Singapore International 3D Printing Competition is organised by the Singapore Centre for 3D Printing (SC3DP) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to promote awareness and adoption of 3D printing technology.
I entered the Hat category as a tertiary student. The challenge was to 3D print fashionable, creative and yet functional hats that celebrate the human spirit. After much research and planning, i decided to design a snowflake hat.
Design Inspiration
I was playing the character 'Mei' in a game “OverWatch” one day and I discovered one of its sprays called “Winter Wonderland”, which is in a shape of a snowflake. The pattern and the structural design of the snowflake intrigued me hence I began to sketch different design patterns of the snowflake. From there, I felt that it will be a great idea to apply it to this project and hence created a snowflake hat called “Cryoflake”.
Design Description
Multiple snowflakes designs were added to represent uniqueness and differences of people in Singapore. A circular strip was also added and wrapped around the lower shell of the hat with a customised heart-shaped design, complimented with dots on both ends. This represents the never-ending genuine love spread among Singaporeans from one end to another of the country.
The combination of elements aims to showcase the social cohesiveness in Singapore where we speak a common language from different faiths and walks of life by treating each with respect, compassion and not denigrate others’ beliefs. Hence, this increases the potential to develop from a heightened sense of belonging, teamwork, interpersonal and group-level attraction.
I have chosen navy blue for the outer shell and sky blue for the inner shell to give a striking contrast of blue between different shells. The reason why we chose blue is that it mimics the colour of the snowflakes and exhibits confidence to the user. Also, it projects other positive factors such as trust, tactful, responsibility, idealistic and authority.
Equipment and Tools Used
PolyJet Technology
Cryoflake is being produced through PolyJet so as the product can be printed multiple colours in a single build.
NX10
I have used this NX10, CADCAM software, to draft and aid my printing.
Product Features
Outer and Inner Shell
The outer shell design is shaped like a curved staircase and inner shell that serves as a cover from sun lights or rain.
Spinning Function
The strip and inner shell were interconnected by joints with a tolerance of 0.5mm to enable movements while the user is wearing. Cryoflake can act as a fidget spinner for entertainment purposes when it is not worn.
Internal fabrication design to accommodate post-processing
The design is being done in a way that it eases the process of flushing supports (post process) away from the product so as to reduce downtime. Cryoflake is dipped in the washing bay for a week.
Single Build and Colour Selection
The advancement of 3D printing enables Cryo-Flake to be built in a single build that cannot be done by conventional methods, meaning no assembly is required to finish end product.
My Reflection
It was a fruitful and challenging one month for me as I had to plan the whole process carefully to meet the deadlines and finding available time slots in school to do prototype prints so that the full build would be printed correctly. Among all the process, I spent most of my time on the design process. I made countless changes and correcting dimensions after mistakes were found in prototypes. Also, the spinning function did not work eventually as the tolerance of 0.5mm were too small and the design of the joints between 2 components did not conform to SLS post-processing, allowing some supports to be still stuck in between.
Going thru all this make me glad that I have made the right decision to join the competition as it not only shaped my perseverance and resilient but also make me realised that there are always reasons behind each design. It certainly changes my concept of designing products and hopefully, this will guide me to be a better designer in the future.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. ~ Winston Churchill
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