Turtles all the way down

Turtles all the way down:
 

Just like the mythical story of the world being on the back of a turtle, on top of another turtle, on top of another turtle, all the way down into infinite regression, this model offers almost endless complexity from a seemingly simple pattern interacting with light and shadow, both within itself and reflecting off the wall behind it.

Printing it with Prusament Ocean Blue PETG turned out incredible. It only uses 250g of filament! While PLA is better suited to getting a clean print, I really wanted this colour for its depth. It's hard to capture what the light does with this filament, as it's only a single extrusion wide, so it becomes semi-transparent in bright light, but is dark enough to create deep shadows as well. It also changes through so many intricate shades of blue and green as the sun moves across it. In direct sunlight, the single extrusion almost acts like stained class casting coloured shadows on the wall. 

The flower of life pattern works beautifully playing with the light in any condition. There are always parts creating shadow, and other parts perpendicular to the light creating reflections from the shininess of the plastic. The thin extrusion combined with the viewer's perspective angle means that parts of the model can be almost transparent while others are capturing increasingly deep shadows that make a gradient from light to dark.

This model uses mounts that hold the entire piece off the wall 10mm (3/8 inch), which creates another layer of depth to the  patterns on the wall, and gets more complex as more light sources are introduced, such as when you have multiple ceiling lights or lamps on in a room. 

The wall mounting is done with 3M command picture hanging strips. It can be done with as little as one strip because the whole project is so light (250g), but I recommend two for stability. You can also print (or paint) the mounts and standoffs in a colour that matches the wall to reduce how visible they are. The pictures show my mounts in the same Ocean Blue colour, so you can see how they look and decide how much effort to put into it for yourself.

While you can assemble almost all of it using just the standoffs, I ended up using them to clamp the parts together and then adding a couple of drops of super glue to the other side of the model, and once it was dry (it takes a while for PETG) then removing most of them. 

All of the pictures are of the same model (I only made one) just from different angles and different lighting conditions.

This photo captures much of the complexity that is created by the pattern, including a floating effect, the circles that capture your eye, the transparency of the filament, the play of the shadows behind it, the internal shadows, and the transitions from light to dark.

A blue shadow is being cast on the wall, with deep blacks contrasting the bright spots within the model itself.

The model appearing to shift from blue to green  as you move from left to right as the light changes on the filament.

The perspective shift  that plays with the parallax of the model angle versus the viewer angle.

A close up example of how the light plays into the pattern creating light and dark spots, and because the pattern is circular, it will always happen from any angle.
 

This is probably my favourite photo, where the light is reflecting off the insides of the loops to create this lensing effect on the wall behind it. 

A straight on shot, you can still see how the pattern casts shadows in the wall behind it. This model is dynamic from every single angle. You can also see the command strip mounts in the same Ocean Blue filament, they could be hidden by using a different colour or painting them the same colour as your wall.

Another view showing how the colours shift as the light changes, from shiny reflections to black shadows, allowing you to show off the complexity of your favourite filament colours.

This view shows how green the filament can get in the right light, and even reflects green off the wall in the shadows. 

Video:

Model Details:

Model Size: (LxWxH): 500mm x 500mm x 35mm (19.5 x 19.5 x 1.4 inches)
Filament: 250g
Wall Mounting: 2x 3M command picture hanging strips (medium size)
Free Standing: If you glue this model together it can be a free standing or leaning art piece that doesn't need to be mounted.
Assembly: CA glue (super glue) required.
 

Printing:

Extrusion width: .5mm
Layer height .2mm
Material: PLA or PETG
Nozzle Size: .4 mm

Printing Tips:

• The included .3mf files have the mentioned settings below already set.
   
• All the parts are a single wall extrusion. Set all your extrusion width settings to 0.5mm for the best fit with the stand offs. 
   
• The inner rings are arranged in the .3mf file to minimise stringing between parts. You can add more to print at once, but depending on the material choice you may have more cleanup to do. A really quick blast (half a second) with a hot blow dryer or heat gun removes fine strings quickly. Any longer can warp the parts.
   
• You may have to play with using an enclosure over your printer to prevent warping as the parts are only a single extrusion stacking on top of each other, but not printed in vase mode. I used a cardboard box over my mini. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. The goal is to protect from any drafts and keep a stable temperature.
   
• Dry filament will provide better results. Since all the parts are only a single extrusion wide, any bubbles that form as the moisture turns to steam in the hot end and forces extra plastic out while it escapes, are pretty obvious in the parts.
   
• Some bubbles and warping are fine, the end model is large at 500 x 500 mm, and there are a lot of shadows, reflections, and shapes to catch viewers eyes, so they won't notice every little flaw.
   
• While this can be printed on a mini, if you want to do something fancy with a dual or tri-colour filament, you'll need a bigger print bed to control the orientation of all the parts so it comes together correctly.
   
• Due to the press-fit nature of the standoffs and the fixed extrusion width, scaling this model would be difficult.

Assembly Tips:

• Keep track of which side of the part was on the build plate, and be consistent. Whether you use a smooth or textured build plate, there will be a slight difference in the appearance of the top versus the bottom of the parts.
   
• Print extra standoffs to help hold parts together if you are gluing the joints. I only had about 10 while assembling mine, but I wish I had many more.
   
• Tape is a great way to clamp parts together or temporarily hold them in place while glue dries.
   
• Print all of the parts and do a mock assembly before gluing anything.
   
• Gluing the edge seams takes the most patience. Hanging the two parts just off the edge of table will help keep the parts from getting stuck to the table while still keeping them aligned.
   
• Once the outer parts are glued together, the inner rings mostly force themselves into the correct alignment. The standoffs will force proper alignment until the glue dries.
   
• It only takes a few drops of glue, it will wick into the gaps between the parts and hold them securely once dry.
   
• Patience is paramount when gluing, both in not moving any pieces while the glue sets, and to only use enough to hold the parts while not gluing the standoffs in place on the other side. 
   
• More patience… 
   

Thank you!

The idea for this model started many years ago, when I was challenged to make a piece of art out of only used toilet paper tubes and hot glue for an obscure art event, where all the entries would be burned at the end. I had no idea what I would end up with, but this beautiful design emerged, and I loved it so much I almost didn't bring it to the event because I didn't want it to be destroyed. Now I have recreated the original piece so it can be shared around the world! 

I am excited to be able to hang it in my home and hope that it brings some beauty into yours as well! Please share your makes!