Creating a mesh of 120,000 tiny holes

SketchUp 3D Printing
21

@d12dozr, I think I agree that SketchUp may not be the best solution for the mesh in this case.

I would still design the shape in SketchUp as a solid, so in this case a small box with that inlet at the top. Then I would use Slic3r or other software to slice the model without “shells”, only “infill”. Then adjust the infill percentage to get the size holes you want. Here is an example: Germinator Cover for Mason Jar by StephaneRousseau - Thingiverse

Sure, probably the inlet would end up being a mesh, which if that is not acceptable, another solution would be needed.

1 Like
22

Clever thinking ‘outside the box’! You’ll still have a lot of work to clean up the edges to fit the enclosure though.

23

This is a quick model;

  • I used a few “beams” to create a mesh, then intersected it all.
  • From this shape I made one quarter of the “hole” into a component
  • And then flipped it 4 ways to create another component.
  • This I then made an array with to cover one side.
  • The side I make a component and copied/rotated it to create 4 sides.

It’s made up of lots of little bits which is useless for 3D printing, but if you select it all and explode it, then it should make one solid entity.Holes.skp (404.3 KB)

1058×897 306 KB

(The reason for using lots of components when creating it is that you can change the shape/size of one hole and they all will all change… and the file size is small in comparison.)

24

I think the best solution would be to buy a piece of stainless steel filter mesh screen. You seem to need something that is even more dense than a common fuel or oil filter…

Anssi

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25

As @Anssi says there are many s/s aquarium mesh sheets available at a reasonable cost.
Why not make a 3d-printed ‘cage’ to hold the mesh ?
My perforated cylinder with end caps idea might be easier than you think…

26

Stainless steel is no use, it’s salt water and I think the mesh would corrode, and I can’t tolerate any iron leaching into the water. As mentioned, 3d printing was not my first thought, and I have built many different versions trying to attach plastic mesh to various things, but none of them are robust to withstand twice daily removal and cleaning.

I do like the ‘outside the box’ intersecting beams idea, very elegant.

My printer is an AIO Zeus, and it is indeed not able to produce the level of detail I want, it struggles once the holes get down to 1mm. Presumably though if I can produce an STL, there will be a commercial company somewhere in the UK with a higher resolution printer who can print it for me?

Thank you all for you input, at the very least I have learned a bit about using sketchup from this project even if I haven’t yet solved my filter problem. And discovered a very helpful community.

1 Like
27

I think you might need a printer that uses nano fibers.
I’m afraid that anything that can print at the scale you want and be robust enough to survive daily use will be cost prohibitive.
Printing something thin enough and strong enough is delving into the realms of biomechanics.
I can’t see any ‘current’ reasonably priced print media able to cope with your specifications.
Perhaps a carbon Fibre mesh. If you could somehow developed a stretcher for the fibres and then ‘weld’ them into a mesh.