Material Optimization HELP!

Hi all,

I am a student in industrial design, and i have a project about making a 3D model of a part of a city and i then i would like to print in with Strong and Flexible Plastic. Its size is actually 300mm x 200mm

So i wanted to ask you some questions about mechanical resistance and talking about what king of solution is better in order to remove materials as much as possible (for saving money :/)

(1) - i thought of a sandwich's structure with a core (grid represented in blue), but i dont know what dimension do i have to choose,
*** Is it enough resistant to make for example 1.5mm of a support // 3.5 mm for the core - and finish with 1mm support? should i try more/differently?
[ the below picture represents top view of the model, red things are buildings]



(2) - If i choose 1 mm width for the core, is it enough strong?, maybe 2mm is more stable? or else should i add a border to reinforce the whole model? mentioned in previous picture

Thanks for any help anyone may be able to provide.

Just a suggestion, but if the base is just a flat plane, why not 3d print the buildings/plant/equipment and then mount them on a standard board (ply, hardboard, plastic board etc)?

Strong and flexible is strong, even at small thicknesses, but in addition to the cost issue you might get some warping

Thanks for repyling so fast,

Because, in fact, i would like to hollow buildings if it's possible, so i can't consider printing buildings and support separately, even if warping can be a serious problem.

but first of all, i had those previous issues that aren' revolved about support's thickness also about core form and dimensions.

Does anyone have another suggestion?

I think it is still not clear what you are trying to achieve - is this meant to be a static display, or is that grid accessible on the top side to allow buildings to be inserted and removed as needed (somewhat like a travel chess board or the "ministeck" mosaic toy) ? If it is just to save material on what would otherwise be a flat panel, I think you could use a much coarser, possible even hexagonal grid. (In either case I suspect you could leave out the lower panel or reduce it to a frame without losing stability.)

You can print the buildings to be hollow and still apply them to a separate base.

See here for an example.