Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from July, 2024

20mm Flexi Turtle – World’s First Smallest FDM Articulated Model

  How I Designed the World’s Smallest FDM Articulated Turtle We all love minis — they’re trendy, collectible, and satisfying to print. Most of the designs I develop are full-scale articulations with well-sculpted details and refined geometry. But for a long time, I’ve wanted to create a true miniature — something tiny yet mechanically functional. The problem? I was never satisfied with the detail and articulation quality when scaled down. While I was sculpting the standard articulated turtle, an old friend reached out. He uses a 120mm print bed exclusively for research purposes but always wanted to try printing an articulated model. That stuck with me. As I worked on the full-size turtle, I kept the X and Y dimensions within 120mm — though it eventually crept up to 126mm. After releasing the full-scale version, I began researching how to scale it down without sacrificing clearance or articulation integrity. That led me to revisit one of my older designs: the ball-joint links from...

Feels Good Man : That Happened. Went Viral!

                    Khaleej Times Feature Story                         Times of India Article                 Times of India Plus Feature An old news 🗞️ but what better ocassion than this to show case them for all of you to watch and read on this joyous 3rd Anniversary of Mels 3D LABS  Been holding back on posting the news, come on I was building things like crazy, skipping lots of meals. Not really proud of the pics that were taken for the news. The News was featured over 60+ media world wide, you can check mostly all of them down here :                             Mels 3D NewsRoom 3 years later,  Here we go. Got the Instgram Verified as a ...

Acid Bed Leveling. The Madness Continues

Acid bed leveling is an experimental technique developed by Mels3D for achieving a perfectly flat build plate in 3D printing. This innovative process uses acid etching to precisely remove material from the surface of the build plate, correcting any irregularities.   Key Points:  1. Precision The acid etching process allows for extremely fine adjustments, resulting in a highly accurate and uniform surface.  2. Surface Quality  This method can produce a smoother surface compared to traditional mechanical leveling methods, enhancing print adhesion.  3. Durability Plates leveled through acid etching tend to maintain their flatness longer, reducing the frequency of re-leveling.  4. Material Compatibility Typically used on metal build plates like aluminum or steel, which can endure the etching process.   Process: 1. Preparation  The build plate is cleaned thoroughly to eliminate any contaminants.   2....