Sarah Jane's Craft Blog

Check out Halloween and Fall crafts from Sarah Jane's Craft Blog!

I found another cute Halloween print project to share with you. This flexi skeleton print was the perfect follow up to last week's pumpkin . This skeleton design was right about the size of our print bed (on the Ender 3 v. 2 ). I loaded some white PLA , put some hair spray on my print bed (for adhesion) and got it started printing. The skeleton was printed using standard settings (.2 resolution and 20% infil). It took about 6 hours to print, and came out cleanly. There was only one problem; the limbs and torso came up from the bed easily, but the head was stuck. I left it on the print bed over night to see if it would contract a bit as it cooled, but no such luck. So I tried a technique I saw online of running some dental floss under the print, and it worked! After the skeleton was freed from the print bed, it was exactly what I expected--a fun bendy skeleton that is big enough to use as a Halloween decoration.

I came across this cute window pumpkin and new it was the perfect 3D printing project for a busy week in October. I loaded some orange PLA into our 3D printer and set up the file using standard resolution (.2) and 40% infil. The designer of this print project was really smart to put in those divots in the bottom of the design so that when the print project was finished, it was easier to pull up from the bed. The project took about 4 hours to print in total. The finished print came out super smooth. I was really happy with the finished surface. The pry divots worked perfectly. I was able to pop it up off the print bed after letting it cool for just a little while. I used a small suction cup to hang it in the window. You can see the infil pattern and the pry spots when the light shines through it, so be sure to pick something that you'll like the look of.

I had gray in the 3D printe r from last week's shark print , so I decided to print these little manatee figures that I had my eye on. My love for these unusual creatures started after my mom picked me up a beach towel with manatees on it when I was about 13 years old (I think it was a birthday present). I had asked for a dolphin beach towel. So, at first I was a bit annoyed, but it turns out I never had to worry about someone else having the same beach towel and manatees are pretty cool. I printed these guys using the gray PLA I already had loaded with .16 resolution and 20% infil. Because of the slightly higher resolution, they took a few hours to print. I selected the two models that didn't require supports and they came out perfectly. I might have to smooth off the top of their heads just a bit and put a dot of paint in their eyes to really bring them to life, but I'm really pleased with my little manatees.

So, I may have a thing for articulated 3D prints . We've tried out several on our 3D printer ( Butterflies , Dragons , T-Rex , Octopus ). I think they are a lot of fun because they are "print in place" designs that are often relatively quick prints and have movement as soon as you take it off the print bed. So when I came across this Articulated Shark design, I knew I had to give it a go. I started out printing the shark in purple pla just because it's my favorite color. There are 4 print files to choose from, and I chose the one with the mouth that opens and that has a slightly happier expression for this print. The suggested settings for the print are the slightly higher resolution (.16 Res) and 0% infil. Each of the sections of the shark print hollow and are completely enclosed. Supposedly, it floats (but I've yet to test). This print took about 5 hours because of the higher resolution. It came out mostly clean except the teeth were bungled. After picking ou...