Model for Balancing Bird

thingiverse

The balancing bird is always interesting for students to ponder the wonders of gravity or mass. It is really challenging to design a 3D model that prints well. So I decided to focus on the main math or physical ideas by adding three bolts to both wings and the tail. It is a theoretical bird, so to speak; but it gets the ideas through. Without the bolts, the bird has a decent balance at the beak. For those who don't like using bolts, there is another one with no adjustment, which balances itself well at 20% infill. If necessary, one can add some little rubber bumper stickers to find a nice balance. Print Settings Printer: FlashForge Rafts: No Supports: No Resolution: 0.1mm to 0.2mm Infill: 20% or more Notes: Depending on the type of filament, it may be necessary to print the bolts and the "bird" at different infill rates. Heavier bolts make it easy to find the balance. Post-Printing It may be necessary to clean the thread holes to smooth things out a little bit. The bolts are scaled down a bit already. They should move freely in most cases. If necessary, one can add a touch of hand lotion for easier movement. The flat-bottom stand can be hard to remove from the building plate. If so, please try the one with grooves on a non-heated bed. Model bird with adjustments Model bird without adjustment The one with grooves at the bottom is easier to remove from building plate. How I Designed This The model was built on 123D Design.