Balloon

cults3d

EDIT Dec 3, 2011: Added Balloon v2 file with minor changes to optimize slicing using skeinforge. Best results were achieved by turning infill completely off. Review the layers with strings before printing to ensure the extruder doesn't start or stop in mid-air. This design builds upon an experiment with strings from Thing8. It was inspired by tc_fea's outstanding Fractal Tree 2. After showing a printed model of his tree, someone asked if it resembled a balloon, prompting me to create one. I'm thrilled with the final result! This print is quite challenging. In two attempts at printing the balloon part, several strings failed to span the gap. It may require extensive experimentation to achieve perfection, but even with some broken strings, the design still looks great. UPDATE: Further investigation revealed that skeinforge's STL slicing was causing the issue. I've included a version 2 file below, which seems to work better when infill is turned off. The gondola is printed on its side to create eight supporting strings for the balloon. It's also oriented at 45 degrees on the build plane, making it easier to bridge the topmost wall since Skeinforge defaults to 45 degree infill. Those eight thin strings surprisingly support the weight of the balloon, as evident in the photos. This print was done on a RapMan 3.0 using black UltiMachine PLA.