Spiral Vase Hibiscus

This is my Valentines-adjacent flower design for 2024, following the Spiral Vase Calla Lily last year and the Spiral Vase Rose in 2022. The main flower prints in spiral vase mode; the pistil and stem print with regular settings.

The most prolific image of a hibiscus is one of the red varieties, but hibiscuses come in many colors. Your filament collection (and perhaps some careful application of paint) is the limit for what color this hibiscus can be, but if you prefer to attempt an accurate color palette, here are some links for inspiration:

• This garden planning site lists many cultivars of hibiscus, with photos
• An image search on Wikimedia Commons for “hibiscus”

If you print this, I would love to see a photo!

Update 2/16: The stem has been edited so the top (in print orientation) prints more neatly, and I've added a version that is an easier angle. The main stem is a 60º angle to the bed; the easier version is a 70º angle.

Because this is my first ‘store’ model, unlike my other paid models, the single-time purchase of the Spiral Vase Hibiscus includes a Commercial Use license, if you're looking to sell prints.

How to Print

Flower:

• Spiral Vase Mode (scroll down to the end for more info on how to do this)
• Minimum should be 0.4mm nozzle with line width set to at least 0.45mm (PrusaSlicer default); bigger nozzles will also work, and may be an easier print + result in a nicer look with translucent filaments.
• 1.2mm bottom thickness: Regardless of nozzle and line size, you want a number of bottom layers that equals a thickness of 1.2mm; this makes sure the hole in the base prints properly. So 6 bottom layers at 0.2mm layer height, 4 bottom layers at 0.3mm layer height, 3 bottom layers at 0.4mm layer height, etc.
  • PrusaSlicer appears to parse the hole just fine as long as your bottom layers are at or below 1.2mm thickness, so leaving it on the 1mm default thickness for a 0.4mm nozzle will technically work; however, the the flower will sit ever so slightly more loosely between the connected pistil and stem.
    • The same applies to two bottom layers when printed at 0.5mm layer height, etc. (Although you should be able to modify one or two of those bottom layers to be thinner so the thickness still adds up to 1.2mm?)
• The hole in the bottom is 8mm wide, and you connect the pistil and stem through it.

Pistil:

• PLA recommended
  • PETG works, but the fit may be looser
• 0.4mm line width
• 0.2mm layer height (or 0.1 mm)
• Good bed adhesion for fine details (Whatever your equivalent of glue-stick on glass may be)
• 50% infill
• Remove from bed carefully.
• The little prongs are delicate and can be bent (or broken if you're too rough with them.) If you're feeling brave, you might carefully bend some of them to increase the asymmetrical organic look.
• No supports or brim

Stem:

• PLA or PETG
• 50% infill
• Align seam to rear: the model is rotated so that this will apply the seam along the back of the stem (and not under the overhang)
  • In PrusaSlicer: Print Settings > Layers and perimeters > Advanced > Seam position: Rear
  • This is just a much faster and neater alternative to painting the seam so it doesn't fall on the underside.
• No supports. You may want a brim.
• Make sure you have solid bed adhesion, and that your bed is freshly leveled. If it wobbles even a tiny bit during printing, it can add up to the underside printing more and more roughly as you go up.
  • You're either going to want a good application of glue, or a wide brim. If you use a brim, make sure it's Outer brim only.
• Take care when removing from bed.
  • I print on glass + gluestick, so I used the method where I stick the glass plate in the freezer until the object pops off.

Assembly:

Pistil: The three parts of the pistil slide together. Slide them in gently, and they should fall into an angle automatically. They fit together, but they can come back apart easily if you play with them or, say, drop them on the ground. Use a bit of clear craft glue if you want to make certain they stay in place.

Full flower: The bottom of the pistil snaps into the stem, with the bottom of the flower sandwiched between them. The connection is loose enough that you can rotate the flower and the pistil to reposition them. You can use some craft glue if you want to make sure they stay in a specific position.

Misc.:

Extra files: in a zip file you will also find:

• A version of the flower without a hole in the bottom, for resizing and customizing needs.
  • Keep in mind that the pistil and stem are designed to work with an opening with a diameter of 8mm.
• The three pieces of the pistil, separated
• A negative volume as used in the connector hole, to use as a boolean subtraction in a custom stem. The side that meets the surface of the object-to-be-subtracted-from is facing up.

Filaments in photos: Printed Solid Jessie Ice Red PLA, Atomic Filament True Gold v2 PLA, Atomic Filament Pastel Lilac PLA

New to vase mode or still learning?

• Spiral vase mode takes the outside wall of a solid, continuous model and calculates a continuous single spiraling path to print to the top. Usually this is after a few standard solid layers at the bottom.
• In PrusaSlicer, this is the “Spiral vase” option you can check off in Print Settings > Layers and Perimeters > Vertical shells. It will automatically change several of your settings to be compatible with the mode.
• In Cura slicer: Special Modes > Spiralize Outer Contour
• To get a good vase mode print, you'll want to refine a couple more settings. You want to print slow and steady, and toward the higher end of your filament's temperature range. IMO you should test settings for each filament, as well as for different layer heights, to determine a temperature, extrusion %, and speed (if the speed hasn't been slowed down automatically) to get a nice, clean vase mode print with that filament. With PETG, I've had the best results printing at a higher temperature for strength, and turning the fan off or keeping it as low as possible. Sometimes you will see bumps when printing in PLA, and can fix this by lowering the extrusion rate; if you still get bumps, see below:
  • If you're still getting bumps: especially if you're on a more basic machine like an Ender 3, it may be a matter of computing and RAM, and your printer having tiny moments where it pauses. Fixes include using a faster microSD, being hardwired to the printer if you usually use OctoPrint, or upgrading your firmware (this is what worked for me) with options including arc calculation (marlin 2.0 and on), disallowing the printer from writing to the SD card, and turning off the power failure recovery mode. (The latter is very useful but may cause those little pauses with a big file.)