3D printed lures

[Nyxy]

Not sure whether this goes here or in The Workshop, correct me if i'm wrong but here it is.

For a while now I've had a 3D printer but never really put it to good use. The first thing I printed was a small diver minnow. I didn't end up using it as turning thru wires didnt go so well for me, i kinda gave up on printing lures after that cause i didn't want to use 3D printed line ties. Since corona virus has grounded me i decided to give it another go to give me something to do. During isolation the first lure I printed was a popper with a separate middle section that had fins to force it to spin (picture 1). Is this already a thing or have i got some type of intellectual copyright of this? This worked well but due to the layering of the print (I printed it vertically), when I really put some pulling power into making it "pop", it broke where the "head" connects to the "shaft". I printed another one but horizontally to negate the layering problem but i made it too dense and it was slightly sinking but still too fast for me. The next print was a slightly different version of my first diver and it swam well but was very sensitive to the positioning of the thru wire. I tried a completely different design for another diver trying to make it as simple as possible to design but it was too back heavy and sunk "tail" first. I also had a go at painting it with spray paint and nail polish🤦‍♂️.  After thinking some more I decided to have a go at printing a swim-bait. cause why not? I decided on mimicking a whiting which took a lot of shapes and negative space to design. I decided to try to print the joint to see how it would work. The joint worked well but had a similar layering problem to the popper, but i discovered this when my dad misses the pool and it hit the wooden deck and split a layer. I decided to use even more wire to fix it and also be able to attach hooks but it ended up looking a bit special (picture 2). It ended up swimming almost as good as when I first tested it but the joints were slightly insecure and sometimes made it spin. While typing this I printed another more simple popper, which should work. I am yet to catch anything on these lures but as soon as i do i will be sure to post an update. Has anyone else on here had a go at printing lures and if so how did it go?  Suggestions and ideas are welcome.

[mrsswordfisherman]

How interesting and look forward to see results 🙂

 

[Nyxy]

Thankyou and me too

[dmck]

Brilliant  use of 'confinement' !!  Good luck with future development.

how much does it cost to make a lure ( not printer cost but approx "ink" cost)?

 

[Jocler]

What model printer did you use?

 

J

[Rebel]

Good luck with your venture. You will never know unless you try.

Cheers

[Nyxy]

8 hours ago, dmck said:

 

how much does it cost to make a lure ( not printer cost but approx "ink" cost)?

 

a whole reel of PLA ( which is what i use) costs between ten bucks and fifty depending on where you get it from and the quality. so the cost of the individual lure is only a couple of cents

Edited April 12, 2020 by Nyxy
quote was incorect

[Nyxy]

Creality Ender 3

[Nyxy]

6 hours ago, Rebel said:

Good luck with your venture. You will never know unless you try.

thanks