Hello. I'm just getting ready to order some proofs and am a little worried about the 'sandcastle rule' mentioned under design guidelines. My models have passed the required pre-checks, but that 'sandcastle rule' is a little big vague. I think this design would print fine flat, but might break if printed upright. Would it be ok to print in stainless steel? Do you think these designs will have problems? This one is the largest at about 4 cm wide: This one is 2.5 cm wide: This is about 1cm wide and 2.25cm long: Would these print in stainless steel? Would these print in Strong and Flexible Plastic? Thanks Richard
I would guess that the first three will print in plastic. In steel, the first and third seem fine. I don't feel great about the second one. It might work at that size, or not. The bigger it gets, the less chance it has. The fourth design seems very small for how thin it is, and for the tight clearances at the center. I can't see from the photo how it is connected in the center. I don't like it for steel, looks to me like it would fall below the stated wire size and clearance limits. I'm not sure for plastic.
Thanks for taking the time to answer. It was fun to design these things without worrying about overhangs or support. It's a bit of a buzz kill to think I might not ever see them made. I see a lot of things here that seem like they would not pass the sandcastle rule, yet they are made. I suppose there is no harm in ordering them to find out for sure.
If you want these to look anything like your preview images, you will probably have to choose bronze or plated brass (both cast from a printed wax model) anyway.
Yes, if you want it to look like these renders you won't be very happy with the finish of steel prints. It's not a material that is obviously well suited to jewelry.
That is a very good point. I was considering 'worst case' so I could use a range of materials, including steel. But you are right, I wouldn't make those pieces in steel anyway. However, I'm still learning about the materials and would like to use the polished steel for some different jewelry that isn't so fine.
I did go through the materials info, but it does all become a blur at first. It would help if SW would show some examples of what would NOT work if each material and something to tell the scale.
It's hard to take the place of experience -- a $10 part of your own design will tell you more than any amount of examples.