(3D) Printing Around the Christmas Tree

youmagine

This is my submission for the #MakingMerry Christmas Ornament contest. This ornament boasts several unique features, including a rotating "stage" that every character revolves around. Utilizing emmett's fantastic gear bearing mechanism, this enables the tree to spin in one direction while the characters dance and twirl at a different pace. Video footage of this in action can be found here: A close-up look at the mechanism is available here: Unfortunately, I didn't have time to print it yet at my local MakerSpace. Fingers crossed that the parts fit together perfectly with proper tolerance, the bottom rounded dome or flat bottom dome (option) twists onto the stage gears and locks into place securely. All of the hex shafts also feature a slot for a printed c-clip to hold them firmly in place. When I do print it, I plan to use translucent filament and work on incorporating something like a neopixel ring inside the tree.Note that the stage platforms for the spinning characters (hexpin/disc) are a separate STL file. You can either print them separately as needed and attach them together or print them with supports and include the item on top. Unless you have a dual extruder, you may want to match the color of these items so I kept them separate. This design is also extremely flexible, if you have your own characters you'd like to put in there, you can do that easily. There's also a straight hex pin included in case you want to attach directly to a character without the disc/platform below it.I had an absolute blast creating this and the possibilities are endless - only limited by imagination.The openscad and inkscape files will be shared when I have some extra time to clean them up, as they're a bit of a mess racing against the deadline for entry. Enjoy, Happy Holidays and Happy Making/Printing to all!Gears Ref: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:53451