3D printing is method of additive manufacturing where material is deposited, joined and solidified to create a 3D object of choice. The Objective: Create an object that cannot be made subtractively.
For this assignment, the object I have though of is a whistle with a ball inside. As subtractive manufacturing refers to a method of manufacturing where material is removed until the object is made is achieved. The whistle with ball inside cannot me made through subtractive manufacturing as the whistle has to be opened in order to place the ball made separately inside which means that it is not made in one piece, especially if it is made of plastic as it is not malleable.
For my 3D model of a whistle with ball inside, the ball will be printed inside the whistle and it is detached by poking it.
To do this, I referred to this tutorial below on how to create the whistle and other 3D whistle files to get an idea of how to make it.
Figure 1: Whistle Tutorial
Here is the break down of how I created the whistle with ball inside.
Creation of whistle
Sketching whistle body
To begin, open a new design and start a new sketch with a 20mm diameter circle. Then insert a 16mm diameter circle inside the previous circle.
Figure 2: Circle Within a Circle
Next, from the top of the outer circle, draw a line 32mm to the left. Then draw another 32mm line, 2mm below the previous line. Number of lines drawn must match Fig.3 below.
Figure 3: Drawing whistle shaft
Then connect the top 2 lines together and bottom 2 lines together and add small squares at the mouth of the whistle so they resemble Fig.4.
Figure 4: Joining whistle shaft
Using conic curve function, add a curve from the lower mouth of the whistle to the lower part of the circular whistle chamber as shown in Fig.5. This is to act as support for the whistle shaft while making the whistle more aesthetically pleasing.
Figure 5: Adding conic curve
Using the conic curve again, add a second smaller curve above the first conic curve to make it a wall. Refer to Fig.6.
Figure 6: Adding second curve
Next, we will be making the cut out for the air to escape and give the whistle its sound. First, add a line extending from the top of the circular whistle body at 46 degrees as shown in Fig.7.
Figure 7: Adding line to make whistle sound.
Add a second line 4mm to the left of the slanted line done in Fig.7. The sketch should resemble Fig.8. Then using trim function, remove redundant lines until it resembles Fig.9.
Figure 8: Adding 2nd line for whistle shaft
Figure 9: Removing lines
Lastly, we will be adding a lanyard ring to the whistle. Add 6mm and 10mm diameter circle as shown in Fig.10. Then remove excess lines so whistle sketch will look like Fig.11. The sketch is complete :)
Figure 10: Adding circles for the lanyard ring
Figure 11: Removing redundant lines
Extruding Whistle and Lanyard Ring
Using the extrude function select the parts in Fig.12 and change extrude direction to be symmetrical. Extrude to distance of 7.50mm in Fig.13. Then repeat the steps for lanyard portion of the whistle but with a distance of 3mm. Once completed, it will resemble Fig. 14.
Figure 12: Selecting Symmetrical Extruding Direction
Figure 13: Extruding Whistle Body
Figure 14: Extruded Product
Completing The Whistle
Now both sides of the whistle needs to be covered up. To do this, use the sketch function on one of the sides of the whistle. I will first do on the top side of the whistle.
Figure 15: Selecting Top Side of Whistle
Figure 16: Sketching Whistle Wall
Then follow the outline of the whistle body, excluding the lanyard ring to create the sketch for the whistle side walls.
Figure 17: Sketch of Whistle Wall with Body
Figure 18: Sketch of Whistle Wall without Body
Next extrude the sketch done by 1mm, it would resemble Fig 19.
Figure 19: Whistle after Extruding Wall Sketch
Repeat the steps above to create the whistle wall on the other side of the whistle.
Next, we will make the ball inside the whistle. To do this, use the sphere function and select plane of choice. I used top plane. Make a 9mm diameter ball. (Measurements for the sphere in Fig. 21 is wrong, do follow the written instructions)
Figure 20: Selecting Sphere Function
Figure 21: Creating 9mm Diameter Sphere
Then move the sphere so that it adheres to the inner side of the lowest whistle wall shown in Fig. 22.
Figure 22: Moving Sphere to Lowest Whistle Wall
Lastly, select the whole whistle and move it until it is flush with the grid.
Figure 23: Moving Whistle to be Flush with Grid
Figure 24: Completed Whistle
Next save file in stl. format and open file in cura to slice and check the duration for the whistle to print. For my whistle sketch, I used the default standard settings for Ender 3 Pro but changed the infill percentage to 10% and printer bed temperature to 65 degree Celsius with skirt as plate adhesion was difficult without the whistle moving from the original position. With that you are set to print out your very own whistle.
Once whistle is printed, use a small metal screw driver to pry and free the ball from the whistle wall.
Final Product
Figure 25: 3D Printed Whistle
Figure 26: Video of Whistle being Blown
Figure 27: 3D Model of Whistle with Ball
Reflection
This practical was definitely on one the more enjoyable ones as we could express out creativity and innovativeness. Although choosing to make a whistle with a ball seemed easy, it was a difficult process as there were problems faced during the design and printing of the whistle. After a few alterations and unsuccessful prints, the whistle is completed. I find 3D printing to be very interesting as altering different factors such as print bed temperature, infill density, filament layer height can lead to difference in quality and speed of print. I hope to use 3D printing more in the future for my own projects and for future projects as 3D printing is a versatile method to fabricate any part needed with little constraints to shape being created.
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