I didn’t have much inspiration for my models. I mostly just played around with the turtle library until I got some forms that I liked and could print well. All of my shapes use a circular pattern in some way by making the turtle travel forward, turn a certain number of degrees, and repeat until its done a full 360. I experimented with a lot of different patterns, print speeds, and extrude speeds to get the final forms that I decided to submit for the project. In total I think I had somewhere around 20-30 prints that were a mixture of failures and tests/experiments. I spent most of this project trying to get a shape that was 4 tall rectangular boxes connected by freestanding lines of filament, but unfortunately I was unable to get it to print over many many different attempts. However, I like the final forms I ended with and think they are great examples of how skipping the slicer step can create some really interesting models. The gcode ended up being pretty simple, since, particularly with the 2nd and 3rd shapes, I wanted to focus more on playing with the amount of filament extruded per mm.
Form 1:
This form takes advantage of both a nonplanar z pattern as well as freestanding filament which are both aspects of the model that could not be generated . It is unfortunately very brittle and easily breakable so I probably will not bring it to class for presentations.
Form 2:
This form came out a little smaller than I would have liked, but I really liked what I was able to do with very thick filament lines basically being layered in a pyramid shape pattern. While the result is very different from the initial rhino model, I like the way it turned out with the drooped lines of filament.
Form 3:
This final form was mostly an experiment to see what happens when I raise the extruder very far above the build surface. The model starts very close to the surface creating a much tighter wall, but gets looser and more chaotic as it moves towards the top and the filament is falling from a much higher altitude. The gcode file for this looks much bigger in Cura. The two first reason is that since each layer has a higher z than the previous, the model got very tall very quickly. The second is that I also stopped the print around halfway to save time and filament since it had reached a size I was happy with.
Gcode files in Cura:
Overall, I had a lot of fun with this project and liked the interesting shapes I was able to produce.
Gcode:
Hi Samuel!
I really like how you experimented with different patterns and played around with the Extruder Turtle library to generate unique forms, I also went with this design process. The circular pattern you used across all your shapes added a cohesive theme, and it’s impressive how much trial and error you went through to refine your prints. I can relate, as I had around 40 failed attempts myself. I can see how skipping the slicer allowed you to explore more creative possibilities, especially with the nonplanar and freestanding filament elements in your designs.
I found your third form particularly interesting, where you raised the extruder far above the surface to create those looser, more chaotic lines. It’s a really creative method that resulted in a dynamic and organic design. I had a similar experience, and I was curious—did you find the form to be fragile? When I tried something like this, my print ended up very delicate, and it broke as I was removing it from the bed.
My third form is actually pretty structurally sound. The bottom layers that are more close together are very sturdy, but it gets more brittle as the layers get higher and are being printed from higher up.
Hello Samuel! Your designs are very interesting and certainly showcase the cool things you can do when working directly with the gcode. I would be curious to see a few pictures of your failed prints. Did you increase the extrusion rate of the filament as you increased the nozzle’s height in z for your last form? Did you have any issues with the filament breaking or wandering away from the central design? I am glad to see that you had fun with this project, there is so much freedom you have when writing the gcode directly.
I kept the extrusion rate for the last form the same throughout the print, although I set the rate to be very very high so I could get as thick lines as possible. Surprisingly I didn’t have any filament wander form the design. I was kind of expecting it to when I started the print as the nozzle was pretty far above where the thin walls of the model were.