This blog and the companion YouTube video will go over the design checks, rendering output, and finished 3D print of an ornament design. For details on the design process check out the first blog and video!
Throughout the design process I verified the center of gravity location using SOLIDWORKS Mass Properties.
Since the part was modeled as a multi-body part, additional steps were necessary to verify its range of motion. My preferred approach was to use the Save Bodies command to generate a corresponding assembly from the multi-body part. This allowed me to apply mates and use tools like Collision Detection to verify the performance of the bell.
To verify the aesthetics of the design before sending it to print, I brought the ornament into SOLIDWORKS Visualize and performed some renders. To produce a marketing style image, I rendered out a .PNG with alpha channel so I could easily overlay the graphics I wanted, to produce a greeting card style image. Alternatively, the background image could have been brought into Visualize.
Finally, the finished 3D printed part can be seen below. On the left it is in its raw state direct off the print bed after minor post processing (blowing out leftover powder with compressed air). On the right you can see the ornament after it has been cleaned and dyed black.
The ornament itself is tiny – it fits inside a 2” bounding box. The top holes are 1mm in diameter. The tiny details I added are quite well resolved, even the faux phillips head indents on each side of the mounting arm. The part is also very resilient- no need to fear accidental damage during handling like 3D prints of years ago.
I was really happy with the end result! The bell functions just as expected, and it’s great to be able to take part in fun design contests like this. I will be continuing to document other projects I’ve worked on, so if you liked this, stay tuned for more!
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