Watercolor palette for shapeways

tallbridgeguy

Hi, I'm new to shapeways and 3d models. I wanted to see if I could upload a 3d model to shapeways and I can but I can't seem to make a simple tray with two recessed paint wells?

This is the model and I realize the floor doesn't have any thickness but I tried thickness and it just filled in the holes.

Is it best to export from sketchup to a stl file or use meshlab and then a stl file?

thanks for the help. (d12dozr I didn't want to keep bugging you)

Stuart

palette.skp

cotty

You can use Fredos plugin JPP (joint push pull) to add thickness. STL is fine for 3D printing.

palette.zip

tallbridgeguy

Thanks, that worked great! Now I can design a whole box and print it.

s

palette on shapeway.jpg

cotty

Which material will you use? There are design rules for every material and they are different...

tallbridgeguy

A few of more questions.

I made the two sides, one for mixing paint and one for holding paint.

any advice on a hinge for the box? I thought some hollow tubes and then I would put a metal rod through the holes when I get it.
could this whole piece be printed together somehow?
I made everything 1/16" thick. Will that be strong enough? The trays are each 7/16" tall

Thanks!

s

palette four wells.png

tallbridgeguy

Strong and flexible plastic?

thanks!

s

cotty

Here are the design guidelines for this material...

http://www.shapeways.com/materials/strong-and-flexible-plastic#guidelines

tallbridgeguy

Thanks for the info! I think 1/16" = 1.5875 mm so it should be doable. Whether it is strong enough I don't know? Most of my plastic palettes are 1/16" thick, so I think it should work.

I can print them separately but I need some hinges?

thanks!

s

cotty

you can try to add some hinges, one example...

tallbridgeguy

That's cool but I'm not sure how it works?

s

cotty

It's a kind of a simple click system...

click to animate

tallbridgeguy

That is really cool, have you tried on it on a project? I might have to go that a go.

Thanks again for all the help!

s

cotty

No, I haven't. The difficult part will be to choose the right fit so that it can be rotated slightly and still holds together.

d12dozr

Stuart, I'm always glad to help you, and even more pleased to you posted publicly. This way others with the same questions will benefit and you get answers faster.

I would try a sort of piano hinge, where half of the hinge parts are on the top of the box, and the other half are on the bottom half, then run a brass rod through for a pin.

(not my image)

1/16" should be thick enough, but you will have to paint or otherwise seal the plastic because it is very porous.

You should also increase the resolution of the circles used to make the paint holding trays so that you get a smoother surface. Running fredo's Roundcorner plugin on the sharp corners is a good idea.

tallbridgeguy

Thanks I will give that a go!

s

tallbridgeguy

I have put some hinges on the boxes.

So the question, is it worth about $60 to print it?

How porous is the plastic, will it leak?

I just noticed I have to put some bump outs by the hinges, so when it is open it will stay flat..

thanks for all the help!

s

palette four wells take 2.png

d12dozr

The hinges you made look great! Yes, the plastic will leak unless you paint it. $60 sounds about right for commercial printing. You could get it printed cheaper on a small desktop FDM machine, but the quality won't be nearly as good and you'll still have to seal it with paint or epoxy.