How to Hollow Solids ?

[ian 32]

Because I was falling into two many problems with making 3d objects that intersect one another and create negative free spaces. I decided for the moment to create a simple profile on plan, extrude, add a simple closed roof (box with 4 top points pinched in towards one another)

This seems to be working and giving me clean prints but all my prints are now of course solid.

I think this is a waste of material and also time.

So what would the easiest option be to hollow this out.?

I could Bolean it out with a simple box in cinema4d and see what happens.. it just seems like the second i make my model a tiny bit complex... i start getting negative space and then after gcodeing and printing, i get these massive big stupid openings where the negative space accures... girrr.

ok any ideas would be super.

thank you.

Ian

[Daid 304]

Set the infill amount to zero percent?

Depending on which slicer you use, you can also model the "hollow" part as a 2nd mesh inside of the same model. For Cura this would work fine. (Try the basic case first, a cube with a 2nd smaller cube inside of it)

[magmotor 0]

Do you have, in your program you use, the commands 'Union' 'Subtract' 'Intersect' for "Solids"? In AutoCad you can say create a solid box, 40mm x 40mm x 40mm then create a smaller box, 36mm x 36mm x 36mm and move the smaller box inside of the larger one, evenly spaced. Then use the 'Subtract' command to subtract the smaller box from the larger one. You'll end up with a hollow box with 4mm walls. Same can be done with your House. If you don't have these options for "Solids" then I imagen it can't be done this way....just a thought....

[ian 32]

ok well i had time last week to test and using Boolean command in cinema 4d, I was able to subtract out a lot of the internal material. Saving on a lot of PLA and also on time.

Seems at the moment to be working, still getting some strange intersection activity on the corner wall intersections but nothing that will trash my models..

so better, not yet perfect but.... better !

Thanks for the help guys.

Ian