Living with a 3D printer is a rollercoaster ride and to sometimes there are a lot more downs than ups!
A couple of the ‘ups’ – Torcheres and fireplace urns
On this page I aim to explore my printing experiences in a little more detail, and because I am constantly learning – there is a good amount of failures mixed in with the successes!
The amount of time I have had to invest into learning to use my printer is enormous – I have been using the 3D printer for several years now and only just feel like I am getting to grips with it!
In principal the theory of it is fairly simple (see what is 3D printing) but in practice there are so many variables – and large prints can take so long to print then fail at the last minute – it can be heart breaking! But then on the plus side when it works well, it can be stunning – and all the time and effort seems very worth while!
Also, I can now see that my failures are an opportunity to learn – I ask myself why didn’t that work, and work through the problem because I know when I get there and it works its a fantastic buzz!
As Rudyard Kipling said….
…If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same…
Above and Below: just a couple of epic fails to contrast with the success stories! The bottom picture should have been the head of a cherub torchere!
Above: These pieces are hot off the printer.
3D PRINTED DOLLS
Eve Pictured right ‘naked’ on the sofa, and finished on the chair, was my first attempt at a doll and is made in 14 pieces which I fix in position once printed to give me the ultimate in flexibility. This also means that with a change of head, torso and feet/shoes – Eve could become Adam!
However I soon realised that as the majority of my stock dolls were standing I needed another option with rigid standing legs in both male and female form. I now have a library of doll forms to print which are all combinations of male and female standing – I currently have three female head options and two male heads. Then I have an Eve shape for dolls that need to be specially posed – ie in the bath, to which I can add any of my three heads, and I am currently working on a sitting doll with separate legs so that he/she can kneel down or sit cross legged or with his/her legs tucked underneath.
Here are a few examples of my 3D printed accessories and ornaments….. You can see more in the GALLERY – 3D PRINTING page.
If...
The title of this section was inspired by the Rudyard Kipling poem ‘If’ and I think its worth having a copy of it here. My experiences in 3D printing have at times been traumatic, frustrating and euphoric, and this poem has always been in the back of my head to help even out the ups and downs – Thank you Mr Kipling – The cakes are good too!
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run—
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
