INTERLOCKING METAL TIPS & TRICKS
TOLERANCE FOR INTERLOCKING METAL PARTS
While many of our materials have the ability to print interlocking, it is important to keep in mind that our interlocking metal has a tolerance that is higher than most. As stated on the material guidelines page, the distance between interlocking metal parts is a minimum of 1mm.
Note: The tolerance between parts in our Strong & Flexible materials is .5mm . You may need to make adjustments to models that you have already printed in Strong & Flexible.
MINIMUM WIRE THICKNESS FOR INTERLOCKING METALS
Due to the excess handling during the interlocking metals processing, the minimum wire thickness is 1.5mm.
It is important to keep this in mind while designing, as it deviates from the minimum wire thickness of our non-interlocking metals. Design guidelines for both can be found on our materials page.
UP TO SIX INTERLOCKING PARTS
While the illustrations in this the examples below show 2-3 parts per model, you can actually have up to six interlocking parts within your model.
ORIENTING SHELLS FOR BOUNDING BOX
The nature of interlocking metals means that you will have multiple interlocking shells that make up your design. Whether it is a chain or pendant link, you will want to make the most out of your design by adjusting parts within your model to fit the bounding box for interlocking metal. Remember, the bounding box for interlocking metals is 75 x 75 x 40 mm.
In the example below, we have interlocking parts that are aligned vertically on top of one another. While this may be the most obvious way to design your model, it is not necessarily ideal for upload. In this case, the vertically aligned model would be too large for the interlocking metal bounding box.
While this version of the model may be rejected, there is a way to edit your model to fit the bounding box without sacrificing any quality. Simply re-adjusting the orientation of a few parts will change the bounding box of your model, and make it qualify for the interlocking metal bounding box.
CONSOLIDATING SHELLS FOR BOUNDING BOX
Once again, when creating parts for interlocking metal, the most obvious way to design your product is not always the optimal way to upload it. In the example below, we have two vertically intersecting chain hoops. As you can see, the first set of hoops in the illustration are oriented so the endpoints are far from one another. Quickly adjusting the placement of the bottom hoop optimizes the size of the model, making it ideal for printing.
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That's it for my tips on designing with interlocking metals! Have anything else you'd like to add? Please comment below with any questions or suggestions!