This guide covers:

• What is Infill in FDM 3D Printing?
• Infill Pattern Types
  • Grid
  • Concentric
  • Gyroid
• Slicer Software Preview and Settings
• Behind the Walls
• Without Walls
• Structural Integrity
• Creating Art and Other Uses
  • Artisitc Decoration – Infill City
  • Vase
  • Lamp Shade

What is Infill in FDM 3D printing?

Unless printing in vase mode it is likely that you will, at some point, have come across infill in your 3d printing journey. Infills are repeating patterns of extruded filament .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级d by your slicer to fill in the gaps between the walls of your prints. By using infill, 3D printers can .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 strong, light models that use less filament than if the model had been printed solid.

Infill Patterns

A variety of infill patterns have been designed, some for strength, in one or all of the axes, some to minimise filament usage, and some to increase the speed of the print. PrusaSlicer and Cura alone provide you with a choice of over twenty patterns. The patterns can be a single or double-layer repeat or more complex and three dimensional in nature so let’s have a look at a few of the more common examples.

Grid

The grid pattern is one of the simplest infills with a single repeating layer in the shape of a grid. The pattern is fast to print and provides strength through the z-axis but less so for the x and y axes.

Concentric

Similar to the grid pattern concentric infill also has a single layer repeat. The path of the infill follows the walls of the model creating a pattern that mirrors the model’s shape. It adds little strength in the x and y axes and although it has some strength in the z axis, its not nearly as strong as the grid pattern as it has no overlapping lines. Concentric infill does however provide aesthetic uniformity when using transparent or translucent filament.

Gyroid

Gyroid infill changes the direction of the infill pattern on each layer. It uses rows of parallel wavy lines to .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 infill that over height .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 a 3D structure not dissimilar to a series of curled tunnels or tubes. The benefit of this 3D structure is that it has approximately equal strength in all directions (axes), is quick to print and has a low filament expenditure to strength ratio. The gyroid pattern is also found in molecules and crystalline structures in nature.

Aesthetic Infill

Apart from its raison d’être as a structure to fill the gaps in 3d printing, infill can also been used to enhance the aesthetics of designs and to define them. Transparent and translucent filaments allow us to see the infill behind the wall and thinning or removing the walls altogether give us an even more dramatic effect. So lets have a look at how to use infill pattern and density when used for decoration rather than structure.

Slicer Software Settings

Before exploring infill further, it is worth mentioning the role your slicer plays in this type of print. You will rely heavily on the slicer previews to give you an idea of how your model will look once printed and to assess whether the model will successfully print. You can control the type and density of the infill through your slicer as well as the thickness of your walls and top and bottom layers. Your slicer also determines which infill patterns you have available to play with. The settings we will talk about adjusting in the following paragraphs are infill pattern and density, wall count (vertical shell perimeters) and top and bottom layers (horizontal shells top and bottom).

Behind the Walls

A design printed in transparent/translucent filament will show the infill behind the wall to some degree, but how you use this will depend on what you are trying to achieve with your design. You may want the light to shine through your model or you may want a mottled or opaque effect. You may choose the infill pattern so as not to detract from the shape and feel of the model, or you may decide that the infill is going to be the star of the show. Dependant on what you are looking to achieve you might consider different infill patterns and densities.

The nature of the infill pattern can impact opaqueness. Repeating patterns .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 areas of solidity and complete transparency and can appear very bold if used at low density. Three dimensional patterns tend to .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 a more uniform opaqueness particularly if used at higher densities. If you are looking for a subtle mottled patterning a 3d pattern such as gyroid or cubic at a relatively high density (>25%) should be your go to.

If you are looking for the infill to shine through use striking patterns at lower densities (<25%) and reduce your wall count to 1. You can choose to use infill patterns that compliment your model shape or jar against it to enhance the effect, for example a pyramidal model will look very different with a stark angular rectilinear infill when compared to a curvaceous gyroid pattern.

Without Walls

What if we want to print without walls (or top and bottom layers) allowing the infill to shine through and define our model?
The nature and density of the infill patterns that we looked at in the previous section still apply. Repeating patterns will .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 dramatic models, at least viewed from certain angles and 3D patterns will .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 softer gentler effects. The infill can also now fundamentally change the shape of your model and orientation joins density and pattern as an important impact factor. We also need to consider structural integrity so let’s explore these further.

How to Remove the Walls

Choosing which walls to remove is important when making an infill design. Some designs, such as concentric, need a horizontal wall (top or bottom) otherwise the pieces will fall apart, as the extrusions don’t overlap and are not connected. Removing bottom layers may also make your first layer more difficult to print in some instances. Removing vertical walls is a good place to start but you will need to play with the settings particularly for curved models.

Pattern Orientation

Orientation of your model can make a massive difference to its final look. For example, by rotating this building model, printed in aligned rectilinear infill, along the Z axis, we change the frontage from a plain wall to something much more intricate.

Similarly, this tower model looks rather boring in original orientation but when flipped 90 degrees in the y axis and sliced in concentric infill it has a completely different look.

Structural Integrity

Finally, we need to consider the structure of integrity of the model, its printability and sturdiness. When we look at our sliced model we need to ask: will this print?
The main factor that may stop an infill model printing successfully is the existence of extrusions that are not supported from below. Infill is designed to be attached to the walls in a normal model and may struggle without this support. Where we have unsupported extrusions in the core of a model increasing the density can alleviate the issue.

Where the sliced model has unsupported extrusions around the periphery or ‘hanging edges’ increased density is less likely to get rid of the unsupported extrusions but will make them smaller. It is also worth playing with z axis orientation as this can help in some cases.

Creating Art and Other Uses

When designing for infill, perhaps the most important thing to do is to experiment. Experiment in your slicer with density, pattern, orientation and wall thickness. Experiment by printing too, sometimes hanging edges and unsupported extrusions .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 patterns of their own that enhance your design.

Finally experiment with your models, this lampshade design was the direct result of a failed vase print!

The models and designs featured in this guide were printed on Original Prusa MK3S and Voxelab Aquila S2 (affiliate links). Follow 3DPrintBunny on Patreon to get early access to exclusive designs and generally to support creative 3D printing

You can see 3DPrintBunny’s designs on Thangs.
For more artwork, please visit the 3DPrintBunnyArt website.

Read more: Silhouette Art – How to Design and 3D Print

One of the best things about 3D printing is the opportunity to .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 your own designs and art projects. In this guide, I am going to share some simple techniques I use to .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 silhouette art and some ideas on how we can use these techniques for more complex projects.

The post Infill Pattern Art – 3D Printing Without Walls appeared first on .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 – 3D Printing, Scanning, Design Guides & Forums.

This guide covers:

• Silhouette and Silhouette Art – What is it?
• How to Design – Software Used
• Backgrounds – What Colours to Use
• Slicer Software Settings
• Other Examples of Silhouette Art
  • Layered Silhouette art
  • Cityscapes
  • Lithophane
  • A Bigger Project – Mini Theatre
  • Multilayer Silhouettes
• Conclusion & Links

Silhouette and Silhouette Art – What is it?

A silhouette is a shape (usually dark) depicting the outline of a person, object or scene. Silhouette art is .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级d by layering silhouetted shapes and scenes to .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 a 3D art effect. It can be very complicated with multiple layers of silhouettes or simple with only a single silhouette displayed against a contrasting background.

How to Design – Software Used

Designing simple 3d printed silhouette art is not too difficult to do and is a good way to become familiar with some of the design software available. Tinkercad is probably the most accessible software for new designers and is free, and this is what I use to make my silhouette art.
To design some basic silhouette art we need to .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 two parts, the frame, which includes the silhouette itself with a slot behind for the backplate, and the backplate itself, a thin plain rectangle slightly smaller than the frame.

You will need to download or .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 the picture you want to use and convert it into a file that can be uploaded into design software, I use an online converter to .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 an SVG file which I can then download into Tinkercad. The image you use needs to be either one solid piece or more than one piece where all pieces can be attached to the frame edge.
The frame is designed to be printed upside-down, so that it can be printed without supports, so when you upload your picture svg file, flip it over otherwise your picture will appear backwards. You can .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 a frame of size and shape to suit your picture and remember to include a slot for the backplate, I angle my slot along one edge to eliminate the need for supports.

Backgrounds – What Colours to Use

Traditionally printed silhouette art uses a dark colour for the silhouette, most often black, and a lighter more transparent backplate colour such as yellow or orange. These silhouettes look most dramatic when viewed with a window or other light source behind them.
Of course, we can mix these colours up and silhouettes with a dark backplate can look very striking, such as the Halloween ornaments pictured. We can also choose to cut out the image from the frame so that it shines through in the backplate colour. You can see an example of this in the Portal silhouette.

Slicer Software Settings

When you slice your silhouette art frame be sure to place it on the print bed with the flat image facing downward. Slow the print speed down for the first layer and avoid using adhesive such as glue-stick that will leave an impression on the print. The first layer will become the front of your art piece and therefore the print is particularly unforgiving of any first layer discrepancies.

Certain silhouettes can be enhanced by using a different bottom layer infill pattern so experiment with this. Geometric patterns can be accentuated by using the concentric pattern or you may choose to use a pattern such as Hibert curve to break up a silhouette with large surface area.

Other Examples of Silhouette Art

Example 1 – Layered Silhouette art

If you want to make your silhouette more detailed or colourful or you want to add depth, you can increase the number of silhouette layers in your artwork. .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 your layers working from the one with largest coverage at the back to the one with the least at the front. Remember to focus your detail in the area seen through the viewing hole of the silhouette in front. I find lining them up in Tinkercad very helpful in imagining the finished result.

Example 2 – Cityscapes

One way to enhance your silhouette art is to add detail to the backplate, and one effect that works well using this technique is the addition of the reflection of the original image. I .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级d a series of artworks using this technique that showed silhouetted cities from around the world. I placed the silhouetted city image about a third of the way up the frame and printed the reflected image onto the white backplate. To make it look more realistic I squashed the reflected image down to half the height. Tinkercad has a reflect tool which enables you to easily .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 the reflection.

Example 3 – Lithophane

Another way of enhancing your silhouette art is to use a lithophane as the backplate. In the pictured Mandalorian silhouette you can see the lithophane is used to provide the background to Din Djarin and Grogu’s silhouetted figures. Many online lithophane creators give you the option to choose the size of the lithophane and to .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 a thin edge around the outside of the picture and this works well when creating a lithophane as a backplate for your silhouette art.

A bigger project – Mini theatre

Once you feel comfortable designing silhouette art there are many ways you can use it in more complex projects. I wanted to make a miniature theatre with movable curtains, backdrops and characters. I used the silhouette art technique to portray simple characters and to .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 layered scenery.

Example 5 – Halloween Themed Multilayer Silhouettes

Here is a Halloween 3D printing idea. To feature Halloween in such a 3D way seems natural. Variations are endless. One of the biggest advantages of such scenes is that the biggest print, the frame, can be reused for the other scenes featuring other events such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. The slides are thin, which makes them easy to store for the next year.

A bigger frame will require a bigger build plate. A common PLA material works well here. Other materials, such as PETG, ABS, or even composites, might have issues with the bed adhesion. Extra glue may be required to keep sharp corners attached to the build plate. Each slide is 1 mm thick and it will take 5 layers to print with 0.2 layer height.

Conclusion & Links

Creating your own 3D printed silhouette art is a fun, easy way to grow your 3d print design skills and the technique can be used in many elements of more complex design projects. Why not have a go at creating today?

You can see all of 3DPrintBunny’s silhouette art on Thingiverse. The models and designs featured in this guide were printed on Original Prusa MK3S and Creality Ender 3 (affiliate links). Follow 3DPrintBunny on Patreon to get early access to exclusive designs and generally to support creative 3D printing.

You can see 3DPrintBunny’s designs on Thangs.
For more artwork, please visit the 3DPrintBunnyArt website.

Read more: Infill Pattern Art – 3D Printing Without Walls

In this article, we will have a look at infill, how it works and some of the available patterns before exploring how we can use it to enhance models, inform designs and .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 art.

The post Silhouette Art – How to Design and 3D Print appeared first on .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 – 3D Printing, Scanning, Design Guides & Forums.

This guide covers:

• What is Tensegrity
• How to Design Tensegrity Structures
  • Shapes
  • Bases and Anchors
• Print-in-Place Designs
• Slicer Software Settings – Continuous Extrusion
• Other Design Ideas
  • Stacked Structures
  • Clustered Structures – Sandals
  • Diorama – 3DBenchy

What is Tensegrity

Tensegrity, a portmanteau of tension and integrity, describes a system where two (or more) components are under compression inside a network of continuous tension. This tension/compression combination provides stability to the multi-part structure.

How to Design Tensegrity Structure

With respect to design the most important thing to understand is that to .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 a successful tensegrity structure you need at least two sets of ‘strings’ one set positioned top to bottom and the other bottom to top.

It is easy to see that 3d printing would be great for printing the two main parts of a tensegrity table to which wire or string could be added post print, and 3d-print designers have .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级d some beautiful models using this approach.

I wanted to take it one step further and design a completely 3D printed print-in-place tensegrity structure. A tensegrity where the strings were single extruded lines of filament printed into, rather than glued or tied onto, the model. To design a print-in-place tensegrity structure we need to look at specific 3d printing considerations as well as the design of the structure in more general terms. Let’s look at the general design first.

Design – Part Shapes

The most important element of any tensegrity design is the shape of the two (or more) parts and the relationship between them. The parts need to overlap vertically and horizontally to provide positions where the two types of strings (top to bottom, bottom to top) can be anchored. A C-shape, rounded or squared off, is the simplest way to achieve this but we can also use a V shape and, of course, we can add design features around these core shapes.

In the examples below, we can see a variety of designs that work well in tensegrity structures, example 3 which uses 2 short sets of strings will work, but is not as stable as example 1 where the two sets of strings straddle the middle section more completely.

There are two further things to consider when designing a tensegrity structure, the base and the anchor point.

Bases and Anchors

The base of your tensegrity structure needs to be flat and have a decent surface area. In general, I would advise that the base be at least the width and depth of the top part of the structure to ensure stability. Using a smaller base is not impossible but balance begins to play an increasing factor in models with smaller footprints.
Anchor points are the areas on the two main models where the strings connect. It is good practice to make sure these areas are neither too thin nor too narrow as these anchor points will experience tension stress and if too fragile may break.

3D Printing Print-in-Place Designs

As well as the general design considerations, creating a 3D printed print-in-place tensegrity structure introduces some extra challenges to overcome. We need to add the strings that hold the two parts together to the model, and we need to persuade the printer to print those lines as a single continuous extrusion that overlaps the main model parts. As the majority of 3D printers print in horizontal layers we also need to orient our print so that the tensegrity strings run along the x/y axes.

Designing the strings to be extruded as a single extrusion can be achieved by setting the height of the string to a single layer height and the width to the approximate width your printer normally prints at (use your nozzle size as a guide). Tensegrity print in place structures are best when printer at larger layer heights (0.3mm), the height dictates the thickness of the tensegrity string so small layer heights have significantly thinner strings which are more likely to break.

Slicer Software Settings – Continuous Extrusion

If we add a string like this directly to our model we will come across two issues when slicing. The string may not show up on your slicer preview and if it does it may appear to have small breaks in it or not be attached to the main model parts. We need to tell the printer that we want to print this string and we want to print it as a continuous extrusion that is attached at either end to the main model.

To make sure the printer will attempt to print the strings we need to check the box ‘detect thin walls’, ‘print thin lines’ or similar. The slicer sees the string as too thin to print so we are just telling it that, yes, it is thin but, yes, we do want to print it.

To address the fragmented printing of the string or the slicer starting to print the string in thin air we can make an adaptation to the model. By adding a gap, one layer thick around the string we can force the printer to print the string from beginning to end with no breaks.

By taking account of the tensegrity design and print-in-place considerations it is possible to design and print a completely 3D printed, print-in-place tensegrity model that is surprisingly strong and stable. I have successfully printed tensegrity structures on Creality Ender 3 and my Original Prusa MK3S, sliced using Cura and PrusaSlicer.

Other Design Ideas

Tensegrity structures can be stacked. The more structures you place on top of each other the more flexible the structure becomes. This tensegrity man is very bendy and bounces around happily!

Tensegrity structures can be clustered. By clustering tensegrity structures one next to another you increase the strength of the structure proportionate to the number of strings. Using this method you can .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 print in place models that are incredibly strong such as this tensegrity sandal which can hold the weight of a person.

Tensegrity structures can be incorporated into other models to accentuate a feature. In this Benchy diorama I designed for my Patreon patrons, I used tensegrity strings to make the 3 boats appear to be floating on the water.

Most of the models and designs featured in this guide were printed on Original Prusa MK3S and Creality Ender 3 (affiliate links). Follow 3DPrintBunny on Patreon to get early access to exclusive designs and generally to support creative 3D printing.

You can see 3DPrintBunny’s designs on Thangs.
For more artwork, please visit the 3DPrintBunnyArt website.

Read More: Infill Pattern Art – 3D Printing Without Walls

In this article, we will have a look at infill, how it works and some of the available patterns before exploring how we can use it to enhance models, inform designs and .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 art.

The post Tensegrity Models – Designs for 3D Printing and Slicer Settings appeared first on .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 – 3D Printing, Scanning, Design Guides & Forums.

Table of Contents

• Common Issues with Designs
• Playing with Different Slicer Settings
• Layer Height
• Layer Width – Wall Thickness
• Playing with Designs
• Intentional Holes
• Loops

3D Printing in Vase Mode

Vase mode settings can be found in your slicer by searching ‘vase’, ‘spiral’ or ‘spiralise’, check the box and your slicer will do the rest. Models printed in vase mode have no z seams and no infill.

The majority of models designed for vase mode are completely solid but you don’t actually need a solid model. Slicers use the outside contour of the model to generate the gcode so many ‘normal’ vase and container models will also print well in vase mode – Give it a try.

Common Issues with Designs

Vase mode relies on a continuous single outer contour so models that have several bed anchor points or that split into multiple parts will not print correctly in true vase mode. Looking at my box pig in Prusaslicer’s spiral mode you can see that only one of his legs will be printed and that the near horizontal top of his head will also cause problems.

The Cura slicer software, when faced with slicing a model with multiple anchor points in vase mode, will print ALL anchor points, in this case my box pig’s legs. It achieves this by converting that part of the print to ‘normal’ mode with 1 perimeter and no infill.

Ok so that is standard vase mode but what happens when we start to play with the slicer settings or the design characteristics and when (and why!) might we want to do this?

Playing with the Slicer Settings

Layer Height

The first slicer setting we can play with is the layer height and we see that larger heights produce more obvious layer lines and can reduce the detail of the model the same as when using other slicer profiles. These vases were printed at 0.1mm and 0.35mm layer height.

WHEN to use and WHY.
– Use a small layer height for models with a lot of detail or to produce a smoother less ‘printer’ look.
– Use a large layer height for a faster print or if you love your layer lines.

Layer Width – Wall Thickness

We can also change the width of the extrusion and this can be very useful when printing in vase mode. Models printed with a larger width are sturdier with thicker walls. Width can also influence the models depth of colour and translucency. The two pictures show the same vase printed at 0.4mm and 1.0mm extrusion widths.

WHEN to use and WHY
– Use a larger extrusion width for a sturdier print, a deeper colour and less translucency.
– Use a smaller extrusion width for a more delicate print with increased translucency – (example lightshade or tealight holder).

Playing with design

Intentional holes

You might think that because vase mode prints as a continuous extrusion it would be impossible to print models with holes in. In general this is the case but there is an exception and it utilises the limitation we saw on the top of my box pigs head. Vase mode cannot print flat or close to flat surfaces. If we purposefully design a model with flat sections we know these surfaces will not print and therefore we can utilize this limitation to .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 holey models. I had a go at designing a Volcano vase.

WHEN to use and WHY
– Use flat surfaces in your model designs to .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 vases and containers with multiple openings. The technique is also useful when designing tealight holders or lampshades to .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 gaps for the light to shine through.

Loops

We know that any 3d print model with a significant overhang will need supports, but vase mode cannot be printed with supports, so what happens when we add overhangs into a vase mode model? Well, as long as we use sharp and sudden promontories and each layer has some cross over with the one above, the model will print, and it will print with loops! If you imagine that any long thin sold block you add to your model will become a series of downward drooping loops you can begin to visualise how your model will print, so give it a go! Let’s look at my flower model as an example. The flower model has a solid centre with petals protruding. The petals are not on every layer and do not touch each other and this is what ensures the model will maintain its integrity.

WHEN to use and WHY
– Use sharp promontories to .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 loops across the surface of your design to soften, ‘fuzzify’, or add fun to your models.
– You can also add loops to specific parts of your design as edgings, patterns or characteristics such as hair or petals.

Conclusion

I love 3D Printing and I love experimenting. Tweaking slicer and design settings can produce unexpected results and sometimes they are really cool. So have a play with Vase mode – it’s soooo much fun.

The models and designs featured in this guide were printed on Original Prusa MK3S and Creality Ender 3 (affiliate links). Follow 3DPrintBunny on Patreon to get early access to exclusive designs and generally to support creative 3D printing.

You can see 3DPrintBunny’s designs on Thangs.
For more artwork, please visit the 3DPrintBunnyArt website.

Read more: 3D Scanned Tree Vases

Let’s use 3D scanning and vase mode 3D printing to achieve a real tree texture effect for functional or decorative items.

The post Vase Mode – Experimenting with Design and Settings appeared first on .国产黄a三级三级三级看三级 – 3D Printing, Scanning, Design Guides & Forums.