Sunday, April 4, 2010

Impractical Geometry...could be practical

The SD300 isn't so convenient for building parts with deep overhangs or hollowed-out areas because all the support material has to be pulled out through existing openings. But I've been practicing with increasingly ambitious parts so I decided to try my chances at this visualization model I designed last year. It's got deep overhangs and very small openings so I expected a lot of trouble, but I hoped it would be an interesting learning experience.


It was easy to remove the external material, as expected, but the internal material was harder to reach because the manufacturer-supplied forceps could barely fit into the openings.


Despite the challenge, I got all the material cleared away without damaging the part beyond a few cosmetic blemishes. Based on what I learned, I could probably do better by buying some bent-tip forceps from Xcelite to reach the difficult places.


I'm glad I built it. It's a great visualization model thanks to the transparency. When I shined a light through the part I could see a lot of internal details that had been difficult to view on the computer screen.

No comments:

Post a Comment