Technical
Parts.
I acquired the following non-3D printed components for this model:
• One 3.7vdc 100ma Lithium Battery (https://www.adafruit.com/product/1570).
• One JST PH 2-Pin Cable (https://www.adafruit.com/product/3814).
• One N20 6VDC 100RPM gear motor.
• One micro switch (Uxcell a12013100ux0116 High Knob 3P 2 Position 1P2T SPDT Vertical • Slide Switch, 0.5 Amp, 50V DC, 50 Piece, 3 mm).
You may also need to acquire a suitable battery charger.
I 3D printed the following components for this model at .15mm layer height, 20% infill, with support as noted:
• Three "Axle, 8mm Head.stl".
• Two "Axle, 10mm Head.stl".
• One "Base, Snowman.stl" with support.
• Two "Bolt, Snowman.stl".
• One "Cam And Axle.stl".
• One "Cam.stl".
• One "Gear, Crown, Axle.stl".
• One "Gear, Crown, Motor.stl".
• One "Hat.stl".
• One "Mount, Snowman.stl".
• Two "Pin.stl".
• One "Seesaw.stl".
• One "Snowman, Single Extrusion.stl" or one "Snowman.3mf".
As mentioned, I printed the dual extrusion "Snowman.3mf" with the Cura 4.3.0 "Prime Tower" and "Ooze Shield" options enabled. Noting the photographs showing the snowman printed in Tough PLA on an Ultimaker 3+ Extended and in PLA on an Ultimaker S5, the "prime tower" appears in the right rear of each photo and the "ooze shield" surrounds each snowmen. The prime towers are used to remove any filament strands from the nozzle prior to each layer print (the strands appearing on the prime towers which would have been on the model). The ooze shields minimize oozing of the smaller dual extruded features such as the buttons and eyes. With both features enabled, the model requires an additional 1.49m (12g) of white filament and 1.76m (13g) of black filament on the Ultimaker 3+ Extended, and 2.06m (17g) of white filament and .98m (7g) of black filament on an Ultimaker S5, which is wasted material, but for me the wasted filament was worth the improvement. After removing each snowman from the build plate, I cut away the ooze shield using small modeling scissors.
This is a high precision print and assembly model using at times very small parts and in very tight spaces. Prior to assembly, test fit and trim, file, sand, etc. all parts as necessary for smooth movement of moving surfaces, and tight fit for non moving surfaces. Depending on you printer, your printer settings and the colors you chose, more or less trimming, filing and/or sanding may be required. Carefully file all edges that contacted the build plate to make absolutely certain that all build plate "ooze" is removed and that all edges are smooth. I used small jewelers files and plenty of patience to perform this step.
The model also uses threaded assembly, so I used a tap and die set (6mm by 1) for thread cleaning.
I used light machine oil for lubrication of the gears and axles.
Wire the Snowman Motor, Switch and JST Connector.
To wire the snowman motor, switch and JST connector, I performed the following steps:
• Cut the wires on the JST connector to 40mm in length, then stripped and tinned the ends.
• Soldered the black wire from the JST connector to the motor "-" terminal.
• Soldered the red wire from the JST connector to one of the outside switch terminals.
• Soldered the center switch terminal to the motor "+" terminal.
After wiring, I connected the JST connector to the battery and operated the switch to turn the motor on and off.
Assemble the Base.
To assemble the base, I performed the following steps:
• Pressed the gear motor assembly into "Base.stl" such that the motor shaft was 3mm above the motor gear plate.
• Pressed "Gear, Crown, Motor.stl" onto the motor shaft.
• Slid "Mount, Snowman.stl" down from the top of the base assembly over the lower threaded hole and secured in place with two "Axle, 8mm.stl".
• Positioned "Gear, Crown, Axle.stl" centered over the small hole in the base assembly.
• Slid "Cam And Axle.stl" through larger upper hole in the base assembly, pressed through the axle crown gear, then out the smaller hole of the base assembly.
• Pressed "Cam.stl" onto the cam and axle 180 degrees out of phase with the cam and axle cam.
• Positioned one "Pin.stl" into the pin slot in the base assembly, slid the pin ring over the cam, then secured the pin in place with one "Axle, 10mm Head.stl".
• Positioned the remaining "Pin.stl" into the remaining pin slot in the base assembly, slid the pin ring over the cam, then secured the pin in place with the remaining "Axle, 10mm Head.stl".
• Manually rotated the motor gear until the seesaw driving pins were level.
• Positioned "Seesaw.stl" onto the front of the base assembly over the upper threaded hole and secured in place with the remaining "Axle, 8mm Head.stl".
• Secured the battery to the rear of the base assembly with doubled sided tape.
At this point, I connected the motor to a power supply in order to test the assembly. I lubricated and operated the assembly and noted the power consumption to be 12 to 18ma. With testing completed, I removed the power supply then connected the battery to the motor using the JST connectors.
Final Assembly.
For final assembly, I performed the following steps:
• Secured the switch to the inside of the foot using either one small dot of cyanoacrylate glue or a small strip of double sided tape.
• Slid "Snowman.3mf" (or "Snowman.stl") downward from the top of the base assembly until it contacted the body mount, aligned the snowman mount holes with the body mount holes, then secured the snowman to the body mount using two "Bolt, Snowman.stl".
• Double checked that the wiring did not interfere with the moving components.
• Attached "Hat.stl" to the assembly using small dots of thick cyanoacrylate glue.
And that is how I printed and assembled Snowman Pin Walker.
I hope you enjoyed it!