Ceramic 3D Print

For our final project in 3D Object Design we got to create a design to be printed on the ceramics printer. Before this class I had no idea a ceramics printer even existed, let alone that I'd ever get to use one!
Me, Sydney, and Marissa were paired with Ashlyn and Danielle to design our last project for this class. At first we were pretty set on bringing to life my robot design from the 3D print concept phase, but the design would simply not work as a continuous print on the ceramics printer, so instead we combined one of my other 3D concepts with Ashlyn's jewl-like texture to create a more simple but still interesting design. Overall, I'm happy with how our print turned out, I think the texture looks really cool and unique.

(sorry for the cruddy picture)

Getting to see the ceramic printer in action was an awesome sendoff to an awesome class. I had a lot of fun and learned A LOT of useful skills, like rendering and papercraft (which I'd really like to return to!). A big thanks to Bryan for being such a great instructor, this was definitely one of my funnest classes so far, and a big thanks to my fellow classmates for being so supportive these past 3 months!

3D: Final

Almost 3 weeks in the making, the 3D hybrid project is finally done. It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears from me and my partners, Marissa and Sydney, but we survived and came out with a pretty neat looking object! Learning the 3D printer was a huge learning curve and there was some glitches and mistakes that were a pain to fix, but I'm glad I managed to get to know this crazy machine as I'd love to possibly come back to it for future projects!

We each compiled a list of 3 of what we thought were our most successful models/concepts and discussed them in regards to design, functionality, and stability.

My designs:

For this concept I wanted to play around with the distribution of weight and how to create a sturdy model with a somewhat un-sturdy looking design. The object could function as a fun table or as a cute robot, as Marissa pointed out that it looks like a baby version of the omnidriod from The Incredibles, which now I can't un-see. The design would have trouble printing, however, because of the lowered part of the cone and how unstable the legs would be before the printer printed the cone.

This design is more on the purely aesthetic side as it wouldn't really serve a function, just sit there and look pretty. There's also too versions because I honestly couldn't decide which one I liked more. They both are very sturdy, but the longer version would have an easier time printing because the angles on the spines are not as sharp as the short version.

The negative space in this design makes the illusion of two faces forming a vase. The faces I drew myself and plotted points around to eventually extrude. The design was also stable to print and sturdy enough to stand on its own. This is the concept I contributed to our final object.

Marissa's designs:

This curving and twisting object we dubbed the Slide of Death due to it resembling an insane waterslide, though it could also just be, simply, an aesthetically pleasing object. It also resembles a soft-serve ice cream swirl. It would be very stable due to its wide, flat base, though it could have issues while printing because of some of the sharp angles.

This concept's function could be a pinwheel or a fake flower in bloom. The organic curves are very pleasing to look at and could be for aesthetic sake as well. It would likely be able to support it's own and and print successfully due to its curves being at reasonable angles for the 3D printer.

This object resembles a vase and could function as so, as its rounded features are nice to look at. I could also see this as being a very fancy pot for a very fancy plant. The object is very stable and has no sharp angles so it would print smoothly. This is the object Marissa contributed to our object - it serves as the base of our design.

Sydney's designs:

This lamppost design would serve as a, well, lamppost, providing light and fancy decoration. It is a familiar object, though, with a hint of the fantastical with its very curved form. For it to print well it would need a wider base to support itself, however, and a thicker middle section to avoid it being too fragile. This is the design Sydney contributed to our object and it what we based our object around.

This design has lots of organic spirals that create an interesting texture while also resembling a blob of whipped cream. The base would be wide enough for it to stand on its own and as long as the curves were not too drastic then it should print successfully.

This object resembles a lighthouse and would function by providing light. The polygon base would be wide enough to support itself and the design would print well, though the diamond cutout may be a challenge.

My and Marissa's sketches:

We decided to work off of design #3 of Marissa's sketches. And in my sketchbook above (on the top) is the drawing I used for the faces.

Here are some progress shots leading up to the finished object below. Time crept up on us and we were not able to put a light in the bulb part of the object like we had intended, but I am still happy with the result.

Some challenges we had were some issues with the printer. At one point it outright refused to heat up so we had to sign in multiple times to the ThinkTank  to print the rest of the parts. But hey, we got it done! Personally, I like how it turned out and I felt we incorporated our designs well to create a uniform object, so I'll chalk up this experience as a success.