This is a super difficult model. There’s no good orientation for it.
I’d probably print it as oriented on the picture and use a lot of support. If classic support isn’t working for you, try organic/tree support, but I think the regular support would be better. Support should cover the full underside with this print.
When printing in PLA make sure you have really, really good cooling for this.
Thanks for the advice. I’m still learning, so what makes you say regular supports would be better for this compared to tree? I always struggle to get off tree supports from thin/skinny parts and end up breaking them.
In general, Tree support is easier to remove but has a higher chance of failing. Tree support also only really makes sense if you can get it to go around a part.
So say you are printing a standing O shape. With regular support the support will touch the bottom of the O and will be printed on top of the bottom part of the O, which will make that surface look rougher. Tree support will start sideways of the O and will only move into the O towards the top, so it will not touch the bottom part of the O, leaving it in good condition.
In the case here there’s nothing underneath most of the floating surfaces, so regular supports will be better.
Also, tree support is better when it supports small areas, regular support is better for large areas.
This is pretty obviously a model the designer never thought about printing. That said, I think I’d try splitting it straight down the middle ventrally. Imagine drawing a line from the middle bottom of the resonating chamber in the same direction as the strings up through the top of the fret board. That line cuts through the instrument. Each half is then laid on the new flat side and printed. I’m pretty sure you could get away without supports, though the keys might either need supports or need to be separated out from the model entirely and printed on their own.
How would I go about putting them together? With super glue?
I’d start with superglue, also @pixeltree@lemmy.blahaj.zone makes a very good point. Creating some aligned holes and pins would make the assembly much more exact. I did something like this when I edited this model to fit on my previous printer. Slice the model and while it’s aligned in whatever editor you are using, create a 3mm diameter pocket which goes 5mm deep in each side in three places, creating a triangle of pockets. Then print some pins which just fit those holes. This will ensure everything lines up nicely. Once printed and glued, you can use a filler putty like Bondo to fill any gaps. Then sand and paint.
That, but I’d also probably put some pins in to make it exact
A heat gun to weld the filiament together. Superglue actually sucks at bonding a lot of filaments.
To me it looks AI generated and the “designer” never tried to actually print it. I would consider this model to be unprintable as presented. Because to actually print it, it would need to be seriously redesigned with pre built supports.
If I were to design one like this, where would I best go? I’m learning Freecad, but I assume Blender is more suited for this thing?
Yeah Blender might be the better choice here.
Yeah, cad software is great for engineering modeling but blender is way better for artistic modeling
I’d cut it into 3 or 4 pieces and use well-tuned supports
You could flip it over and print it on a raft, but you might get a lot of burrs. Then use tree supports for the gourd-like thing under the neck.
I did that last night, but couldn’t get the supports to show up for under the gourd like thing.
. I thought may be orca knows it better than me on supports, but sure enough it detached itself midway. What’s worse, I woke up this morning and tried to remove the supports on the face, and they were super hard to remove. I pulled them with needlenose pliers and ended up ripping off the whole face of the instrument. Are my settings wrong, or did I just let it cool down too much? I used the settings from here https://www.reddit.com/r/OrcaSlicer/comments/15yjz2a/best_tree_support_settings_ive_used/I think the better answers are already here. It should have had preprinted supports, and the designer may never have thought about actually printing it. 2 halves makes sense.
It’s a shame the raft didn’t work out. If anything, you may still need to print the little gourd separately.
As mentioned this is not easy to print. You might consider cutting the model into two pieces. From the shown orientation, I would do a planar cut just below the top surface, trying to capture those “screws” (I don’t know what they’re called, they tighten the strings) in the top cut and then flip the bottom section over so the spherical dome is printed like an upside down bowl. This should only require supports for the large piece at the top of the neck. In Bambu Studio (possibly OrcaSlicer) you can also add connector pieces for proper alignment when doing cuts too, but they may he unnecessary when gluing it back together.
Also for future reference, when you see models that only show 3D renderings and no actual finished print, you know you’re in for some trouble. I try to avoid these at all costs.
Word of the day: Tuning knobs. Or machine head when referring to the entire assembly, worm gear and all.
My first thought was “why do you need a measuring spoon with mlok‽”
Then I opened the model and realized it was a stringed instrument.
lol yeah it’s a traditional string instrument from the south of India. It’s around the size of a bass guitar
Would split it lengtwise, print as two parts and glue the parts later.
