White bear coaster set

The story

The brown bear’s little sibling. Same idea, softer mood: a round white face, pink inner ears and cheeks, eyes set low and wide. That is what makes a face read as a baby: big head, low eyes, tiny nose.

The holder is pastel pink with a fuzzy skin, and a heart stands on its back wall where the brown bear has its honey pot. Four coasters drop in flush with the top.

The heart charms taught us something new: where the holder’s wall bulges, the sockets print a hair wider. So the middle two get a slimmer heart than the edges, and the kit says which goes where.

Filament recipe

• 4 coastersPolyTerra PLA, Cotton White · 129 g
• HolderPolyTerra PLA, Pastel Candy · 38 g
• Inner ears + cheeksPolyTerra PLA, Pastel Candy · 2 g
• Eyes + nosesPolyTerra PLA, Charcoal Black · 0.5 g
• 6 heart charmsPolyTerra PLA, Cotton White · 1.2 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 four edge sockets: 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: Two hearts sat where the holder’s wall bulges, so they stood proud of the curve.

   What fixed it: Cut a shallow seat for each so they sit flush, and gave those two middle sockets their own, slimmer heart (4 dots instead of 3).

2. What happened: Tiny black specks showed up in the pink cheeks and ears on one print.

   What fixed it: That is black filament carried into the next colour. The kit ships a bigger purge for black to any light colour, and a clean nozzle wipe helps.

   Learn: What's flow? →

3. What happened: One coaster came out with a rough, scuffed patch on one side of its face.

   What fixed it: Most likely that side lifted a hair off the plate and the nozzle dragged over it. Wash the plate with dish soap, keep the coasters away from the plate edge, and print them at 100% infill so they stay flat.

   Learn: What's a brim? →