Puppy coaster set

The story

Is it a puppy? Bri asked that for a whole afternoon. It is: big floppy ears that reach past the face, sky-blue eyes, pink cheeks, and the widest coaster in the family.

The first version was too small: the flat space inside the drip lip was about 63 mm, and a mug is 75 to 80 mm. So the whole puppy grew by a quarter. Now a standard mug sits inside the lip with room to spare.

A cloud floats on the holder’s back wall (it needed a 45° support under it, built into the model so you never add one). Six cloud charms press into the sides.

Filament recipe

• 4 coastersPolyTerra PLA, Cotton White · 174 g
• HolderPolyTerra PLA, Pastel Ice · 45 g
• EyesPolyTerra PLA, Pastel Ice · 0.7 g
• CheeksPolyTerra PLA, Pastel Candy · 0.8 g
• 6 cloud charmsPolyTerra PLA, Cotton White · 1.3 g

Charm fit: push fit and the dots

Each charm has a little + peg on its back that presses into a + socket in the holder. No glue: the fit holds it. The fit is the tiny gap between peg and socket, a few hundredths of a millimetre, and every printer prints a hair wider or narrower.

So every charm carries dots on its back that tell its size. Fewer dots = snugger, more dots = looser. The same dots mean the same size in every The3DG kit.

Our fit: the two end sockets: 0.18 mm (2 dots); the next two in: 0.20 mm (3 dots); the two middle sockets: 0.22 mm (4 dots). Those charms are already on the holder’s plate.

• ●0.16 mmsnuggest: a firm push
• ●●0.18 mmsnug
• ●●●0.20 mmmedium
• ●●●●0.22 mmmedium-easy
• ●●●●●0.24 mmeasy
• ●●●●●●0.26 mmloosest

Press a charm in with your thumb, then turn the holder upside down. Too hard to press in? Take the next dot up. Falls out? Take one dot down. The Extras plate has two of every size, so you can find yours in one go.

Tips from the workshop

What we learned while designing it, so your print works first time.

1. What happened: The first puppy was too small: only about 63 mm flat inside the lip, and a mug is 75 to 80 mm.

   What fixed it: Scaled the whole puppy by 1.25 (the face with it). Now 80 mm sits flat inside the lip.

2. What happened: One end socket came out tighter than its mirror twin, with nothing stuck inside.

   What fixed it: The seam was the suspect, so the seam now sits at the back, and every socket gets its own cloud size: snug at the ends, looser in the curved middle.

3. What happened: One puppy came out with a rough, bumpy patch on one ear.

   What fixed it: Most likely that ear lifted off the plate a hair and the nozzle scraped across it. A clean plate (dish soap and water) and keeping parts away from the plate edge is the fix.

   Learn: What's a brim? →