In the construction of this large printed statue, we're now incorporating mid-level stiffening plates, a crucial step in ensuring the project's success. This update explains the importance of these plates, the materials used, and the integration process into the statue.
Design Objective
The introduction of stiffening plates serves a dual purpose: maintaining alignment of the statue's layers during the initial glue-up phase and ensuring the final assembly possesses enough structural integrity to withstand being moved around the workshop. Anticipating the statue to tip the scales at over 100 lbs, the reinforcement provided by these plates is indispensable.
Material Selection
PLA has been the go-to material for all printed components of this statue and seems to be working well. Its attributes—strength, rigidity, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness—make it ideally suited for such a large-scale project. As previously discussed, initial bonding of the printed pieces is achieved using CNA glue. Additional bonding and gap filling is done using epoxy, fiberglass, and epoxy mixed with microballoons. Achieving the correct consistency with this epoxy/micro balloon mixture is critical: too runny, and it fails to hold its shape; too thick, and it struggles to bond. The adjustment process to find the right balance is fairly intuitive. The gap filling characteristics of the correctly prepared thickened epoxy mix is useful in filling in the gaps on the visible side of the print with the joints faired and smoothed in future steps.
Technical Steps
The assembly of these plates began with basic yet essential prep work. The edges of the printed plates were tidied up using a de-burring tool, ensuring a clean fit. Assembly was done on a flat surface covered with parchment paper to avoid unintended adhesion from the CNA glue. One additional task was transforming the hollow sectional slice from the model into a solid plate. This required exporting the sliced "ring" to ZBrush, filling it to create a solid "plate", and then importing it back in Meshmixer for slicing to size for printing.
Simplification of the Build
Integrating these stiffening plates simplifies the assembly process and significantly enhances the statue's durability and manageability during this stage of the build. Their role becomes evident when moving the assembled parts, showcasing the enhanced structural integrity. Detailed preparation ahead of assembly ensures each statue segment is both sturdy and accurately aligned.
This methodical approach not only reinforces the statue but also streamlines the construction process. Through careful planning and execution, we're able to manage the complexities of building a statue of this magnitude, ensuring each step contributes to the overall stability and precision of the final piece.
