Emerging butterfly
March 3rd
On my way to our 6th SDX meeting, I was trying to find the right words for my personal- and product bio. It’s difficult to decide what to add and what to leave out, and it is especially hard for me to condense everything I want to say in a short, easy-to-understand format which also has the right tone to catch people’s attention.
Here are some of my first rough ideas:
- Have you ever…
- Protecting our environment has always been at the forefront of my mind…
- Moss is everywhere! It gives a boring grey wall a vibrant green, velvety feel. At the start of this project, it was an obvious choice…
- And although the moss on this product no longer produces oxygen, it will still give you a mood boost whenever you look at it and remind you of the fragility of our planet.
- I was born and lived my first 23 years in Hungary, but my heart now partially belongs to Scotland. This was the country which allowed me to have the opportunities that brought me to this moment, creating a product so dear to me
- A portion of the proceedings will go to the WWF Save the Amazon appeal…
- As soon as I saw this photo, I knew it was the best choice. Not only are the San Rafael waterfalls in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest, which is “the lungs of the Earth”, one of the most biologically diverse parts of the planet, it is also aesthetically gorgeous – the waterfalls, the green hills, the rocky faces are all contrasting and still beautifully working together to form the perfect diorama.
At the meeting I received some constructive criticism about my lily pad and the blue chiffon. Having been shown just how nice the product would look simply with some rocks and the dark green leaf around really took me down a peg, and although we didn’t have the chance to try them out on the actual shelves, I am pretty confident it will look amazing.
As for the wires, because it takes me so long to make them and isn’t even sturdy, so it looks very hand-made and non-uniform, I was suggested chicken wire, which would definitely cut down on my time, but not on cost. Also, it will make my product look quite different to what I originally imagined. But it’s worth a try!
But as I’m doing my research I found chainmail could be a similarly behaving product, although not sturdy, it would be flowing down, much like the waterfall, and it is more aesthetically pleasing. Plus, my family name means Armour. It seems rather difficult to find chainmail in the shape I want, or even cuttable, because that’s not how it works, but metal chains hanging down might be an option.
I also found these open chicken wire cloches which look quite nice. The difference is the thicker wires to give it structure and break it up into sections – definitely something I need to think about and test out. More material purchasing, yay!
On my way home I wrote a few lines of what I thought might be mentioned in my bio. It’s very wordy and unfinished still, but that’s a good thing – it means there is more information I can later make more concise.
Welcome to Paradise!
My name is Krissy, and I’m honoured to meet you! I was born and lived my first 23 years in Hungary, but in 2016 decided to try something new – that was when I moved to Scotland.
In 2019 my product design studies started, and I felt as if I have finally found my “calling”. I’m in my third year of university now, and this is my first time selling something I created.
One of the things I’m most passionate about is designing products that cause the least harm to the environment. Our planet is in a fragile state, and designers have a big responsibility to help it heal and thrive.
The “Mossy falls” is my attempt at this, by using sustainable materials, and depicting the “lungs of the Earth,” – The Amazon rainforest”.
The area depicted is called the San Rafael waterfalls in the Ecuadorian Amazon, and when I first saw a photo of it I felt a sense of awe. I hope you will, too!
My version is created out of laser-cut plywood, hand picked and preserved moss, and natural coarse sand.
I bought 15m of 3mm aluminium wires, because I really like the middle picture –
I will get some 13mm chicken wire, hopefully tomorrow at B&Q.
This weekend I will be finally setting up the laser cutter with Lightburn, cut out one sculpture’s worth of parts, glue them, test the soldering, figure out how to thin the mud on the moss pieces, glue them on, glue on the coarse sand, do a little happy dance when everything is working and looks amazing, write and design a bio, and make a mockup of a business card. And maybe engrave those, too.
Busy but exciting!
March 4th
I had big plans for today. I meant to test all the electronic components, solder them the way I meant them to be inside the product, test if it works, laser cut the layers, glue them together, glue the moss, the coarse sand, and do a happy dance.
What I have done, is try to solder the red cable inside the USB cable to a red 16 gauge one, panic because it’s hot and scary, then solder the thick red cable to the button, melt the corner of the button, realize my partner was right in reminding me that as I designed it, someone could just tug on the cable and pull out all the innards, so I need some way (possibly a 3D printed TPU cable strain relief, which has a hole through it, thin on the end of the USB cable, thicker on the inside of the box, so that it cannot be pulled out) to make sure that can’t happen, refuse his suggestion in using crimping instead of soldering (too much plastic), have a little meltdown because nothing is going the way I planned, think I need to completely eliminate the electronics and just have a boring sculpture which doesn’t light up, and give myself a pep talk, because I’m doing great, and it’s okay if I can’t sell any of my products, because the important part is learning, and dear god, am I learning everything.
So that was my afternoon, how was yours?
In all seriousness, I am doing my best, and whatever the outcome, I am having fun and learning about a lot of things I would not have done, had I not chosen this project. But it would be great if I could sell at least two or three of them. That would make me feel really good.
I also remembered that if I don’t add some way to secure the button so that it does not get pushed inside the body of the product, I would be in big trouble. I sense some redesigning is in order.
My first time trying to 3D print with the TPU filament was alright – I was able to exchange the PETG which is in there before to the new spool of grey TPU I had, but my first print with factory settings didn’t go great. Poor wolfie.
Now I am trying some different settings (215C nozzle temp, 75C bed temp, 70% printing speed, Z offset -1.63 I think) to see if it works better. However, the possibilities TPU allows me, it being a flexible material, make me very excited.
The second test was definitely better, but there is still stringing, and the layers can come apart if forced.
Third time’s the charm (hopefully): 220 nozzle, 75 bed, 110% speed, Z offset -1.70
Third time wasn’t the charm either.
Fourth-time settings: 210/50 temp, 20 speed, -1.75 Z
Five: 210/45, 45 speed, -1.7 Z, 255 fan speed – definitely better. It seems to be the speed which helped, and maybe the bed temperature. Not sure about the fan. Let the wolfie army grow!
Six: 210/45, 45 speed, -1.7 Z, 255 fan speed – I think I cracked it!
Okay, maybe not. But definitely the best so far.
Okay, now that I examined them more closely, the previous version is the winner. For today anyway.
I received the 3mm aluminium cable, and it is definitely too thick. I just can’t win, can I?
Updating the cut files: I added a small tab to Layer -7, just below the switch, and designed a 10×19 mm extra piece to glue vertically between this and Layer -1. This way, hopefully, the wood glue will be enough to hold the piece, and the switch, in place.
I also tried to make the chicken wire in CAD, which I watched lots of videos for, and still couldn’t make it work perfectly, so I decided to make a quick Photoshop mockup with an eyeballed 13mm and 25mm chicken wire. I honestly can’t decide, and I need to, because soon I will have to go buy some. I suppose what I could do is take my quick model I made on Wednesday, and test it against the chicken wires they have in B&Q.
A friend suggested the smaller one which I also prefer – it is more similar to the scale of the sculpture. 13mm chicken wire it is!
The rhombus and square wire shapes were another option but quickly eliminated.
March 5th
I demanded of myself that I would take the Sunday off. But I was so inspired when I woke up today that I just had to do some research and light CAD.
I realized that I may not need the chicken wire after all, since I have the 3mm aluminium wire now – I could just use a few strands of that, provided I can make it look attractive, since it is strong enough to keep its shape unless it is put under heavy pressure. I would like to think if anyone ever purchases this product, they would give it the proper respect.
I also realized that I do not need to solder inside the box itself – I can simply measure the wires very carefully, solder all the pieces together as they are designed, and insert them into the proper places. If I insert them all before Layer -7 on the bottom, they should all fit nicely.
However, before I render these again and create another fancy gif, I should design the USB cable strain relief.
I played around with the 3mm aluminium wire a little, and I quite like the cage effect it creates. It uses 1 longer twisted piece for the two front wires, and 3 pieces of shorter ones – 1×35 + 3×15 + 80 cm/product. The 15.24 m wire I purchased should be enough for about 18-19 products.
The image is a mix of the CAD render and the photo I took of the wire model, Photoshopped together.
The problem is that the plyer I’m using is damaging the wire – I will need to use another one. Luckily, I have a set of different plyers.
I designed a really quick and rough strain relief. I’m concerned about the thin walls, but I wanted to try printing it as soon as I could. TPU is exciting!
When 3D printing, I used 205/45C, 35 speed, -1.75 Z, 200 fan speed. Although there is still some stringing, I am pretty damn happy with the result! It will need some tweaking, which was to be expected – I will need to make the hole ever so slightly larger as right now though not impossible, it’s rather difficult to put the (cut) USB cable through. But this just means it is a really snug fit – and it’s possible to feed it through due to the elasticity of the filament.
I can also make the shape a little more appealing, and to save material I can cut some of the frame off. Round the outside and the inside, cut more off the corners. However, it is holding together really nicely, the layers aren’t coming apart, and it’s absolutely perfect for my needs! If I were to nitpick anything, it would be the light grey colour, which is the only TPU I had, but it’s a really minor issue, easily fixable by purchasing some black filament.
March 6th
I started today with a little chores and recreation, but also designed a different version of the strain relief. Then I kept playing around with it because I forgot to a bit from the back to make it thinner. Let’s see how this one prints!
My settings in the Cura program:
- Orientation: flat on the side Z-offset: -1.75
- Layer height: 0.15mm
- Line width: 0.3mm
- Wall thickness: 1mm
- Wall line count: 3
- Top/Bottom thickness: 0.5mm
- Infill density: 20%
- Infill pattern: Concentric
- Printing temp: 200C
- Build plate temp: 55C
- Build plate temp initial layer: 65C
- Print speed: 25mm/s
- Enable jerk control (yes)
- Support structure: Tree
- Support pattern: Concentric
- Build plate adhesion type: Brim
- Brim width: 5 mm
So one thing I will definitely need to change in the settings, is go back to a Skirt adhesion type from the Brim – I don’t see the point, it uses more filament, and it is a lot more difficult to get off the build plate. I also had to use scissors to cut it off the part. But then I’m no 3D printing expert.
Another thing to change is the diameter of the hole from the inner side. For some reason during printing the consistency has changed and it makes it impossible to insert the cut USB cable through it. The front tube seems to be fine.
I do need to change my build plate – the first few times I used it I may have scratched it and burnt the first layers into it, which is what is seen on the bottom layer. For now, I can place it in a clear corner on Cura.
New settings:
- Top/Bottom thickness: 0.6mm
- Printing temp: 210C
- Printing temperature initial layer: 220C
- Build plate temp: 50C
- Build plate temp initial layer: 55C
- Print speed: 30mm/s
- Build plate adhesion type: Skirt
It took about 20-25 minutes – about a third of what the previous one was.
And the result is absolutely perfect! The cable goes through with a little force, but very difficult to pull out, the layers are gorgeous and the base is nice and smooth. No stringing at all! None that is visible anyway. Man, that feels good.
March 7th
I fixed the gif with the updated layers, and added separate steps for each piece in each layer, as well as the electronics, to help me with assembly.
I spent most of the day figuring out soldering. I cut the cables to the length which I designed (125mm red, 165mm red). I received constructive criticism from by my boyfriend, who reminded me that all professional circuits have plastic insulating covers for a reason, which I did not plan into my product – and created a successful circuit, with the USB cable, two white LEDs, resistor and switch button. It totally works!
I also tried to add the thin heat shrink tubes I have (the wider one has not arrived yet) but some areas, where the LEDs meet the cable and it is more an L shape, I couldn’t get to. Also the very small connections I couldn’t put a tube on because the heat of the soldering iron immediately shrunk it where I didn’t want it.
I also forgot to add the strain relief I printed, but as I don’t plan on permanently inserting this into a product it’s okay, I did test it with a USB cable before. I will need to print many more of them.
Right now I am testing if the circuit works securely by having it plugged in for as long as possible (about 3 hours). The LED’s are quite bright, but that should be okay if the fibre optics work. I will only really be able to test this once I laser cut and glued the layers. I really need to get on with that – I had the excuse of doing all the other designing before it and finalizing that as much as possible because I didn’t want to waste 8 plywood sheets if it doesn’t work, but now I have no more excuses, other than being slightly concerned to use it.
I know that the point of this whole exercise/project is for me to learn about physical product design and business, but the fact I can also learn about website editing is a really great bonus. I have been looking for a decent gallery and I think I’ve finally found one which is good for displaying many images!
I thought it might be a good time to try printing a few more strain reliefs. I decided to do 9, so overall I will have 10. Cura says it will take about 2 hours. I have never printed the same model multiple times during the same session before – it was a little cumbersome because Cura isn’t as easy to use. I couldn’t find a way to create a grid-like system which I control, I couldn’t select all the files just by dragging the mouse, and Ctrl+C doesn’t work to copy them – you have to right-click, and choose “Multiply selected”. Bit of a pain. I might eventually try a different slicer.
So I noticed after a few layers that the print is stringing. That is because my printer did not have the speed information I selected in Cura – everything else seems fine, but it doesn’t save the printing speed, and instead of the 30 which TPU requires, it was printing with a 100%. It also changed the print time to 4 hours – quite a bit of energy used, but if it was done by a factory it would be significantly more time- and cost efficient.
The print was done with about 5% already so I decided to change the speed mid-print and see what happens. Something to remember later.
Someone on a forum to a similar issue someone mentioned said that the printer shows the number 100 because that is a 100% of the speed set in Cura – which would mean my 30 would take the 30mm/sec to 10. So I changed it just in case to 50 – but the print time is still nearly 4 hours. That’s a long time for a few tiny things.
About halfway through the print I noticed a lot of stringing again. I’m not sure what changed, but I assumed it may be due to the printer getting hotter over the 2 hours it has been on, so I turned the temperature from 210 to 200.
So the prints finally finished. And I can’t say that I am impressed. The settings were the same – although I changed the speed, that should not have made a lot of difference, as TPU needs as lo a speed as possible.
And yet, the layers have holes in them, lots of stringing, which is difficult to remove and make it look attractive, and I don’t feel confident about how long it would last in a product.
Not super happy – this thing took over 4 hours. Perhaps printing separately is still a better idea. I think it took longer than it would have individually.
I will do a very small adjustment to the model – the cable goes in with a little effort but it comes out quite easily. I’m thinking if I lower the inner diameter by a very small number, but increase the outer wall with a little more, the cable should still go in, but the strain relief being inserted into the hole in the wall of the product (the glued-together plywood layers), the force of that should keep it intact. And to be fair, the product isn’t designed for little kids.
I attempted to only place one piece on the print bed in Cura again and played around with the Preview option with a lot of different settings. Once I thought I had it, I tried to print it, but I immediately saw it was not working. I did add the support option, maybe that was what looked so wrong, but it was a mess, because I manually leved the print bed before, and forgot to change the Z-offset.
I had to go back to version 4, and place my new design in, then change a very few things. Luckily I saved each project separately, and the settings profiles, so I can easily go back to them.
With the final two (or rather two and a half) attempts, I am giving up.
I’m happy with the one working proof I have of the design of the strain relief, but a friend who has been getting into soldering lately suggested using hot glue, and I realized that this idea is genius!
So simple, and probably a lot more eco-friendly than having the 3D printer on for hours and hours only to have the part fail. If the product were to be mass-produced, this could absolutely be an option. But for now – I will try the hot glue.