Topology Trophy

myminifactory

Here is one of my trophy entries for the 3D Printing Industry Awards 2020. Suspended from the base is an acorn shaped clear piece with a hollow twisted internal spiral. The base which is shaped like a hook holds this clear acorn in the center. The base has been put through a weight reduction topology optimization. In this analysis the aim was to reduce the weight of the hook shaped base while not suffering a reduction in capacity the hook can hold. This is a bit like how hollow tubes have a better strength to weight ratio than solid tubes but instead of being a tube, this analysis was on a curved hook. This creates interesting geometries and features which would be ideal candidates for SLS or MJF printing. There can be a lot of small/intricate features which would require very complicated supports. Other 3D printing methods might not be as well suited because of this. Furthermore, other manufacturing processes are not as well suited too due to the complexity of the structures which serve a purpose (instead of being merely decorative). This is a great way of showing that 3D printing is not just a method of rapid prototyping or creating small decorations but can also be the best option to make something that is structurally optimized. Additionally, I ran this analysis multiple times with varying percentages of weight reduction resulting in some bases that are considerably more intricate and lightweight whereas others are sturdier. Those bases are also being submitted with the idea that different awards could have more or less weight optimized trophies but the theme of all the trophies are tied together. For example a first place finisher could get a more weight optimized trophy. Or different categories of awards could get different looking trophies that are still tied together through the idea of this topology optimization. The bases have a fairly flat section at the bottom where a plaque could be applied if desired. The clear acorn has small internal channels creating a nice visual pattern. This is another example of something that is best made by 3D printing as other manufacturing methods simply are not as capable. Together with the base, this trophy shows off the advantages of 3D printing: being able to create something that is pretty and something that is functional and both of them would be considerably harder to make with any other manufacturing method.