Marketing piece need advice...

I figure this will be 7"x5"x10" tall. The smallest bar (horizontal ties) are right at that magical .7cm mark.

How thick should that base material be? Do you think it would require a strap going front to back across the bottom to keep it from spreading/flexing and breaking? This will be a desktop piece but somone would still be lifting the H out of it and putting it back. I have little cups under the H supported from the top.

I was thinking strong flexible material. Anyhow I've never done 3d printing before and would like some feedback.

I think you should check this out. There are rules regarding 'wire' thickness.
https://www.shapeways.com/materials/strong-flexible-design-gu idelines
I know because one of my models uploaded OK but got rejected when it came to be printed.

Which "magical .7cm mark" are you talking about?

I assume he means the .7mm (not cm) minimum wall thickness for Strong & Flexible Plastic?

Cheers,

Bart

Hey Wise

Nice design.

I agree WSF would be the best choice (for price and durability). As for the base, i have had a sheet printed at 3mm thickness and it was rigid with only a small amount of flex when force-ably bent (by hand). All my other prints 2mm and below are very flexible.

This may increase the price quite dramatically so you could create more cutouts in the base, without effecting the overall stability. The material is porous and so surprisingly light.

If your dont wish to make the base that thick then ribbing on the inside face is also an option.

Note: the larger the thickness, the larger a hole needs to be be, i mention this because your text looks thin in areas.

For a more detailed design rules, please refer to:
https://www.shapeways.com/tutorials/design_rules_for_3d_print ing

BTW i try to stick to 1mm as my thinnest wall size in all directions, this is a general rule for most 3d printing processes