3D Design 2

3D Printed Action Figure

Ethan Dahl, 7th grade

Drakes Creek Middle School

3D Design

I created an action figure because it's a really interactive item. The action figure would also be a challenge to design and print.

There were many steps taken to create this 3D print. First I added a rectangle into the workplace for a torso and base the rest of the body off of. Then I modeled the rest of the limbs in relation to the torso starting from the head down.

Next I loaded up an image of a ball joint for reference because I needed ball joints to connect the limbs and torso. Finally I added a few extra details like a more human head, rounded limbs, wider feet, and several more points of articulation.

There are many 3D modeling programs that are usable nowadays but I used a 3D modeling software called Blender for this project. It is a very diverse and reliable modeling software.

A few days before picking up this project, I was trying to learn more about blender. I became fascinated with the sheer amount of creations you can make with it and at the time I was attempting to make a humanoid(ish) figure for a project of mine.

The amount of problems I encountered are considerably high. For starters, the ball joints were just a pain to get the size right. Another problem I encountered was making it printable by separating every limb piece by piece. Finally, each type of printing plastic has its own designated heating temperatures and they all print differently so even pinpointing the right plastic type was difficult.

I really like the end result of this project, it took a while and quite a bit of trial and error but it turned out better than I thought it would ever be.