Anything that fits into 45mm3 is fine !

Francesca

Mm or cm?!

4.5cmx4.5cmx4.5cm

Ok I will try one now at 2500% original scale which is slightly over 4.5cm3 but will give us an indication. My gut instinct is that the poles may need to be thicker. I’ll see though.

okay, there is leeway with the pole thickness also if that helps.

Yes okay that probably would help as there would be less drooping on the overhangs. Also does this have to be finished up to a high standard or is it just a prototype?

Its a model for an exhibition so a relatively high standard would be preferred. It depends what you mean by a high standard?

Ok, well the thing is because my printer extrudes plastic it often struggles with overhangs as do all fdm printers. Therefore I would need to put in lots of support material for it to build onto, this is often hard to get rid of and can leave a rough surface. Anyway Ill see how this goes and get back to you.

Ah okay ! thank you!

Hi I’ve tried the print and unfortunately bad news. As feared the poles have lots of droop on them and are very week as they aren’t thick enough. Also some of the poles weren’t able to print as the overhang was too great with out support. I would recommend trying a resin printer. But if you must have it fdm printed you will need to make the poles thicker by at least 2-3mm I would think and add support in cad on pretty much all the overhangs. I will attach a picture of the failed print.

Ah thats a shame, I wouldn’t be able to make the pole thicknesses thicker quickly as it was a long process making the original model and I’m no expert in CAD! Thank you for the advice.

I suppose you could ask some people on here. There are some actual experts on here!

I’ve tried a much simpler CAD version - would this work??
Module - thicker.stl (14.3 MB)

@jeri

yes this one looks better, ill have a g at printing it tomorrow if you like.

Yes thank you, that would be brilliant.

Hi gabriela3D, unfortunatly i was the 1st person to let francesca down! i current have about 30-40hrs works cued up on my machine and was unable to get a new job going untill the end of the week!

Hi,

I have tried it again and I do not believe this will be printable on a fdm machine like mine. I would see if there is anyone near you with a resin machine as others have stated. It may be able to be printed if it is much bigger than 45mm3. It is just too small for my machine. I don’t know anyone that has a resin machine and could have it done by Thursday, unfortunately.

Sorry I couldn’t help.

These models should be to the scale of 45mm3 if that helps at all.
module to print 45mm3.stl (17.1 MB)
Module - thicker 45mm3.stl (12.2 MB)

@frankiecheska

@jeri

Hi Francesca,

Working with your thicker framed model, and maxed to fit in a 45mm3 area, I found a new orientation that might just make it possible to print on an FDM printer. Could you have a look at the image and see if that would work for you?

Mike

https://www.3dhubs.com/gloucester/hubs/mike