Okay, so I’ve been wanting to make one of these flexible toys for a while, you know, the ones that wiggle all over? I finally decided to give it a shot with a jackrabbit design. It seemed simple enough… famous last words, right?
Getting Started
First, I grabbed some strong, but flexible filament. I went with a bright orange ’cause, why not? I wanted it to be, you know visible. I spent a good chunk of time just, like, fiddling with the filament, making sure it would actually bend without snapping.
The Design Process (aka: The Headache Begins)
Next, I needed a 3D model. I’m no expert in 3D modeling, So I found a basic jackrabbit design. It looked pretty straightforward – body, legs, head, all separate pieces that were supposed to connect with these little ball-and-socket joints.
I loaded the model into my slicer software. This is where things got a bit tricky. I had to figure out the best orientation for each part to minimize supports and, hopefully, maximize flexibility. I played around with the settings for, I swear, like two hours. Infill percentage, layer height… It was a whole thing.
Printing and… Snapping
Finally, I hit “print” and watched the magic happen. Or, well, tried to watch. It was a pretty long print, so I left it running overnight. Big mistake. Huge.
I woke up to a mess. Some of the smaller parts had snapped off, and the joints on one of the legs were completely fused together. Ugh.
Round Two (and Three… and Four…)
I went back to the slicer software. I adjusted the print settings again, tried a different orientation, and even added some extra supports in a few key areas. It was a lot of trial and error. Honestly, I almost gave up a couple of times. I printed, and reprinted, and reprinted. Finally after a many times, I got a set of parts that looked… okay.
Assembly Agony
Now for the fun part: putting it all together. Those little ball-and-socket joints? They were NOT easy to snap together. I needed pliers, and a whole lot of patience. I managed to get most of it assembled, but one of the ears just refused to cooperate. I probably spent an hour just trying to get that darn ear on.
The (Mostly) Finished Product
So, here it is. My flexible jackrabbit toy. It’s… well, it’s mostly flexible. One ear is a little wonky, and one of the legs is a bit stiff, but it wiggles! It actually wiggles! I consider it a success, even if it’s not perfect. It was a learning experience, that’s for sure.
I learned how to adjust the settings, and how to fix some mistakes.
Would I Do It Again?
Maybe. I definitely need a break from tiny plastic joints for a while. But, hey, I have a wiggly jackrabbit now, and that’s pretty cool.
