Hex Twist surface vase (spiral print)

The main source page for this model is on GitHub. The GitHub page may have more recent updates and more detailed instructions.

Go to my site for an overview of my other models. Only a few of them are published on Printables.

Description

This is a variation on my Hex Surface Vase, with an extra twist inside the hexagonal tiles for even more interesting lighting effects, especially when printing this in ‘silky’ or other reflective filaments.

Like the original, this is intended to be printed in ‘spiral vase’ mode which prints a single seamless wall in one continuous movement. The radius of the models is about 53 mm, scale it up or down as you see fit.

You can create a model of any reasonable desired height by taking the tallest one (6) and cutting it down.

How to print this

‘Spiral vase’ mode (as it is called in PrusaSlicer and Slic3r) has different names in different slicing programs: Cura calls it “Spiralize outer contour” (may need to be activated in the preferences), in S3D it is “Corkscrew/vase.” It is not mandatory for printing this model, but provides the nicest results when printing with a single shell.

You can also print it without spiral mode by setting infill to 0% and zero top layers. This allows to print with more shells for extra strength, but it will produce a visible seam unless you enable random contour starting points in your slicer.

For a really smooth finish on smaller prints, print in spiral vase mode with 0.1 mm layers. 0.2 mm is good for larger sizes.

Updates

• 2023/03/26: smoother surface, helpful for larger prints