I 3D printed a life-size Coelacanth fish!  

I 3D printed a life-size Coelacanth fish!

So a few years back I embarked upon a project I call the 3D Printed Paleontology Project, where the purpose was to find museum scans of specimens and 3D print them out at life-size. Over the last two to three years I've honed the various processes involved, and I felt it was time to really put things to the test by printing something that would in some ways challenge what I'd learned but would also challenge me through the process of prepping and painting as well. Up to this point I'd only printed prehistoric skulls so I thought that while the Coelacanth is technically *not* extinct, it is in many ways an "honorary" paleontological subject. My goal has always been to develop an ongoing series of YouTube videos where I show my process, how I acquire subjects, make them life-size (if the source file isn't already life-size), how to sub-divide files into chunks that can be handled by most FDM printers, and finally steps to prep them for the final, realistic museum-quality paint job. I think it's an interesting use of 3D printing and has many applications for research and education and many advantages over traditional reproduction methods using casts and the like which tend to be expensive, heavy, and fragile.

So, the stats - This was printed entirely with two Prusa MK3S+ printers in completely stock configuration.

5 feet/1.52m long (average adult size for a living Coelacanth)

2.65 km/1.65 miles of filament

553.83 hours of print time/23.08 days

Filament was Printed Solid Jessie PLA 1.75mm 1kg spools, color "Tree Brown"

Filament was approximately 8 rolls at a total cost of basically $160 excluding tax and shipping. I think shipping was always free though. (I typically buy about 4 to 5 rolls at a time).

Print settings were 15% infill in adaptive cubic and supports when necessary were either "Snug" or occasionally "Organic." I originally created a temp tower for the Jessie PLA but found it worked just fine to use the Prusa Slicer generic PLA settings.

Finally, 0.20mm QUALITY and 0.4mm nozzle.

File is available on SketchFab from user Naturaliter, an Italian museum exhibits company. The model is a 3D scan of a museum display model that is based on a preserved Coelacanth specimen from the collection of the Civic Museum of Natural History in Trieste, Italy.

If you want to see other things I've printed as part of the 3D Printed Paleontology Project and maybe follow along with the first YouTube videos launch follow the #3dprintedpaleontologyproject on Instagram and maybe give me a follow on that platform. Anyway, hope you all think this is as cool as I do!