Glazed Ceramic - Wave Espresso Cup

Discussion in 'My Shapeways Order Arrived' started by 37075_deleted, Jun 30, 2011.

  1. 37075_deleted
    37075_deleted Member
    My very first test order in glazed ceramic arrived today (ordered on the 21st May but also packed with a Bowie)

    Unfortunately I'm not as happy as I'd hoped to be with the result...

    The model is an espresso cup about 5cm high with a pattern of ripples over the surface that are generated by an implementation of the 2D wave equation.

    I used a random collection of oscillators to make ripples spread over the surface; they reflect from the top and bottom but can go all the way around.

    I chose a version of the model with I hoped would be a good mix of amplitudes of ripple to see what kind of surface detail I could expect to get.

    cupCompare1.jpg

    The model (rendered using my non-existent Blender skills) is next to the printed cup. The image above is the roughest side, with the most large ripples - you can make out the intended pattern but it's a bit submerged in the roughness of the surface. The stepping on the handle is very clear.

    cupCompare2.jpg

    This is the smoother side, with only small ripples, here the rough surface makes it hard to tell that it should be smooth.

    cupBase.jpg

    The base, which should be flat with the dished area in the centre, is very rough but it's not visible normally. The cup sits flat on a table.

    I'd hoped to make a set of co-creators from this but I don't think I'd get many orders with these as product photos. I'd also not feel really happy to sell it at this level of quality.

    The examples on the front page did make me hope that this would work but, they seemed much smoother than this. I'm not too upset, it's an experimental process and on that basis I've got what I wanted since this was an experimental order, but I'm not sure I'll order anything else.

    Is this the quality that we're supposed to get from glazed ceramic?

    Chris
     
  2. 80221_deleted
    80221_deleted Member
    wow! i am shocked by the results. your printed cup looks nothing like the render! i am also waiting on a ceramic piece that i ordered in may. my excitement level has totally dropped after seeing these results!
    sorry to see the poor quality!
     
  3. 37075_deleted
    37075_deleted Member
    I know what you mean, this was the order I have probably been most excited about so far because it's not just decorative it should actually do something and I'd hoped to be able to use it every day.

    The let down wasn't enjoyable, especially since for a while I've been writing a blog post about the Processing code that makes the model and setting up to open source the wave equation code I used for it. I'll probably still do that but this result will make it less fun...

    My son likes it so it will get used for his babyccino at the weekend; we'll see how well it handles the dishwasher next.
     
  4. berrynaut
    berrynaut Member
    Oh no! That is nowhere as smooth as the test product photos implied. I can understand the rippled surface not showing because of the fine detail, but the overall finish seems very rough ... I just received an email saying my ceramic order is about to be shipped, so will be interesting to see how it looks.
     
  5. 28396_deleted
    28396_deleted Member
    This is BAD :confused

    Looks like it was printed with low resolution... you can see clearly the thick layers ... Thick layers = low details

    Or.. perhaps a polishing step was ignored before glazing?..


    I had hopes for this material.. was about to order a complex vase from my collection but definitely will wait to see what's up

    Did you contact support? they should know of this .



    Please let us know what went wrong..




    oh btw, just a minute ago i saw your link on my Google analytics of your website, about cup-a-day - awesome work !












     
  6. 37075_deleted
    37075_deleted Member
    From the video they posted on the process they don't polish they just brush off loose powder...

    I haven't contacted support yet although I probably will do so, mainly to find out if this is the quality they were expecting from the process.

    Also: I'm not sure if the cup-a-day thing was aimed at me or not but that (while cool) wasn't anything I did - I couldn't manage one a day, this one took weeks :)
     
  7. bitstoatoms
    bitstoatoms Member
    Hey guys,

    We are looking into this,

    Our product lead Nancy will discuss with the supplier tomorrow to find out what has happened.

    Thanks for sharing, looking forwards to seeing the Bowie the Bunny pictures. :)
     
  8. 28396_deleted
    28396_deleted Member
    my bad - your cup render looks much like the ones on this link so i thought it was your project :)

    http://cunicode.com/one-coffee-cup-a-day/




     
  9. 65166_deleted
    65166_deleted Member
    Hey there! I'm the Product Lead of Materials. The stepping you see is indeed a bit strange. As this is a new process for Shapeways (and the manufacturing industry!) we are still learning as we go, and this type of feedback is very helpful. Have you tried emailing customer service (service@shapeways.com)? They usually respond quickly and will give you good feedback, reprints etc.

    Since we've printed your piece, we actually have learned and changed a few things in the printing process. First, we found a new way to clean the print heads after printing. This ensures better quality prints. The resolution here is actually the same resolution as all our other pieces, including the example pieces you saw during the introduction of ceramics. Second, we've been experimenting with printing in different directions (print orientation, ie laying the cup down flat or right side up), and we think we have a better grasp on how to achieve better prints by place it in different directions in the tray. Last, we are learning about different ways of glazing and that improves with every print.

    Anyway, the point is we'd like to give your model another go. Please contact customer service (service@shapeways.com) so this issue/reprint gets tracked properly in our system, and we'll get you another model.

    One thing though, the ripples in your model is a bit too detailed to be well represented in the mug. Do you think you can send another file with a bit more definition? I think that will help us better show the detail. Here is an example (Tip #4 in our design rules) that shows the detail loss in the glazing process: https://www.shapeways.com/topics/udesign/design-rules/ceramic s/fillin.jpg

    Anyway, please contact Customer Service and let them know whether you'd like a free reprint of this model, or a voucher to print a revised model with more details?

    Thanks for helping us improve our process!

    Best,
    Nancy
     
  10. 37075_deleted
    37075_deleted Member
    Nancy, thanks for the reply; I haven't mailed service yet but I will do so soon.
     
  11. 27479_deleted
    27479_deleted Member
    Chris and I have contact now :laughing:
     
  12. 37075_deleted
    37075_deleted Member
    I've just taken delivery of the re-printed version of my espresso cup and I'm very pleased to say that it's excellent!

    newCup_500.jpg

    The smoothness and definition of the shapes are much better than the first one and the glazing is uniform - I'm very happy with it.

    I've now got some valuable information on what waviness can come out on cups like this - in fact all but the very smallest are visible which is better than I'd expected. I'll use this to tune the amplitude & frequency of the waves I put in.

    As always thanks to all at Shapeways for this happy result; this is what I'd hoped for from this process and I'd be happy to order more...

    I think I need to improve my cardboard and tracing paper lightbox a bit though...

    Chris