The big idea behind my project was to create a toothbrush holder with 3D printing. My current set up is just having my toothbrush lie out in a bag that I also use for taking it on trips. But every toothbrush holder I've had in the past has been heavy, closed off, and gets wet and dirty easily. So my main goal was to make my holder as airy and open as possible.
I first measured my toothbrush to see how tall my holder would need to be. I then considered having a long holder for multiple toothbrushes and possibly toothpaste, with a hole on top for each. I then figured that this idea could easily tip over, given the material it would be printed out in. After having learned some new techniques in class, I then set out to make a vase type holder. Below are some picture inspirations.
I knew I wanted a vase with two bodies. Since my initial design included hexagons, I decided to start with two stacked hexagons and rotate them around the z-axis to create my vase. I had to do this a couple of times to make sure the bottom part was bigger than the top, so the whole structure wouldn't fall over. I ended up not using the top hexagon and instead going for a shape that went out, and then in, just for a bit. As shown above, I also really liked the idea of geometric cut outs in the vase. I knew I wanted the cut out to be large on the bottom, so that water wouldn't be trapped in the base, and then more intricate cut outs as you went to the top. I didn't have a big plan for these, and mostly just trial-and-errored the various cutouts to see what worked, and free-handed the more complicated patterns. One challenge was that I was unsure of the best way to cut out the shaped on a slanted surface without having of create a new slanted plane for each cutout. I was able to solve this with vertical planed and the extrusions/cut tool.
So I created the vase as described above for my toothbrush. I designed it in Fusion360 with the rotating function we learn in class, and used free hand sketched and extruded them to create the cuts. I then downloaded the design as an .stl file and uploaded it into NVBots and then watched it print!
Reflect on the process of making this project. What did you learn? What would you do differently?
I would think more about the thickness of my object. This material can be a bit flimsy, and so having the right thickness is key. Also I might rethink the geometries and if there was a way to do them such that the supports wouldn't be such a hassle to remove and I wouldn't have to worry about trying to remove them while also trying not to break the vase. All in all however this was a fun project, and I think the vase looks pretty cool, especially in front of my bed lamp.
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