tall version, which would cost 553.21 EUR (plus delivery).
600 EUR for a project of this scale is a lot of money, especially for a first time project. I gave myself a few days to think about it whether I should continue or not. Again, that was a lot of money, but I had a feeling inside me that I was familiar with. It was the feeling of great scare, but also excitement, and I knew that I had to go for it.
The big printing and the hollow face
Big chunk of money for 10.6 kg (23.4 lb) of plastic has been transferred and the printing process has begun. It was provisioned to take 3.2 days.
But two days in the print I have received a message from the printing service… I’m gonna derail a bit here…
I keep referring to the printing service as if I would not know the people behind it. But it is absolutely the opposite. I know them very well as they are friends from the startup I am part of - the BeTRITON. I am fortunate to have access to Aigars wisdom and the Builder Extreme 1500.
… so I received a message from Aigars the there is a small hiccup in the sliced model. It has hollow body in the face area, but it is not a show stopper, with a few bits of glue, the print will be fine.
That was a blunder on my part, as on smaller prints I didn’t notice that the model has unfinished 3d mesh in the face area. That was making the slicer a bit confused and leading to a hollow area in the facial area.
Two weeks later
I have received the printed parts. Look at that happy face! Not knowing that this will become a project for the whole upcoming summer.
Lessons learned
Don’t trust the slicer blindly, also, don’t trust the 3d model blindly, especially if it is a free model. Also, make your own 3d model to avoid these issues.
And check the scale before sending it to print, unless you intend to print a 140 m (459.32 ft) tall statue.
Written by EdgeLimits