Hello, I was wondering if Shapeways supports printing an object inside another object when the 2 object's volumes do not overlap at all. For example see the attachment. In this crude picture I have a sphere which is placed inside a box made up of only edges. So basically the sphere is trapped inside the edges of the box, but the box has no faces so part of the sphere could go outside the box until it hits the edges. So if I were to model this with a sphere and a box I constructred in one 3D model, would Shapeways accept it and print the sphere inside the boxe's edges so that when the 3D print arrived I would have a trapped sphere? Finally, can this be done with separate colors ... one for the box one for the sphere? Thanks, Steve
Depending on the material choice this can be done. Multiple colors, no. As far as I know the only material you'd be able to get multiple colors out of is sandstone, and as far as I know you can not printed separated geometries in sandstone. Now if you printed the box large enough and the bars thin enough and made the ball fit tight enough and used the right materials, you could print them in different materials and combine them later.
hmmm...okay. well it sounds like I can do this with just one color. so maybe afterwards I can paint one of the objects if I want multiple colors. At least I can print it though even if it is one color... Thanks for the answer.
Haha yeah that is exactly what I was describing...my actual model won't be that exactly, but it was my example for the basic question. Thanks for posting...that's sure fire proof it works out. Also the separation of .5mm between the two objects is great to know! I was wondering how much room I might have to leave. That is a very small amount...these printers are great huh?
Yeah, this technology is great! But be careful: 0.5mm (for the radius so the actual range of movement is 1mm) worked well for the Detail material, but the very same model in White Strong and Flexible got fused! So for Strong and Flexible, I would recommend 0.75mm. Good luck for your model, and please, keep us updated!