{"id":164608,"date":"2022-04-07T16:26:10","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T08:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/facfox.com\/docs\/?post_type=kb&#038;p=164608"},"modified":"2022-05-13T09:45:46","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T01:45:46","slug":"how-to-hollow-out-your-3d-model","status":"publish","type":"kb","link":"https:\/\/facfox.com\/docs\/kb\/how-to-hollow-out-your-3d-model","title":{"rendered":"How to Hollow out Your 3D Model"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/imaterialise.helpjuice.com\/using-imaterialise\/how-prices-of-3d-prints-are-calculated\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pricing<\/a>\u00a0for most 3D printing materials is volume-based: the less material you use, the less it will cost you. For some materials, hollowing your object will also avoid deformation or discoloration, for instance, when choosing\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/i.materialise.com\/en\/3d-printing-materials\/polyamide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">polyamide<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In order to hollow out a model in the 3D modeling software you\u2019re using, you need to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Define a wall thickness that is strong enough for your model not to break<\/li>\n<li>Add \u2018escape holes\u2019 to your model.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Wall thickness<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/img.facfox.com\/imgs\/2022\/05\/12\/9bca7faed32ef968.png\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In 3D printing, wall thickness refers to the distance between one surface of your model and its opposite sheer surface. Wall thickness is defined as the minimum thickness your model should have at any time. It\u2019s important that every surface of your 3D model has been assigned a wall thickness.<\/p>\n<p>When using your 3D modeling software it&#8217;s possible to design a surface without a wall thickness. However, 3D printers need the information about how thick you intend the wall of your object to be. Many printing problems can be traced back to wall thickness issues. The minimum printable wall thickness primarily depends on the material you choose. Other factors such as the alignment, size, and overall design of your 3D model, can also influence the recommended minimum wall thickness.<\/p>\n<p>Pushing the wall thickness to the minimum might seem like a way to save money. However, making walls too thin can make a model too fragile and might cause parts of it to break off.<\/p>\n<p>Before you decide to 3D print (or even design your model), you should know the basic guidelines for your printing material of choice. You can find specific information about the required wall thickness for each material in\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/i.materialise.com\/en\/3d-printing-materials\/design-guides\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">our material design guides<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Creating a hollow model<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Each 3D modeling software works differently, so hollowing a 3D model is easier in some programs than in others. Let\u2019s take a look at some examples (from free software):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/i.materialise.com\/en\/3d-design-tools\/sketchup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SketchUp<\/a>, hollowing is a bit complicated. An easy way is to start with a 2-dimensional rectangle and use the \u2018offset\u2019 function. This will create a rectangle within the rectangle. Delete this space and you\u2019ll have an empty space in your rectangle. You can then \u2018pull\u2019 this 2D shape into a 3D object. In a final step, you can add \u2018walls\u2019 at the top and bottom of the design.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/img.facfox.com\/imgs\/2022\/05\/12\/b17de11689dcb904.png\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/i.materialise.com\/en\/3d-design-tools\/meshmixer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Autodesk Meshmixer<\/a>\u00a0has probably the easiest option to hollow out a model. Insert your 3D file, select \u2018edit\u2019 and \u2018hollow\u2019 and you will have immediate results.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/img.facfox.com\/imgs\/2022\/05\/12\/68168f41346915c3.png\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Escape holes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/img.facfox.com\/imgs\/2022\/05\/12\/e011237fa583d43f.png\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">3D prints are created layer by layer so, with a hollow interior, it means that 3D printing materials can get trapped inside the object. Escape holes are recommended for getting \u2018trapped\u2019 3D printing material out of your 3D print.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-US\">For\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/imaterialise.helpjuice.com\/design-printing\/powder-based-3d-printing\">powder-based 3D printing<\/a>, we typically use pressurized air for cleaning the excess powder out.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-US\">For\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/imaterialise.helpjuice.com\/design-printing\/resin-based-3d-printing\">resin-based 3D printing<\/a>, escape holes are used to drain out excess resin and level out the pressure inside and outside during the 3D printing process.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-US\">For\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/imaterialise.helpjuice.com\/design-printing\/lost-wax-3d-printing-casting\">lost wax 3D printing &amp; casting<\/a>, escape holes are needed to get rid of the unprinted wax resin and to make sure that the casting plaster is sufficiently supported. Without this, your model cannot be cast properly. \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">Now the questions remain how many escape holes a print needs and how big they need to be. And once again there is no universal answer to this: it all depends on the 3D printing material and the size of your print.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">We recommend more than two escape holes for precious metal\u00a0prints.\u00a0<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">An escape hole with a diameter of at least 1.5 mm will be fine for gold and silver prints. Once again, taking a look at the individual\u00a0<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\"><a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/i.materialise.com\/en\/3d-printing-materials\/design-guides\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">design guides<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">will provide you with all the answers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">How to add escape holes really depends on your software but the idea is often the same: create a cylinder at the bottom of your model and extrude or subtract from its wall. Meshmixer\u2019s hollowing tools even come with a function that lets you create escape holes automatically.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0pricing\u00a0for most 3D printing materials is volume-based: the less material you use, the less it will cost you. For some materials, hollowing your object will also avoid deformation or discoloration, for instance, when choosing\u00a0polyamide. In order to hollow out a model in the 3D modeling software you\u2019re using, you need to: Define a wall thickness [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"kbtopic":[47],"kbtag":[126,39,624],"class_list":["post-164608","kb","type-kb","status-publish","hentry","kbtopic-design","kbtag-3d-printing","kbtag-design","kbtag-hollow"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Hollow out Your 3D Model - FacFox Docs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The\u00a0pricing\u00a0for most 3D printing materials is volume-based: the less material you use, the less it will cost you. For some materials, hollowing your Elastomeric polyurethane (EPU) is a family of rubber-like materials developed by Carbon for\u00a0Digital Light Synthesis\u2122 (DLS) process.\u00a0Similar to other elastomeric materials, EPU has a non-linear material response with a very high elongation to failure. This highly elastic material is suited for applications that require impact resistance or vibration isolation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/facfox.com\/docs\/kb\/how-to-hollow-out-your-3d-model\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Hollow out Your 3D Model\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The\u00a0pricing\u00a0for most 3D printing materials is volume-based: the less material you use, the less it will cost you. 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