Molecular model - Triacylglyceral - atomic scale model and fab challenge :)

thingiverse

I've created a robust 3D STL molecular model of triacylglycerol that's perfect for printing. You can find more models like this in my profile. I'm hesitant to fabricate this one myself, but I do take molecule requests and will get to them eventually. This model is part of a series I'm using to teach my kids about chemistry, specifically the different components of food and how our bodies use them for energy and growth. The triacylglycerol molecule is a basic type of fat, and it's relatively simple compared to others like Glucose, Lactose, Alanine, or Glutamine. To print this model using FDM, you'll need to add plenty of supports and plan carefully. However, I'm excited to see how SLM versions will turn out, as they should be much easier to fabricate. The images shown are from various stages in the modeling process. Each molecule has undergone computational atomic bond optimization and simulation to ensure accurate bond angles. The atomic balls are scaled linearly with atomic radius, but keep in mind that the absolute radius is still just for modeling purposes. This model should have plenty of triangles for large-scale fabrication.