3D Printed Stationary Stand - Minimising the PLA Used

Challenge: For a student confident in designing 3D Printer to produce a stationary holder that required a minimum amount of PLA to be created.   This would require the component pieces to be thin to avoid excess use of the material.

Background: This student had produced a number of well designed and created 3D Prints and was confident in working independently.   The challenge to the student was to create a print that would minimise the use of the filament, to make something which a specific purpose using the smallest amount of filament that was possible.   The student created the 3D design and it was then sent back to the student to refine it to ensure that it was using the minimum amout of material possible.    The student was able to modify the design to meet this brief and also personalised it by including her name on it in a significant location and size.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - The student was adapting her design to ensure that a minimum amount of PLA (plastic) was used, this was in essence the purpose of the entire design challenge.

Size: The design measured 165mm across and was 140mm high.   The front storage was 30mm high and the main base of the storage was 60mm high and reflected the dimensions of the print.

Timeframe: Ten hours - while this may seem significant it should be noted that other versions of this print have been up to twice as long in terms of print and typically have been in the fifteen hour range, which has been reduced significantly.  Given the intention of the print and purpose of the print      

What we would do differently: Very little this print worked extremely well and the student involved felt that it had been extremely successful.   There was one side of the print that could have been made slightly thicker however the initial concern that it might split or break has yet to be realised.