Scrollform Cylinder

Howdy, wonderful people!

Well, where do I start on this one?! As you've no doubt already noticed, it's a busy, detailed looking thing, and that was ultimately the point of it. I wanted a design that could use filament swapping to create graphic shapes, and thus get a complicated multimaterial look without any more complexity than a simple change of filament during the print. Well, several changes of filament, most likely! As you'd imagine, the first idea for this concept was based around side panels on something like a cube, but that just wasn't giving me the kind of kaleidoscopic patterning I was picturing. So I added a whole lot of hinges and made a cylinder. Well, an approximation of a cylinder, to be pedantic, made up of an abundance of straight sides, which are wrapped around and stuck into some end bits that keep them in place.

Let's talk about those end bits! The first versions of this idea did the obvious, and modelled a screw thread that was distributed across the individual segments that form the cylinder. End pieces incorporated positioning elements to keep things round, as well as a matching thread. The problem is, that meant the curved thread pieces were on the z-axis, and thus were at the mercy of layer line stepping effects. And indeed there was such an effect! Screwing the end piece on was not pleasant. So, getting away from that idea seemed sensible.

Meanwhile, I'd decided I wanted to put a lid on the cylinder, and it would either be magnetically- or threaded...ly-latched. Either way, there was a risk that opening and closing the lid would loosen and tighten those messy threads, and that just seemed like a terrible plan. So, strike two for the threads! And so instead there's the mechanism I've called a "crown", where each segment has a kind of hook incorporated in the end, and a round end cap slides on, is rotated slightly, and pulled upwards to engage the hooks. Then, a threaded ring is screwed down over that to keep it pushed upwards. And that's what holds it all together! The lid ended up being magnetically-latched, and the magnets fit into the lid itself and into the upper crown model, which can not rotate.

Print Description

There's a lot going on in this print!

The main part is articulated, so as usual you'll want to take care with your first layer and to ensure there aren't any print issues like overextrusion or stringing that might bind moving parts together.

That main section should also be printed with filament swaps to create contrast patterns. Use the slicer's filament change options to preview the colour effects and to make sure you're swapping filaments where you want to.

The rest of the parts fit together fairly precisely, so you'll want to make sure things are neat so that nothing gets in the way of that assembly.

Optional Magnets

If you want to use magnets to hold the optional lid in place you'll need four of our old favourite 6x3mm cylindrical magnets. They're entirely optional, however.

Assembly

It's not a complicated thing to assemble, but getting the bits all fitting in the right spot at the same time might make you wonder if you're doing it wrong, so here's a summary!

1. Roll the main body around one of the crown pieces.

2. Carefully align the crown and the body so that the crown can slide onto the body part.

3. Twist the crown clockwise so that it moves a few millimetres and then stops. Pull the crown up and verify that it only moves a short distance, then stops.

4. Screw on a retaining ring and tighten it against the body, which will push the crown outwards and keep it locked.

Print Dimensions

The main body object occupies 203mm x 180mm on the print bed, but is a mere 8mm tall!

Supports Needed?

Not at all!  Designed for straightforward printing!

Scalability

The main issue with scaling this one is that the lid will no longer fit the usual magnets!

Print Orientation

The main body prints rolled out flat with the detail side up.

The lid prints upside-down, while the crowns print outside-down and their retaining rings... actually, the rings could print either way up just fine :)

File Location

You'll find this one at at 475 Scrollform Cylinder

Link to dropbox post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/31697592

Further Thoughts

I mentioned that I started with a more obvious flat-sided box idea, and while it wasn't quite what I was after, it was still fun and worth going back to, I think. I did do something similar many years ago, but in rather an unrefined form - I would imagine that that whole concept could be much more interesting with a bit of exploration...

Happy filament changing!

xoxo

Sven.