42 - Version39

prusaprinters

<p>The Answer.</p> <p>Also, just having fun trying out a some 3D CAD and printing ideas. More versions on the way.</p> <p>This one : 42 Twist</p> <p>First, I have to admit I cheated a bit on this one. I cracked the top of one of the spirals when fitting the two pieces together and had to use a bit of glue. More info in the print instructions.</p> <p>This print was mostly an exercise in 3D CAD design; it turned out to be a bit more complicated than I thought it would be, but I ended up teaching myself a few new tricks. The print was also interesting as a 3D print exercise, especially the use of supports.</p> <p>OnShape 3D CAD files :</p> <p><a href="https://cad.onshape.com/documents/f7505f2ba4d74470bef9e9dd/w/fb48070f78bf06445e27ea7f/e/5e748a4fdcc73d995957e6ac">https://cad.onshape.com/documents/f7505f2ba4d74470bef9e9dd/w/fb48070f78bf06445e27ea7f/e/5e748a4fdcc73d995957e6ac</a></p> <h3>Print instructions</h3><p>Print in PLA using the 3mf files provided.</p> <p>Unfortunately this print requires a lot of support material. Initially I tried printing with more limited supports but got poor results. Possibly the spirals could be printed "sideways" with minimal supports, but I did not try this.</p> <p>The support material increases the filament use and printing time, of course. It also takes a bit of time to remove (I used needle nose pliers and a razor knife).</p> <p>The two spirals are designed to lock together when fully intertwined. As a result, it is a bit difficult to fit the two spirals together (and probably even harder to take them apart - which I did not try). If I were going to do this again, I would use a bit of sandpaper on the mating surfaces of the spirals, as well as the "square ends" where they lock together.</p> <p>The overall design could use a bit of improvement, although is does work as is.</p>