3D printing- the simplicity Vs the 'oh my god its going to cost how much?'

3d printing or prototyping is an interesting one. im sure youve all seen the awesome looking models in the 'monkey house' near the computer labs...

this was nearly the only option for me. the form (albeit based on simple geometry) was very complex to even attempt to hand build it.

the other advantage was that i could use my existing computer model and it would be 100% accurate. but i can assure you its not that simple.

first you have to get everything to fit into a 200x250x200 box...that was ok, but its the height the really makes it expensive as it take longer... and at 80cents per minute, youd want it to get through it QUICK!

Then theres is errors in your model. what looks amazing in a render possibly doesnt look amazing to the very expensive bit of machinery. so its a constant back and forth effort to get the model going... but the proof should be in the final product i hope... which i pick up tomorrow

Here is the shell of the model and how i cut it up to reduce the height


this is the box it must fit in


this is exactly how it SHOULD look...


and the joys of having errors in your model-pink is good, grey is BAD...


the model is all pink! FINALLY