Customisable Klein bottle (OpenSCAD)

thingiverse

I came across this challenge online: https://www.makerbot.com/media-center/2011/10/11/openscad-challenge-klein-bottle I couldn't resist taking on the task and making my own version! As a perfectionist, I aimed to make it as flawless as possible. To create the shape, I used Bezier curves because it was much simpler than trying to model it by removing "donut" shapes from around it. Unfortunately, OpenSCAD doesn't have built-in Bezier functionality, so I had to develop my own using an existing library found on Thingiverse. The bottle is easy to customize with four variables at the beginning of the file: wall thickness bottle height bottle diameter tube diameter I also made the "precision" (number of polygons generated) configurable. I set it to 180 to create the STL files, but be warned that they can get quite large! To give a glimpse inside the bottle, I uploaded a "cut" version for educational purposes and to prove that I didn't cheat. Bezier library: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2170645 [2017-03-13] This model has some printing issues. The wall thickness needs to be adjusted, and the bottom needs to be flattened. A new version 2 will be uploaded soon. [2017-03-14] Version 2 is now live! I updated the Bezier library, added thicker walls, and a flat bottom. The bottle body is now entirely made with Bezier curves. I also fixed the "2-manifold" warning caused by floating-point noise. If you prefer the round bottom, simply edit the file klein-bottle_v2.scad and change bottleBezier(true); to bottleBezier(false); in module bottle(). Hopefully, this will make it easier to print. [2017-03-18] Today, I started experimenting with Slic3r. I discovered that my "floating point" correction helped get rid of the OpenSCAD warning but made the STL file unusable. I re-generated version 2 without the correction, and now it works perfectly in Slic3r. Using OpenSCAD's warning is better than having an unusable STL file. Printing Note: Use version 2 for printing. The walls of the other version are too thin, making the bottle non-waterproof. I haven't printed it yet; I'm still waiting for my Prusa i3 MK2 printer. I'm new to 3D printing and modeling, so comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated. [FIXED] When OpenSCAD renders it for STL export, it complains that the object might need repair. I'm not sure what that means or how to fix it (if it even needs fixing). A fixed version will be uploaded if necessary. Object may not be a valid 2-manifold and may need repair! Note: The warning was caused by faces of two shapes mathematically touching but not quite touching due to floating-point imprecision. I fixed the issue by increasing the length of the object slightly, just enough to cover the noise without altering its appearance. Note 2: The fix introduced issues that made the STL file unprintable with Slic3r (and likely most slicer programs). I reverted it to the mathematical solution, ignoring the OpenSCAD warning. According to those who printed it, no supports are required. If you print it, I'd love to know how it goes!