A4: 3D Printed Object
For this assignment, I chose to create a 3D printed spoon rest for use in my house. Currently, we do not have a spoon rest, so I once again spent my time in this class creating something useful for me and my roommates! I began this process in the design phase with some sketches of different types of spoon rests. There are fancy, elegant, organically shaped ones and other simpler circular ones. I decided to go with a simpler design of a circular platform as this would likely be easier to model with my limited knowledge of Rhino. My sketches are below.
I set my design goals to be pretty simple.
Usability: Fit most cooking utensils (~5 inches in diameter at the dish of the object)
Desirability: Is the prototype attractive and are there aesthetic design choices?
Feasibility: Can this device be 3D printed and modeled in Rhino?
Impact: Will my roommates use it?
From there, I headed into Rhino and began learning the various tools that were at my disposal. I struggled for a while and had to spend plenty of time watching YouTube tutorials. I decided to go with an octagonal design for my spoon rest, as I thought it looked cool and I had not seen any octagon shaped ones online. The biggest struggle in this stage was figuring out how to remove one of the 8 walls of the octagon so I could make the entrance for the spoon. I eventually learned how to use the trim tool and cutting planes, which allowed me to accomplish what I had intended. After hours modeling this device, I was satisfied and wanting to begin printing. Model is shown below.
I then headed to the MILL, thinking that the printing stage would be as easy as plugging my USB drive into the printer and starting the print. I was wrong. Over an hour was spent troubleshooting why my print would not stick to the print bed. I cleaned the bed multiple times, applied glue, and changed settings in the Slicer program, but nothing would fix the issues that I was encountering. Below is an image of a failed print.
I had given up, and finally decided to simply try a different printer. This printer worked perfectly and solved all of the issues that I had been encountering. The issue appears to have been that the print bed was not heating throughout, causing the print to not stick in certain spaces. I then watched the first few layers meticulously before leaving the printer for 2 hours. When I came back, I was delighted to see that my print had been successful and my spoon rest looked amazing!
I brought my print home and went straight to the kitchen to try out different cooking utensils. As I hoped, they all fit perfectly and my design was a success.
This checked off the usability portion of my assessment. I then showed it around to classmates and my roommates and received very positive feedback! The prototype now lives in our kitchen and my roommates have a place to store cooking utensils while food is cooking. My other goals were also a success, as the octagon shape was a hit, and received praise for uniqueness. I didn’t receive much criticism of my design, but there were a few weak points. I would have loved to add a pattern to the base, such as an octagonal swirl of sorts. Also, there was a small issue with the print and there is a very tiny gap in the top surface, but this does not affect usability thankfully.
I learned a lot from this project. Using Rhino to 3D model is very difficult, especially if you are unfamiliar with the program. I had used SolidWorks before for a class, but Rhino still felt very unfamiliar to me. I had to watch a lot of YouTube videos, many of which were not helpful to what I was struggling to accomplish. However, my modeling struggles were all resolved through enough research, as I learned that Rhino DOES have what you’re looking for or a way around the issue you are running into. It is a very detailed program with many, many unique features.
As far as 3D printing, I learned that Slicer settings can make a big difference in print time and quality. I had originally sliced my .stl file at home before heading to the MILL, and I thought that the print would take over 10 hours. When I got to the MILL, I decided to use a MILL laptop to make sure I had the right settings. To my surprise, the print would actually only take 2 hours. I also learned the hard way to make sure your PLA or other printing material is not tangled or knotted before starting a print. I had to stop a test print about 20 minutes in because the PLA got caught and would not unravel into the printer.
Overall, this project was a success in that I created a usable and awesome spoon rest for my kitchen and I learned so much about 3D modeling and printing.