Innovation never stops in the field of 3D printing, and the use of 3D printing technology to create practical and fun toys is a highlight, with certain specific conditions that prevent factories from making the same type of toys. Today, we will show you how to make a retractable cucumber slicing knife toy with 3D printing filament, and reveal the key points and difficulties to be aware of during the printing process. In particular, when it comes to demanding printing materials, UJOYBIO3D's Hyper PLA+ series stands out with its excellent performance, making it an ideal choice for such complex models.

The picture above is the retractable cucumber knife I printed using Hyper PLA+ filament, it works great in use, folding up like a crunchy cucumber and sticking out like a short curved knife, no matter how I fling it around, the blade sticks out of the sheath I'm comfortable with, which is very fun to play with. Let's take a look at how it is printed below.

How to use 3D printing filament to print a cucumber slicing knife toy

1. Design model

First of all, you need to prepare a 3D model of a retractable cucumber slicing knife, you can also download such a model from the Internet. This model usually consists of two parts: the shrinkable blade and the handle, the shrinkable design of the blade is its uniqueness, in addition, after the blade shrinks, you also need to synchronize the printing of a cucumber end cap, so that you can protect the toy well, and when you put it away, it's more like a complete cucumber, as shown in the picture below:

2. Selection of printing materials

It is especially critical to use a high-performance 3D printing filament. Traditional PLA may be difficult to meet the demand for toughness and strength of expandable structures, so the UJOYBIO3D Hyper PLA+ series is recommended. This material has higher impact resistance and strength, making it ideal for printing toys that require frequent movement.

3. Setting Printing Parameters

Layer Thickness: It is recommended to set the layer thickness at 0.16mm and the first layer height at 0.2mm to ensure the printing details are in place.

Filling density: It is recommended that in 10%, filling pattern selection of honeycomb, filling rivet line length selection of 400%, both to ensure the strength and weight, the choice of PLA + material filament, can be very good to achieve the use of the effect.

Number of wall layers: set to 3, the top pattern selects monotonic line, the top shell layer is set to 6, the thickness is 1mm, the bottom shell layer is 4, the internal solid filling pattern selects straight line.

Speed control: the first layer of filling speed is set to 105mm / s, the speed of the outer wall is 200mm / s, the speed of the inner wall is 300mm / s, the small contour is 50%, the small contour threshold is 15mm, sparse filling is 330mm / s, the internal solid filling speed of 300mm / s, the top speed of 200mm / s, so that more reflect the present quality of the finished product of the PLA + filament, also Save printing time.

Printing temperature: UJOYBIO3D's Hyper PLA+ is recommended to be printed at 220℃ for the best result of the finished product.

4. Precautions

The connection between the blade and the handle is the key point of activity, so make sure that there is no jamming or over-tightening during printing. o When designing the blade, make sure that the blade is not too tight.

When designing the blade, sufficient clearance should be reserved for the retractable action.

Why choose high tenacity 3D printing filament?

Whether you are making cucumber slicing knife toys, or other creative toys, the conditions for filament molding are very harsh, after ordinary filament printing, can not be used a few times, the toy may be broken, where you must choose a high tenacity 3D printing filament. UJOYBIO3D Hyper PLA+ helps users easily deal with the complexity of the design with its excellent performance, to give your 3D printing works a higher degree of practicality and durability, here we take a look at its parameter performance:

Tensile Strength(Z)	66.1MPA	Density	1.32 G/CM3
Tensile Modulus(Z)	2630MPA	Melt Flow Rate*	4-7 G/10MIN
Elongation at Break	2%	Heat Distortion Tempperature	55℃
Flexural Strength(X-Y)	70.7MPA	Printing Temperature	200-220℃
Flexural Modulus(X-Y)	2630MPA	Bed Temperature	N0/40-60℃
Charpy Impact Strength(X-Y)	14KJ/m2	Printing Speed	300-500mm/s
IZOD Impact Strength(X-Y)	13KJ/m2	Recommended Printing Temperature	220℃
Bending strength	77.7MPA	Bending modulus	2009MPA

From the parameters of UJOYBIO3D Hyper PLA+, it has a density of 1.32G/cm3, a bending strength of up to 77.7MPA, and an impact strength of 13KJ/M2, which make the toys printed by Hyper PLA+ not only have beautiful shapes, but also show excellent toughness in stretchable toys.

The printing of post-processing matters

1. Support part

We use a vertical way to print the expandable toy, so we do not need to deal with the support.

2. Detail repair

For the printing process, if you set the speed and temperature do not quite match, there may be burrs, sandpaper can be used to gently sanding, so that the surface is smoother.

3. Assembly debugging

Because the blade is retractable, printing synchronized inside the cucumber synchronized printing; and the other side of the cucumber, you need to two on a small magnet particles, so that the end of the cucumber can be a good combination of good in some.

If your model is in snap form, then you don't need the magnet particles, just close it directly.

When testing the retraction function of the blade, if the blade does not extend well, use a lubricant to optimize the moving parts if necessary.

Check out my entire printing process and testing session below.

Why choose UJOYBIO3D Hyper PLA+?

From the video I showed above, you can see that the toys I printed are stretching very freely because I chose UJOYBIO3D Hyper PLA+ filament, which has very good impact strength and toughness, and its excellent performance has become the material of choice for printing stretchable toys for the following reasons:

High toughness: The modified formula of Hyper PLA+ enhances the toughness and impact resistance of the material, enabling the telescopic structure to withstand multiple stretching and contraction.

Excellent printability: This material is easy to print with a low risk of warping and delamination.

Environmentally friendly: Hyper PLA+ is developed based on biodegradable materials and combines environmental attributes.

Choose UJOYBIO3D Hyper PLA+ Filament and let your creativity know no boundaries. Come and try to make a shrinkable cucumber slicing knife toy and feel the perfect combination of technology and fun!