BabyForm2: 3D Print Your 3D Printer

These little guys were a hit at the FUSE user conference. I didn’t bring enough for everyone, so I’m posting my work here for anyone to make!

You’ll need:

  • Model Files here’s version 2.0
  • Black, Gray, Clear and White resin
  • Pigment or Dye for the amber tint on the lid and tray. I played with RIT dyes (available from art supply stores, Walmart, or Amazon in liquid and powder), but my best results by far were using a nano particle dispersion from Peacock Colors. The folks there were great; they did a color match on a picture from the web, and overnighted me a sample of “O-1007 Transparent Orange/Amber Lexan”. This is the same stuff used to tint acrylic sheets and car tail light lenses, and as I understand is designed to dissolve in methacrylates like the Formlabs resin.
  • Paperclip for the worm gear and to help with magnet installation. The #4 “Jumbo” size is ideal; they have a 1mm diameter and are roughly 50mm or 1 ⅞″ long. A box of 100 is less than $3 from Staples or Amazon. Solid core wire with an 18 (ideal) to 20 gauge conductor also works. If you’re confused, don’t worry. The part was designed so a regular sized paperclip can suffice in a pinch.
  • CR-2032 Battery here’s a handy Amazon link; you may find cheaper in bulk at a local battery store.
  • 3mm Blue LED to light up the display panel and button. I used part 732-5011-ND from Digikey which is 3800mcd and has a 30° viewing angle. Some alternatives from Amazon that might work include these at $1.56 for 50, or these available on Prime, although both have a wider angle which may result in a dimmed panel.
  • 3mm Cycling RGB LED to illuminate the crystal. Most people favor the slow version available from Digikey as 1568-1196-ND. The fast version 1568-1197-ND gives a more attention-grabbing “laser-like” appearance, but causes the blue panel LED to flicker more noticeably since the voltage drops are more rapid (the CR-2032 doesn’t seem to be able to power both LED’s during this one’s red cycle). Or you could just use another of the blue LED’s from above and avoid this issue altogether.
  • Magnets for a satisfying snap close action on the lid. Each BabyForm2 accepts four D1001A disc magnets from SuperMagnetMan (which are 1.5mm diameter x 0.8mm thick, and magnetized through their thickness) but you might want to buy a few extras since it’s easy for them to get stuck together with excess glue while prepping for installation.
  • Superglue For a small project like this I like single-use vials so my unused glue doesn’t dry out as quickly. Anything that works on plastics and metal is fine.
  • Scraper Knife for removing tiny on-base prints. You want this kind with the razor edge; they’re typically used to scrape paint from glass. $2.88 on Amazon.
  • Needle-Nose pliers
  • Hairdryer for heating the lid to ease snap-fit installation

Most of the above is optional. e.g. If you don’t mind monocolor, you can print in just one resin and skip the pigment. You could melt white crayon wax or laquer sticks into the butterfly engraving then scrape off the excess for a crisp, vibrant logo. If you don’t want to deal with small parts, I’ve included a paper-printable decal you can stick behind the base window and skip the blue LED and the annoyingly small button, collar and “glass” components.

SAFETY WARNING

Be careful whenever using sharp instruments (e.g. scraper blades). The magnets used in this project are incredibly small and pose a danger if ingested. Take precautions not to lose any e.g. on the floor where they may get eaten by pets. If a child will use this toy, it might be best to skip the magnets altogether. Here’s the MSDS that came with the dispersion from Peacock Colors. Although it doesn’t list the formula as a hazardous substance, I suggest taking precautions when handling it (wear gloves, don’t get it on your skin / clothes or in your eyes, etc). Personally I use a 3M 6300 respirator with a 6001 (black) organic vapour cartridge when working with ISO alcohol, and a P95 or (better) P100 particulate filter. This should filter 0.3 micron particles with 95%-99.97% efficiency, but may not be effective for particles in the dispersion (which are smaller at 30-80nm size). Here’s a great article on safety when dealing with engineered nanoparticles. Superglue is not a refreshing drink.

You’ve been warned. I take no responsibility for any health/safety issues arising from this post.

RESIN TINTING

To produce amber tinted resin, I mixed a minuscule amount of the nano particle dispersion pigment into a tray of Clear V2. I think it was on the order of tenths of a gram or less. The dispersion is an incredibly light, granular substance - a bit like ash or cotton candy. It took quite a pile to even register 0.1 grams on my scale, which lacked the precision needed to accurately calculate the final ratio.

On my first attempt I tried a 0.125% ratio of pigment to resin (by weight), but that turned out to be way too much pigment and came out too opaque.

I strongly advise you go slowly. Add a little bit of pigment, and thoroughly mix it into the tank to assess the color before adding any more. The grains will sort of spiral out into long strands as they begin to dissolve. You can transfer the pigment grains using tweezers or a very small spoon (don’t use it for eating afterward!), but I found it simplest to bend a small triangle of paper in half to create a little scoop that could be easily disposed of afterward.

If you use RIT dye instead, I suggest mixing at a ratio of 0.625% (by weight) for the Apricot Orange powder dye, or less than 0.5% of the Tangerine liquid dye. After mixing, pour the concoction through a paint strainer (e.g. 100 micron) to filter out large particles that didn’t dissolve, and reduce speckling in your print (not required for the nano dispersion).

Adding more pigment results in a darker color more true to the actual Form 2 cover, but also reduces transparency. I like being able to see the vague outline of the crystal and interior through the lid. Coincidentally, the color I wound up with was a near perfect match to the tint of the original Form 1 / 1+ lid (which is less amber and more orange than the Form 2).

If you’re in a hurry you can print right away, but for best results let the mix sit in a dark place for several hours (or even days) to fully dissolve. Occasional stirring wouldn’t hurt.

The tinted resin prints great using the same settings as the Clear resin. You can either print in Open Mode, fill an old Clear cartridge with the mix, or otherwise “trick” your printer into thinking it’s a standard resin. Depending how you proceed, you may get some warning messages during printing that require manual acknowledgement / override to continue (e.g. periodic resin level errors or cartridge empty warnings). If your printer is still under warranty, it may be safest to print in Open Mode (which is intended for experiments like this).

Alternative approaches suggested by other users include epoxy dyes, food coloring, or just dipping your final printed part in a colorant.

PRINTING

The zip archive includes ready to print .form files, optimized for 100µm. Here are the parts you’ll need to print:

To minimize post-processing work, almost everything prints directly on the build platform, without supports. Some of the parts are more sensitive to base compression than others (e.g. the display panel, glass overlay and butterfly logo). Some tolerance is baked in, but if you find they aren’t the right thickness and don’t fit together correctly, you may need to tweak the Solidworks files for your printer / build platform / tray (refer to the Troubleshooting section below). I’d love to hear feedback whether your print “just works” or needs tailoring.

The form files include extra copies of some of the smaller, more delicate parts, to mitigate against damage during removal or curling in post-processing. The prints will probably run 7-8 hours in total. To keep your alcohol clean, you may want to run the Clear first and Amber / Black last. The dyed resin will tint everything it touches (including your alcohol).

REMOVAL

Most of the parts can be easily detached with the removal tool from the stock finishing kit. A few (mainly the thin glass panel) come off easier with the scraper knife. For the smaller ones (like the butterfly and glass), gently ease the knife or removal tool under an edge and peel or pop them off. Some parts like the display panel include reverse chamfers along an edge to give you a purchase point - look for them facing the outer edges of the build platform.

Beveled parts like the orange lid pop off very easily by wedging the removal tool underneath one of the beveled corners and levering the corner slightly upward.

Always push blades away from you, and keep your fingers clear of the path of motion. Parts are MUCH easier to remove fresh after a print, when the build platform is still warm.

FINISHING

Tiny parts like the button, collar, butterfly, glass and wiper should be handled with tweezers. Since they’ll slip through the perforations in the normal rinse basket, I use a small, Ziploc-lined jar with just enough alcohol to cover them.

The inner floor of the gray base can be wiped with your gloved fingers or an alcohol-soaked Q-Tip to prevent blotchy residue from forming around the lettering.

The Jig tool is just used to aid magnet installation and accurately bend the worm gear paperclip. You can tear it from the supports without worrying about cosmetic blemishes.

If post-curing, make sure to keep the thin panels flat, and rotate or flip them so they cure evenly and don’t curl.

Pro Tip - For a super transparent crystal, don’t rinse that part in IPA. Leave the whole build platform in the printer for a couple hours after the print to let all the resin drain away, then remove the crystal and place it in a UV oven or in sunlight (on a solar turntable if possible) until the thin coating of resin cures.

The clear glass panel is thin enough to be fairly transparent straight off the build platform, but you can lightly sand and polish it with Novus if desired. I don’t bother, as my efforts tend to just make it foggier (I guess I stopped too soon). I tried the above technique (dipping it under a thin coat of resin), but I think the glass panel is too small and thin - a blob always clung onto whatever corner I pulled out last, leaving the thickness uneven, and it was really hard to handle the wet part without marring the surface. You might be able to print and process a larger piece, then cut it down to size. And the technique might work better for the crystal. If anyone has success improving the optics of these parts, drop a line here!

ASSEMBLY

This takes some time and patience the first time you do it. If those qualities in short supply, you can always skip the more difficult bits.

  1. Magnets

    The Lid and Base each have a matched pair of tiny sockets along their front lip for you to inset magnets. They provide alignment and a positive “snap” sensation when the lid is closed, keeping it secured against the base. They can be installed by using the paperclip as a “grip” tool to pick up the magnet, and the Jig as a sleeve to hold the magnet in place and keep it from sticking to the paperclip when the latter is removed.

    First take a paperclip and unfold one of the bends to produce a straight end. Use it to gently clear any uncured resin or debris from the sockets in the Base and Lid. Then insert it into the large end of the Jig until it protrudes out the pointy end. Allow one of the magnets to grab onto the protruding end of the paperclip. The flat surface of the magnet should be stuck to the end face of the wire.

    Pour a very small, thin puddle of superglue onto a flat surface (e.g. a few scraps of paper thick enough to prevent the glue from leaking through), and dip the magnet into the glue. Make sure the glue only coats the bottom and sides of the magnet; try not to get any on the top surface.

    Using the paperclip, press the magnet into the cavity. Then with your other hand lower the jig until it pushes against the top surface of the magnet. Swiftly pull up on the paperclip. The jig will hold the magnet in place and prevent it from following the paperclip back out of the socket.

    Take away the jig, and If needed use a non-metallic tool or your fingernail to adjust the magnet. Ensure it’s firmly seated into the socket, and aligned correctly (i.e. it should be seated flat, with the top exposed surface flush with or parallel to the upper surface of the Base).

    Repeat the procedure for the remaining three sockets. IMPORTANT: Take care to install the magnets the correct way around! They need to attract each other where the exposed faces will meet.

    Before installing the second magnet in a pair, you can confirm you’ve got it oriented the right way around. While it’s still stuck to the end of the paperclip, briefly wave it near its mate. You should feel it being repelled. This means the repelled end will be inserted into the cavity, leaving the attracted face pointing out toward its mate.

  2. Worm Gear

    Next install the paperclip into the Tower. It slides in from the bottom, through a hole in the table, continues up the vertical channel, and is seated into a slot at the top (behind the build platform). The bottom end is cut, and secured in place by looping it around a short locking post on the left side.

    You can fiddle with a pair of needle-nose pliers to secure the clip, or use the Jig, which is designed to pre-bend the paperclip for a perfect fit. (There’s also a third option: a built-in “jig” on the lower right interior of the Tower. Although still functional, it’s a remnant of earlier installation techniques and is ignored for the remainder of these instructions).

    To pre-bend the paperclip, first insert it into the Jig, the exact same way as in the previous step. Then place the pointy end of the jig on a flat surface like your table, and push the paperclip down so it rests against the table. This ensures the end of the paperclip is flush with the pointy end of the jig.

    Now bend the top side of the paperclip down 90° through the slot on the top of the jig (A). Then rotate the paperclip counterclockwise across the horizontal slot (B), about a quarter turn until it hits the stop. Bend it upward, back over the top of the Jig (C). Finally, make one last bend by hand (D) to bring the remainder of the wire roughly in line with the centerline axis of the Jig (E). Twist the whole paperclip clockwise to remove it from the Jig, and it should look something like image (F). You’ve formed a hook exactly where it needs to be.

    Push the straight end up through the bottom of the tower, then rotate the paperclip counterclockwise so that the hook catches on the lock post (you might need to push up at the same time with a bit of force to clear the post). Use the Flush Cutters from your Finish Kit to trim the paperclip, and if neccessary, lightly squeeze your needle-nose pliers to crimp the hook securely around the post.

  3. LED’s

    Take a blue LED and test it to make sure it works. It’s easy, just push the battery in between its leads. The flat side of the battery (positive) goes against the larger lead.

    The legs of the LED need to be bent so it can slip in behind the bracket. Hold the LED upright in front of you so the long leg is on the right, and short one is one the left. Now bend the head of the LED toward you about 60°. You want the crease to be around 2-3mm from the bottom surface of the LED casing. Then slide the LED behind the circular bracket on the right hand interior of the base, and insert the LED forward into the bracket. Some force is required, and you can use needle-nose pliers to help press it in place (just be careful not to crack the LED casing). I suggest dabbing some superglue around the sides of the LED casing before installation, to be sure it remains permanently secured it in place.

    Installing the cyclic LED to illuminate the upper portion of the tower is a lot easier. Test it just like you did the blue one, then holding it with the long lead on the left, simply push it upward into the hole in the center of the table.

    Next the LED legs will be formed into battery contacts. You want them to press against the battery with a bit of static force. Double-check the longer leads of both LED’s are toward the outside (i.e. left and right side) of the tower, then bend them toward the rear corners. Twist the shorter leads together, and with your needle-nose pliers bend them into a small loop toward the rear of the Tower. You’ll need to use your Flush Cutters to trim the leads before you can complete the loop.

  4. Battery

    Install the battery by sliding it into the front of the Tower. The flat side of the coin cell should be down, resting against the ledges which protrude inward from the feet of the tower. If you did things right, a fair bit of force is needed to get the battery in place. If the loop made in the last step from the short LED legs protrudes too deep, you may need to sort of wiggle the battery into place from below. Once installed, the lower compartment should look something like this:

    Turn the unit over and use the Flush Cutters to trim the positive LED leads:

    Once you’ve confirmed everything is working, you can nudge or twist the battery forward slightly (toward the front of the unit) to turn off the LED’s.

  5. Display Stack

    Grab the Button using your tweezers, and dot the tiniest amount of glue onto one end face by dipping it ever so slightly into your glue puddle. Then insert it into the Collar. The Collar will act as a sort of light tube illuminating a ring around the Button, which in turn blacks out the interior portion of the ring, imitating the signature print button aesthetic seen on Formlabs printers.

    Dab a touch of glue onto the front flat surface of the collar. The end face of a paperclip makes a great applicator. Then insert it into the Display panel. It slides in from the rear of the panel - i.e. insert it into the side with the progress cuts in it.

    Next use your needle-nose pliers to carefully remove the supports for the window lintel on the Base. Pull them toward the back of the unit. Seat the Glass panel into the frame directly behind the window. The notched corner goes up and to the left.

    The Display panel goes directly behind the Glass panel, with its flat side touching the Glass. It drops into a slot beneath the window, with the tab toward the right side of the unit (on the left when viewed from inside/behind). It will be held in place by the Tower, but I suggest dabbing a bit of glue along the top / bottom of the panel to bond it in place and prevent it from falling out if you open the unit. Doing this also reinforces the thin gray lintel above the window.

  6. Butterfly Logo

    This one’s simple. Just press the Butterfly into the etching on the Base. Depending how much your print compressed, you might notice some small cavities and chamfers on one side of the Butterfly. That side faces inward, and the flat side faces out, flush with the front of the Base. You can dab a tiny amount of glue into the engraving first (using that versatile paperclip once again as an applicator) to secure the Butterfly and prevent its corners from curling up as it cures (unevenly) over time. Once installed, press the entire front face of the base against a flat surface (e.g. table) to ensure it bonds flush (but clean off any leaked glue first so it doesn’t stick to your table!).

  7. Lid

    If it hasn’t already fallen off, take this opportunity to remove the ultra-thin cartridge cap support from the Tower. I find the Flush Cutters are a perfect tool to snap off the small rectangular base of the support without leaving behind a messy edge.

    Use a hairdryer to heat the area around the two hinge detents on the lid. This is necessary to make it stretch it enough to fit it onto the Tower. If you skip this step, you’ll likely damage your Tower or Lid. For me it takes about 45 seconds with the hairdryer on high. Once the plastic is warm and a bit more pliable than usual, insert one side into a hole, and pull the other side away until it clears the edge of the Tower, then guide it into the other hole. Make sure you put the lid on the correct way around. Place the Lid and Tower assembly lying on its back on a flat surface and allow the Lid to cool. Try not to operate the assembly while it’s hot (to avoid unnecessary wear against the temporarily expanded detents).

    Pro Tip - You might increase the lifetime of those hinges by using a Q-Tip to rub a small amount of dry grease (e.g. Graphite) into the holes before assembly.

    Once cool, you can slide the Tower and Lid assembly into the Base until you hear them snap together. The LED’s should be operational.

  8. Tray, Wiper, Crystal

    Smear some superglue on the bottom of the Tray and install it on the tabletop of the Tower. The reason I wait until this point to add the part is so that I can test the lid operation and make sure there’s enough clearance on both sides of the Tray before the glue fully dries.

    Next dab some glue onto the bottom edges of the Wiper and install it in the Tray. It goes near the right side. There’s supposed to be a rib and groove to help with alignment, but they need some adjustment and probably won’t help much. Take care to ensure the wiper is square with the tray and upright (not slanted) while it bonds.

    Once the Wiper and Tray are dry, install the Crystal upside down onto the build platform. I rotate it so the two longest spires are at the back. Do a test fit before you glue, to ensure there’s enough clearance on each side for the Lid to close. When observed from the front, none of the Crystal should protrude past the left or right side of the Tower (i.e. you should see a margin of black on each side).

Congratulations, you made a BabyForm2!

Now take a picture and post it in this thread, and feel free to leave some feedback on the adventure for consideration in any future redesigns.

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TROUBLESHOOTING

Below are some tips if you run into trouble or want to make adjustments.

Before you venture into model edits, be warned this was a frantically rushed design-build begun merely a week out from the conference (and that includes most of the component sourcing!). As a result, some my modeling best practices flew out the window. So if you’re courageous enough to fire this up in Solidworks, please accept my humble apologies for any pain that ensues. (I did start on a clean, redesign-from-scratch in Onshape but never got around to finishing it).

  • Compression compensation

    Parts placed directly on the build platform will suffer some compression in the first few millimeters printed. The effects diminish as the build platform ascends enough to stop “squishing down” the PDMS coating at the bottom of the tank. As a result, the overall height of the part (along the Z axis) may come out shorter than intended. The relative distance to features in the compressed portion (measured along the Z axis) will be inaccurate (generally less than expected), although further up the print accuracy is restored. This is one reason Preform-generated supports raise parts up a certain minimum height above the base.

    You sometimes also get outward “bleeding” in the X and Y directions along the edges of the base, as a result of the printer overcuring the first few layers. This means your part may have a very thin “lip” along its edge where it meets the build platform, although the effect is generally a lot less prevalent than compression.

    Here’s how the cross-section of a vertical beam with three equally spaced holes in it might come out. Note the effects are greatly exaggerated for the purposes of illustration:

    Where possible, parts in the project have been designed so the accuracy of their overall printed height isn’t critical, and features near the build platform are crafted such that they can absorb the effects of compression without unwanted consequences to fit or aesthetics. The beveled edges on the top of the Lid, and bottom of the Base, are a great example - they’ll come out more “squat” in some printers verses others, but are large enough that you don’t really notice, and it doesn’t harm anything if the printer “eats” some of their layers. Further, their bases have been preemptively stretched a little to compensate - so while the curves look a little oblong in the design file, it helps them come out closer to round when printed.

    There are a few exceptions where the negative effects couldn’t be avoided. The Glass panel is quite thin in order to get good transparency without post-processing. If you find your printer “eats” it entirely, you might need to thicken it. Similarly, the thickness of the Butterfly logo can be tuned to achieve a perfectly flush fit.

    The Display panel relies on varying the cut depth around the progress circle in order to create the gradient effect. If the minimum thickness is too small you might wind up with a hole in it, but if it’s too thick it will block out too much light and the dark portion of the gradient won’t be visible.

    Finally, the depth of the Tower might need to be tweaked to gain a flush fit with the rear of the Base and to clamp the battery snugly between it and the Base.

    Here are some dimensions in the model you can play with if needed. Features named “ExtraBase” are generally the ones intended for compression compensation. There are a few of them scattered around (sorry!) with values based on intuition, trial and error.

    • ExtraBase variable in Cover.sldprt. Controls how much extra shell thickness is added to the top surface of the lid (compared to the sides).
    • D1@ExtraBase in Base.sldprt. Extra thickness added to bottom of Base.
    • D1@ExtraBase in Tower.sldprt. Extra thickness added to back surface of Tower; tweak if it isn’t flush with the back of the Base when the two are snap fitted together.
    • D1@ExtraBase in Glass.sldprt. Extra thickness added to Glass.
    • D1@ExtraBase in Display.sldprt. Extra thickness added to Display. Decrease to make the progress circle brighter, increase if you’re getting holes in the Display.
    • D6@ProfileSketch in Tray.sldprt. Height of tray feet (oversized to take into account compression).
    • D1@ExtraBase-PartialSinceDesignTakesIntoAccountCompression in Tray.sldprt. Extra thickness added to bottom of Tray.
    • D1@BackplateAndExtraBase in Collar.sldprt. Adjusts thickness of Collar backplate.
    • D1@ExtraBase in Button.sldprt. Extra height added to Button.
    • D1@ExtraBase in Wiper.sldprt. Extra thickness added to Wiper.
    • D1@ExtraBase in Crystal.sldprt. Extra thickness added to base of Crystal.
    • D1@ExtraBase in Butterfly.sldprt. Extra thickness added to base of Butterfly.

    Keep in mind the degree of compression can fluctuate between different locations on the build platform, and after swapping in a new build platform or tank.

  • Clearances

    Adjust these if snap fits are too tight or too loose. I purposely left the Tower and Base fit a little loose since I wasn’t able to print enough of the latter before the conference, and would be doing last-minute assembly mixing in untested parts run on a different (Form 1) printer by a new friend of mine in Boston. (So there’s the explanation for you really keen recipients who inquired about the feint hex markings on the bottom of your BabyForm2; you’ve got a vintage, limited-run edition!)

    Be creative. e.g. If the battery fit is too loose and your LED’s don’t light up, try sliding a small fold of paper between the battery and the retaining post in front of it. That’s a lot quicker than a model edit.

    • D1@TopCutSketch in Cover.sldprt. Extent of the rear cutout in the top of the Lid. Increase for more clearance to top of Tower and cartridge cap when Lid is opened. You can also tweak D1@FilletTowerClear. After adjustment, you might also need to increase D4@ColumnSketch in Tower.sldprt and fix the engraving lines on top of Tower.
    • FilletBackCornersForOpenClearance in Cover.sldprt. The fillet dimensions control the amount of rounding on the back corners of the lid; increase if the cover scrapes against the top of the base when opening / closing. (See also, TestMotion.sldasm).
    • D1@DisplaySlotSketch in Base.sldprt. Size of the Display panel retention slot.
    • Offsets in these sketches / features impact how tightly the Tower fits into the Base. Due to rushed modeling, they can be tricky to adjust:
      • RearCutSketch in Base.sldprt
      • Indent1 feature in Tower.sldprt.
      • D4@ColumnSketch in Tower.sldprt (I’d start here).
    • D2@BattLockSketch in Base.sldprt. Adjusts how tightly the Base pushes the battery into the Tower. Decrease if your LED’s keep going out.
    • D19@BattRetainingRightPost in Tower.sldprt. Controls offset from battery retention post to approximate top surface of battery. Increase if the battery is too hard to insert. See also, D1@BattLedge which controls the (thickness of the ledges which grip the battery from below.
    • RearClearance variable in Tower.sldprt. Gap between back panel of Tower and Lid.
    • CoverClearance variable in Tower.sldprt. Clearance between Tower column and Lid.
    • D1@Led2HoleAndLocatorSketch in Tower.sldprt. Size of LED opening.
    • D1@MainSketch in Button.sldprt. Diameter of button. Increase if it’s too loose in the Collar.
    • D1@Led1BracketSketch in Tower.sldprt. Size of LED opening. Increase by 0.1mm if it’s too hard to insert the blue LED.
    • ButterflySketch in Butterfly.sldprt. Offsets adjust snap fit tightness of Butterfly.
  • Preform Layout

    If you make adjustments to the STL’s and need to perform layout in Preform, I suggest you rotate parts around the Z axis so they are not parallel with the wiper edge of the platform. This reduces stress during the peel process. It’s especially important for the Lid; if its walls are parallel to the wiper edge you’ll get a “crusty” buildup where they meet the build platform (unfortunately I made this mistake on the batch I brought to the conference).

    Preform might prompt you to confirm units for some of the smaller parts are in millimeters (Collar and Button). Also be sure to select the correct base surfaces when orienting your parts on the build platform (zoom in for the small parts to be sure). The Wiper in particular is easy to get wrong - it’s deceptively asymmetrical, and the side furthest from the guide rib should go down.

    Most parts have one or more release chamfers along their perimeter to ease removal from the platform; you should try and point these outward to make them easy to access with the scraper.

  • Built-In Jig

    For those curious, here’s how the built-in jig alternative works: Stick paperclip through hole, up column, and seat end in slot. Bend up toward front of tower, slip over built-in jig, bend down, then rotate the whole clip left over the locking post. You can tell I’m still experimenting to figure out the quickest method, and in practice I’m actually starting to prefer this one.

  • LED Viewing Angle

    For keeners: It’s about 13° from the LED centerline to the outer edge of the progress bar cutout, and 25° to the illuminated button ring

  • Decal

    No LED’s? No problem, you can fake it:

  • Disassembly

    If you need to get inside your BabyForm2 (e.g. to change the battery), you can use a paperclip to open it up. Hold the Tower in one hand (gripping the sides of the vertical column between your fingers) and the base in the other hand. Insert the paperclip into the hole on the side of the unit, and press hard until you feel the snap tab start to release. You can sort of lever the tab backwards a little to push one side of the Tower backward. Continue holding the Tower and Base apart so the side you released doesn’t slip back in, then repeat the process using the hole on the other side of the Base to pop out the Tower.

  • Modeling

    When modeling, try to avoid introducing circular references. Here’s a rough dependency graph:

    A few of the sketch entities are drawn freehand without firm relations. When you resize certain components (e.g. height of the lid) these sketches may need to be manually corrected. Dangling references might also be introduced after such operations (e.g. where sketch entities have been converted) - the offset entities on the feet of the Tower can be particularly troublesome. If the Onshape redesign is ever completed those issues will go away.

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STORY

This post is reserved in case I get around one day to sharing some behind-the-scenes “making of” stories. It’s an entertaining little tale featuring hardware mishaps at the worst possible time, overnight-shipping shenanigans, and late-night hotel room assembly with improvisations that would make MacGyver proud. :wink:

In the meantime click the album below for some high-res glamour shots:

Or watch a video:

Finally a special thanks to @DavidRosenfeld for helping me out of a jam by printing several bases for me in Boston after I’d left for the conference.

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Uh…wow. Not only is your work/print astonishing, but the amount of time and effort you put into documenting everything above…BRAVO! :ok_hand: :clap: @rkagerer

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It was great meeting you at FUSE! This documentation is absolutely incredible and my BabyForm 2 has a permanent spot on my desk :slight_smile:

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Thanks. Now i need to print one. Oh dear.
Seriously, looks brilliant.

I think everyone who saw them at FUSE was blown away, but seeing it all laid out here just took it to another level. The custom printed paperclip jig that serves multiple asm functions, the care and attention to detail on the parts, asm steps and documentation… it’s a really remarkable little homage to the Form 2. Thanks so much for sharing.

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That is so amazingly cute! And well just amazing!

This is freakin’ adorable! Nerd out, everyone!!

Dude, thanks for the info on the Amber tint! I’ve been looking for this sort of thing since I couldn’t find any third party resins with that amber “look” anymore.

This is great! Thanks for sharing!

Were the files removed? The link takes me to a dropbox that doesn’t exist. :frowning:

Thanks @scott_hill for letting me know. Unfortunately I no longer seem to be able to edit the post, but here’s a working link to the file:

BabyForm2-v2.0.zip

Thank you so much!

Wow , I really want it on my table before I own a form 2… Form 2 still too expensive to me now.

@invabun, PM me. Maybe I can send you a late little Christmas present in the new year.

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Really ! Thank you first . BTW … How to send PM >.< haha 1st time in this forum

This is such a cool concept, full of detail and the print looks absolutely amazing! I’d love to get my hands on one too. @rkagerer are you making any more to sell?

@coffeejelli I’m not selling them (didn’t embark on this to make money) but am planning to make a few more in the new year. Since you asked so nice I’ll put you on the wait list. PM me your details. :slight_smile:

I’m not sure when they’ll be available. I’ve been printing some parts opportunistically when I happen to have the appropriate resin in stock and installed in my printer for some other project.

I’m still playing with a couple design tweaks, albeit very sporadically (mostly in effort to improve surface quality on the top surface of the cover and the glass piece).

Have a great Christmas / New Year!

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Oh wow, thank you so much! :smile: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!