Dolphin for Bathtub or Pool

Cute dolphin, easy print, no glue and lot's of fun.

The compartment(s) can be filled with extra weight e.g. a steel ball or nut (use stainless steel or non-rusting materials). This allows the basic position of the dolphin to be determined. Head above water, dorsal fin above water or tail fin above water. Make sure you clamp both halves under water, so the compartments are also filled with water. This is necessary to obtain a correct, stable position with the dorsal fin always pointing upwards.

Make the dolphin swim up by pulling them under and releasing them. Bigger prints will faster rise because you have more buoyancy then! Advise to print is at scale 130-140% (both dolphin parts and pins). I did 160%, which is showed in the video. 

For a finishing position with the head above water, place weight in the tail. For a finishing position with the tail above water, place weight in the head. In the base model a Ø8 steel ball (or a couple) will fit perfectly. In my print I used Ø10 steel balls. Have fun playing with this! When balanced well the dolphin will make long dives before emerging to the surface again!

Use little infill (15-25%) to have enough buoyancy. Ensure a waterproof print of both halves (I used wall thickness of 3). By printing on a flat plate, the dividing seam will be virtually invisible.

Don't glue, the intention is to clamp both halves by means of a press fit of the pins. If necessary, scale the pins in XY minimally to obtain a perfect clamping fit.

p.s. one dolphin is of course pitifully alone, make sure you have enough friends!

Printed with nozzle 0.4 layer height 0.2. I like the markings of the layers on the side. It gives a clear difference in color shade as you can see in the pictures. For finer detail print with smaller nozzle or do some post-processing.