3D Printed Shamrock Vase



Since it's St. Patrick's Day this week, I thought I'd share a print project for the holiday. I picked this cute Shamrock Vase from the designs on Thingiverse to print on our 3D printer.


I opened the design file in Cura and noticed that unlike the previous designs that I printed in vase mode, this one was a solid column. So, in addition to the usual settings for a vase (.2 res, 0% infil, Spiralize Outer Contour), I also had to set the top layers to 0 so it would print as an open vase. The original design file was also quite large and laying on it's side. So, I rotated it, and set it at about 37% it's original size.


I used green PLA to print the vase, but I noticed as it printed, it was over extruding. There were bumps all over the outside surface. It reminds me of a music box cylinder. The usual culprit for over-extrusion is the temp setting isn't quite right--which is odd since we've printed other projects with this filament at that temp (200 degrees) that have worked perfectly.


Besides the bumps and some fine strings in the center of the vase, it printed cleanly. I can remove the fine strings, but the vase will have to remain bumpy. But, it's still a perfectly lovely decoration for St. Patrick's day. Check out my other St. Patrick's Day Craft Projects.

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