Customizable Place Cards

thingiverse

Need custom place cards for your party - or to display text in 3D? Customize the design by inserting names and adjusting the size to fit your needs. You can even make two-colored cards by changing filament at a specific z-height, creating a poor man's dual extrude effect. To assemble the cards, start by folding where the plastic is weakest, aiming for a hollow triangular prism shape. Use rubber bands to keep the structure in place and add an extra layer of color if desired. Instructions: These custom place cards were printed on my Makerbot Replicator 2 using PLA material with a resolution of 0.2 mm at 10% infill, along with rafts for support. Although details like this are not crucial to the overall outcome, they play a role in ensuring the structure holds its shape. To achieve the triangular prism shape, carefully fold the weak points in the plastic, making sure it takes on the desired form. You can use rubber bands as looms to maintain the 3D structure of the card and add additional color. By adjusting filament during printing, you can create a dual-colored effect without the need for any additional hardware. In this particular example, I paused at z-heights on my Makerbot Replicator 2 and printed rafts to help guide the material as it was added, achieving a thickness of about 1.6 mm in total. You may achieve your best results using a raft configuration and changing the filament color in sync with your Makerbot Replicator's height. The choice of printer type, z-axis adjustments and filament flow control, though somewhat specific to this instance, play key roles in final product appearance and overall outcome.