Octopus

thingiverse

This intricately designed toy octopus was created by DanJoseph Quijada and refined by Dave Pfaff in collaboration with myself within my Math 341 Introduction to Topology class during Fall 2014. The unique shape of the legs is based on a sinusoidal curve, which gradually decreases exponentially as it oscillates. Print Settings Printer Brand: MakerBot Printer: MakerBot Replicator 2X Rafts: Yes Supports: Yes Resolution: 0.15 Infill: 80 Notes: You may need to scale this object by a factor of 10 in Makerware, as it is sized in centimeters rather than millimeters. You might also need to relocate the knot onto the platform; I think it is positioned just above it. The octopus measures about 12cm x 12cm x 4cm in size. After printing, I scaled down the legs to approximately 10cm x 10cm. This model was first printed on a Project 260 3D Systems printer. Initially, when I printed this model using standard settings for the MakerBot 2X, several legs exhibited noticeable jumps and the head had uneven cooling patterns where the plastic solidified. To resolve these issues, I adjusted my printing strategy by setting the infill to 80% and changing the support angle from the default 68 degrees to 45 degrees. How I Designed This This model was designed entirely within Cinema4D. The legs were crafted using parametric equations like x(t) = a√2t, y(t) = 0, z(t) = b^2 cos^2(ct)e^{-dt^2} for various constants a, b, c, and d, bounded by time t. These curves were then thickened using a SweepNurbs to create the legs' distinctive shape. To design the octopus head, we started with a box, extruded sections of its sides to alter its form, and applied HyperNURBS for further refinement. We also made minor adjustments, such as adding eyes and fine-tuning the dimensions to achieve a more realistic appearance.