◆ Mold library
Mesh bowl and ornament STL files
Bowls, dishes, ornaments and cosplay pieces printed flat as a mesh and pressed into a curved shape with a heat gun.
◆ Mold library
Bowls, dishes, ornaments and cosplay pieces printed flat as a mesh and pressed into a curved shape with a heat gun.
11 designs · print times from 40 min
A hollow mesh ghost in two halves that snap together on printed pins, with a hanging hole on top of its head.
A puffy hollow mesh cloud in two halves that snap together on printed pins, with a hanging hole on top.
A hollow mesh mushroom in two halves that snap together on printed pins, with a hanging hole in the cap.
A puffy honeycomb star for the tree: two halves that pin together, with a hanging hole in the top point.
A 130 mm honeycomb leaf dish for keys and trinkets. Print it flat, warm it, press it into shape.
A hollow honeycomb Easter egg in two halves, with a tab and a hanging hole for the Easter tree.
A 150 mm honeycomb bowl for keys or decoration. Print it flat, warm it, press it into shape.
A curved honeycomb eye mesh for masks and helmets. Print it flat, warm it, press the curve in.
A honeycomb bauble in two halves that click together, with a hole in the cap for the string.
A honeycomb pumpkin for Halloween: two halves round an LED tea light, with a hanging hole in the stem.
A 110 mm honeycomb heart dish for rings and keys. Print it flat, warm it, press it into shape.
These are printed flat, which is fast and needs no supports, and then formed. Each kit is a thin lattice plus a plug and a cavity: warm the mesh with a heat gun or in hot water until it goes soft, press it between the two, and hold for a minute while it cools into a bowl, a leaf dish or a rounded ornament.
PLA forms best at around 60 to 70 C and holds its new shape at room temperature. PETG takes a little more heat and ends up tougher. Print the mesh with two walls and a 0.2 mm layer so the strands stay even, and the plug and cavity in any filament, since they never get hot.
The cosplay pieces work the same way, for eye covers and armour accents that need to curve but stay see-through.
Questions
A heat gun is easiest, but a pot of water just off the boil works for PLA. Dip the mesh for a few seconds until it goes floppy, press it in the former, and run cold water over it to set the shape.
Treat it as decoration or for dry things like fruit with skins, keys or sweets in wrappers. The open lattice and the layer lines are hard to clean, so do not use it for loose food.
It was not warm enough yet, or a strand was printed too thin. Warm it more evenly, press slowly from the middle out, and check that the slicer printed every strand as a full line.