[OBDF 110] Ceramic 3D Print *Warning: Adult Content*

This is the last blog entry for this course. For our final assignment, we had the privilege to work with ceramic 3D printing. Bryan, our instructor, has been researching and experimenting 3D printing with clay. He showed us some of the projects he worked on and I have been very fascinated by this technology, especially the one with the speaker moving the print bed to create patterns. The premise of this assignment is to design and fabricate a continuous flow ceramic 3D print. Sarah and I teamed up with Neeko and Stephan to brainstorm concepts as well as to create a 3D model.

4 adults were asked to come up with ideas for an object and we decided on number 7. Go figure.

The basic form of the tip modeled in Rhino.

The tip carefully sculpted in Meshmixer. We found it surprisingly hard to make a realistic tip from memory so we had to look up a reference photo.

We imported the mesh back to rhino and combined the tip with the lower shape. I learned two commands, MeshBooleanDifference and DeleteMeshFaces, while trying to remove the bottom surface of the tip.

The printing began after we sliced it in Slic3r to make sure it's hollow and all set. Bryan said our object had an 85% chance of falling over as it seemed very top-heavy. I realized this after seeing how small our base was.

As everyone expected, it did finally collapse, but I think we were all surprised by how far it got before the inevitable failure. Henry Ford once said, "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." I believe my group members and I know that in order for this design to work, we obviously need to have a much wider bottom. Also, perhaps some Viagra mixed with the clay might help.

I think our design is likely to succeed with a FDM printer as it takes longer for the clay to dry and firm up than melted plastic.

"Impotence"

I thought this was a fun, intriguing, and laid-back way to wrap up our class this semester. I hope you enjoyed reading these process blogs as much as I did writing them. 3D object design is definitely one of the paths I want to continue in my journey through ACAD. I look forward to take more classes with Bryan in the years to come!