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UPDATED to V4. Combined fuselage and hub into one part so glue is no longer required. Simply twist the rotor into a propeller shape using a lighter or hot water then insert the rotor into the fuselage. I recommend using size #8 rubber bands.

UPDATED to V3: Design is much thinner. Some other minor design improvements as well.

UPDATED to V2: The V2 model is designed to be a bit more durable but only includes wings at a thickness of 0.2mm. Also includes STL files for a multicolor print that can be done on any single-color or multi-color printer.

I saw some neat rubber band powered surprise butterflies that fly out when people open cards, books, or packages. I wanted to make some that are 3d printable.

Video here: https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/hgmtpw/i_made_some_prank_butterflies/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

Required:

Lighter
Rubber band
Super glue

To build:

Use super glue to attach the hub to the fuselage and let dry.
CAREFULLY use a lighter to soften the wing arms on the rotor and twist them slightly so it becomes like a propeller. I find that a twist of about 45 degrees works well.
Install the rotor into the hub and attach the rubber band on the hooks.

You may need to clean up the hub and the rotor so that the rotor spins freely. I found that just spinning the rotor inside the hub for a while wears it in and then it works better.

Print instructions

The wings should be one layer or about 0.2mm thick. If the wings are thicker, the toy might be too heavy to fly. Different slicers seem to have trouble with single layer thick parts so it might take some tinkering to get right. I find cura will print the first layer better if the initial layer height is set to 0.24mm. I've included several different model options you can try to see which one plays nice with your slicer (one with 0.4mm thick wings, one with 0.2mm thick wings, and one with 0.12mm thick wings). Make sure your bed is level!

To print multicolor with a single extruder:

print \"multicolor_part_1.stl\"
swap filament
print \"multicolor_part_2.stl\"

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