Biopop Dino Sphere Stand

thingiverse

I received a Biopop Dino Sphere as a gift from an unknown donor: http://biopop.com/products/dino-sphere It has a flat bottom and displays fine on its own sitting on a desk/table/shelf/etc., but I wanted something a bit nicer to replace it. The Dino Sphere contains living creatures (bioluminescent marine plankton), so they need light throughout the day to survive (photosynthesis!). This led to a minimalistic design that optimizes light exposure for them. The print pictured is the prototype, and I intend to reprint at higher settings and do some finishing work on it. Considering using wood filament instead of plastic. While this print is very niche, I hope someone enjoys seeing it! Printer Settings My printer was an M3D Micro. I used rafts during the printing process. Supports were also necessary. Notes: The optimal print orientation is likely inverted to minimize the amount of supports needed. There will still be some as the tops of the feet extend just a bit higher than the ring the sphere sits on. Design Process I designed this model in 123D Design. The ring is a basic torus shape, and I designed the feet in profile via the spline tool. I then extruded the feet to the desired width, reoriented them to stand properly, and duplicated them around the center of the torus with the circular pattern tool.