I am looking to print a 3D Balloon made out of hard plastic for a permanent display. It will look like a real balloon.
It will be 20 inches in Diameter
It is the type of balloon that you fill up with helium and has writing on it. Not the balloons that you blow up with your mouth. (I later will be silk screening artwork onto it)
Since 3d Printers have a hard time printing something that large, I will need it designed into 2 or 4 pieces that screw together, unless you know some other way or trick.
It will also have to attach at the bottom to a display, so I need a attachment method designed as well.
After the deisgn is made, I will need a prototype and then several hundred made. The cost of each one shouldnt be too expensive.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I am in South Florida and it would be better to be close so I can pick them up since shipping may be expensive, unless we found a way to ship them easily.
Dave
cobnut
2
Hi Dave, I can’t help you with the printing itself (I’m in the UK, so pickup is something of a problem…), but I thought it worth mentioning that if you’re going to want “several hundred” then 3D printing is possibly not the best route to take. 3D printing works best for prototypes, short runs and/or bespoke creations; once you start looking at any kind of substantial production then it becomes more economic (and practical) to use other production processes.
In theory you could use a 3D print as an original model, but to be honest it sounds like a fairly simple shape and if it’s going off to some other form of mass-production, it may be easier to use a different method of creating the prototype as well.
ohms
3
Hey Dave, I could definitely help you with the design and prototype, but like cobnunt said, it is worth looking at other options for mass production. If 3d printing seems like a good option, then we could go from there. I can also help you with the schematics if another process is chosen. There’s some variables to consider but feel free to contact me
Dave, I think I am closer to you location wise. I can certainly help with the design and printing, take a look at my hub. There you will find all the information you need, plus links to my website and Facebook page. Take a look and let me know if I can help in any way…
Hello!
I can agree that it won’t be worth it to use 3D printing for mass production since The time that it takes to make every single piece will be to much. However I think that printing is the optimal way to make a prototype since you won’t have to pay for tooling to make them before you have seen the object in real life (quite a difference from the computer screen).
If you print a prototype to have some printing on I would recommend you to find someone who could print it in one piece. If there is a need for shipping, this will be more expensive, but you will save a lot of time trying to get the seams good enough if you want to print on them. I could probably do that but since I’m on the wrong side of the pond shipping will probably be a bit more expensive compared to if you find someone local (I think about 50-70 usd).
For mass production I think that The best way to do it would be vacuum forming two halves and fusing them together with heat or solvents. I have worked with a company before who does this and the finished products came out beautiful, with printings on them.
Hope that this helps you!
