Bauble cutting

Another clay cutter was needed, simpler than before, but benefiting from the learning curve. A new feature was the cutting of a hole. 3D modelling As before, in Autodesk’s Fusion 360, the profile of a cutting edge was swept around a boundary curve. The profile was narrower (built on a 2.4 mm square, rather than […]

Cookie cutting

The so-called Southampton Psalter, donated to St John’s College, Cambridge, by the Earl of Southampton in 1635, but with origins in Ireland, has been dated to the 10th or 11th century. It includes a crucifixion scene with two figures above the arms of Christ, representing angels or, perhaps, the Virgin and St John. The right […]

Wood carving

Domestic 3D printing is an additive process. A gift allowed me to experience a subtractive one: Alex Jones’ short course Woodcarving for beginners at West Dean College. The blank The blank was a oval of lime wood, about 25 cm by 20 cm, and 3 cm to 4 cm high. Lime has a fine and […]

Lawnmower Key

The Gtech Cordless Lawnmower comes with a plastic safety key. If the key is misplaced, the mower will safely not work. A spare key became a 3D printing project. I measured the dimensions of the key using a digital caliper and modelled it in Autodesk’s Fusion 360. I exported the model as an STL file […]

Parametric pill box

Autodesk’s Fusion 360 allows the parametric modelling of solids. I used it to create a better pill box, where user parameters defined the box diameter (default 38 mm), box height (3 times the radius, between the hemispherical caps), wall thickness (2 mm), minimum wall thickness (0.8 mm), clearance (between the overlapping parts) (0.25 mm), number […]

Pill box

A right circular cylinder, about three times its radius in height, capped by hemispheres makes a satisfying pill shape. I bisected the pill perpendicular to its axis of circular symmetry to allow both the hemispheres to be 3D printed convex. The two halves would need to be joined. Pill box 1 On my first attempt, […]

Toadstool II

My first toadstool was relatively simple. This second one was more complex, including a representation of the ring around the stem and the volva at the base. The cap was modelled to be smoother than the first, using a geodesic sphere based on a cube. Ultimaker’s guide to designing for printability suggests that the minimum […]

Toadstool

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) cannot 3D print on thin air, although bridging over short gaps is possible. The help of support is required if one layer does not overlap sufficiently the layer immediately below it. A simple toadstool was modelled in Hexagon 2.5.0.5 and sliced in Cura 3.4.1. The cap was modelled as a squashed […]

Door stopper

Way back when I bought my Billy bookcases, IKEA offered an extension that added a low cupboard to the base. The extension is no longer available. Plastic stoppers prevented the cupboard doors from swinging inward. At some point, over the years, I lost a stopper. Its replacement seemed an obvious choice for my first 3D […]

Like onions

ALDI in the UK currently sells the Balco 3D Printer Touch (model HE180021), marketed by Balco Lifestyle and originally manufactured in China by WANHAO 3D Printer. The printer was my first toe in the water of 3D printing. The printer is very similar to the WANHAO Duplicator i3 Plus (the hardware is said to be […]