Dave's 3D Printing Challenge - Chainlink Ball

thingiverse

This is my challenge to the 3D printing community - to print this object, if possible. I was inspired by the Spherical Chainlink Knot (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2593855). In that object the links are fused and the item is one solid piece. I wondered if it was possible to create a version where the links are unconnected, and whether this object could then be 3D printed. I only have an FDM printer so it's obviously a lot more challenging for me than it would be with SLS, which would make simple work of it. So I created this parametric OpenSCAD script to recreate the Spherical Chainlink Knot and have simply renamed it Chainlink Ball. Along the way I also created a parametric dedecahedron generator (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3409507). This script adds to that with more toruses (chain links) but these are centered on the midpoints of the edges of the dodecahedron rather than the vertexes. The angle of rotation of the links is also different, they're at right angles to the vertex links, which means they link through the vertex links to form a continuous ball of interconnected chain links. I've uploaded two versions of the script, the only difference being that one rotates the ball so the flat face is on the bottom and then it cuts a cylinder from the bottom to form a flat face for printing, if desired. Begin parametric, you can also alter torus_diameter and torus_thickness tol fuse the links together again. In a future update I might make some additions to the script so the chain links are oval like regular chain links, rather than circular. Please let me know if anyone succeeds in 3D printing this object by posting a Make on this page. I have been able to print Spherical Chainlink Knot, the fused-link version, using supports, and without need for a base, but so far I haven't succeeded in printing this moving-link version.