Advice on printing a human brain?
Hello wonderful Prusa community!
I'm trying to print a full scale human brain in PLA on a stock i3 MK3S+. It's proving to be a challenge!
I've tried organic and grid supports. I've tried using brims on the parts touching the print bed. I've tried different layer heights. I've tried different infill patterns and densities. I've increased the perimeter thickness. I've added support interface layers and reduced their contact distance.
No luck. It fails pretty quickly.
Anyone have any advice for printing something like this?
Thanks!
RE: Advice on printing a human brain?
I've printed (dog) brains by cutting them into halves or quarters and then glueing the parts together. But it was very low res, and some imperfections didn't bother me.
Formerly known on this forum as @fuchsr -- until all hell broke loose with the forum software...
RE: Advice on printing a human brain?
I was hoping to print it as a solid piece, but I'm starting to think that it might be best to try your approach and print it in sections.
Thanks for the advice! Much appreciated!
This has come up a few times before - search for older threads.
Generally the convolutions of the surface are such that there is no orientation that excludes extreme overhangs that are unsupportable from the bed due to lower structure and even if you permit support on top of printed surfaces there are spaces where the access is too narrow to extract the support.
So yes, cut, rotate, print and join is the way to go. How many sections to use is a function of the accuracy and detail required.
Cheerio,
RE: Advice on printing a human brain?
Posting an update in case future users want to work on a similar project. Diem is right: Printing it in one piece is the perfect thing that a 3d printer would struggle with due to the geometry of the convolutions. I ended up cutting it into 4 slices. Increasing the perimeter density helped. I used organic supports, and a gyroid infill (you don't need too much). I also slowed the printer down 10-15% as this usually helps with larger, more complex models. I printed this with silk PLA as it was intended as a gift, but I recommend something other than silk PLA because of the relatively poor layer adhesion.
RE: Advice on printing a human brain?
Got a link to your model?
Was it a male brain or a female brain? (Lol, ducking and running for cover)