Have you ever wondered what happens when you break a full-color sandstone statue? Well, I did, and I’m here to tell you the story of how I accidentally shattered a 3D-printed figurine of a young man and what I learned from it.
One of the most popular applications of 3D printing is figurine customization. You can create your own figurine with any character, pose, and color you want. You can also scan yourself or someone else and print a realistic miniature replica. Figurines are great for collectors, fans, and hobbyists who want to express their creativity and personality.
I used the ColorJet 3D printing technology to print a scaled-down figurine of a young man, who was wearing a grey turtleneck sweater, a blue denim jacket, dark grey trousers, and white shoes. The 3D model was downloaded from the internet, and it had a lot of details, such as pockets, buttons, stitches, and facial features. The printing quality was very high, and the colors were accurate and vibrant. The figurine was 15 cm tall and weighed 74 g.
However, before I could take photos of it, I dropped the statue onto the ground from 1 m high, and his legs were broken. It was the worst condition that we wanted to see. Luckily, it was only a sample, not a custom order from a client, or else the delivery date would have been postponed.
I picked up the broken pieces and examined them. You may also be curious about the inner structure of the figurine. I learned that the ColorJet sandstone 3D printing works by spreading a thin layer of powder over the build platform, and then selectively jetting a binder and colored ink over it, causing the powder to solidify. This process is repeated layer by layer until the model is complete.
Looking through the fracture, I could see that his body was hollowed and there were many white powder inside. I weighed the white powder that flowed from the statue, and it was 33 g. That means that almost half of the weight of the figurine was from the unused powder.
You may ask: why was the statue not solid? Usually, when 3D printing larger models, we will hollow the 3D model and drill a gate to let go of the inner powder, so the material could be saved, and the transportation fee would be decreased. But for the small statues from 10 cm to 30 cm, drilling a 1 cm-diameter round gate is too obvious and doesn’t have much meaning. We still hollow the 3D model to a wall thickness of 3 mm as it could save the usage of the binding agent.
Another thing I noticed was that the inner part of the statue was pure white, and only the top 1 mm of the statue was colorful. That means that the statue was not colorful from inside to out. If I had the idea of scratching the surface with a knife, I would have ruined the appearance of the figurine.
I felt sorry for breaking the young man’s statue, even though I didn’t know who he was or where he came from. I hoped that the unintentional breakage wouldn’t offend anyone. The 3D model was well-built and our printing technology presented nearly all the details.
To make up for my mistake, I decided to print another figurine with a different 3D printing technology and material. I chose the SLA 3D printing technology and the DLP Ultra Detail Resin. SLA stands for Stereolithography, and it works by curing liquid resin with a laser beam. DLP stands for Digital Light Processing, and it is a type of resin that has a high level of detail and smoothness.
The figurine I printed was Pochita, a cute and friendly dog-like devil from the manga and anime series Chainsaw Man. Pochita is the Chainsaw Devil, who embodies the fear of chainsaws, but he also has a gentle and loyal personality. He made a contract with the main character, Denji, and became his heart, allowing him to transform into Chainsaw Man.
The resin had a raw orange color that matched Pochita well. He had a chainsaw-like appendage on his head, and handles on his body that could be used to wield him like a chainsaw. His tail was in the shape of a pull cord. He had a happy expression on his face, and he looked adorable.
The scene looked like the chainsaw devil broke the young man’s leg, but he was a silicon-based creature and did not feel pain. When I cleared out the powder inside and bonded his broken leg with super glue, he felt light. I placed him next to Pochita, and they looked like an unlikely pair of friends.
I hope you enjoyed reading my post about breaking a full-color sandstone statue. I learned a lot from this experience, and I hope you did too. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know. Thank you for your attention.
And remember, if you want to create your own figurine with FacFox, you can do it easily and affordably. Just visit our website and start your 3D printing journey today. But be careful, don’t drop your figurine like I did. Full-color sandstone is a delicate material that can break easily. Treat your figurine with care and love, and it will last for a long time.
FacFox is the leading online platform for 3D printing services. FacFox can help you turn your digital designs into physical objects with various 3D printing technologies and materials. Whether you want to create a personalized gift, a unique art piece, or a prototype for your project, FacFox can make it happen. You can upload your 3D model, choose your preferred options, and get an instant quote. FacFox will print your model with high quality and fast delivery, and ship it to your doorstep.
We will carefully package your products and make sure they won’t break during transportation. After all, we know how brittle they are too well.