There are hundreds of these Voronoi style objects on Thingiverse (and elsewhere), made by taking a low-poly mesh and using a tool like Meshmixer to create this pattern from it. I needed a small pencil cup for my desk, and it seemed like a good time to learn this technique. The important part is using the Make Pattern tool (Edit -> Make Pattern).
Most of the work is done in Meshmixer, but I still needed something to start with. I used Tinkercad to quickly make a basic cone shape, to be reconstructed in Meshmixer. Then I exported it as .stl.
I used Remesh a couple times to reduce the mesh and change its geometry while keeping the same basic shape. After remeshing I selected and deleted the top part. Normally this is a bad idea because now it’s non-manifold and can’t be printed. However it’s okay if this shape is non-manifold (not solid) because I’m not printing this shape– Meshmixer is making a new shape based on this one.
I played with the Make Pattern settings, including the gradient to make it thinner towards the top and thicker at the bottom.
Some of those overhangs might be difficult… there’s some extreme angles and usually I’d avoid sending those to the printer without supports, but eh, screw it. There’s something about these voronoi patterns that seems complex to print but comes out beautifully despite seeming like it shouldn’t. I’m just going to try it.
I love these overhangs that feel like they shouldn’t exist. Yeah, it’s not too pretty in places, but it printed with zero supports and only minor errors. Part of me was expecting catastrophic failure. But the overhanging parts are small, and it’s essentially all cylinders– I think that’s important. Only a small part of the cylinder is actually hanging over, compared to a flat overhang which would be more difficult.
The cup is a little small. That’s what I get for guessing measurements and deleting parts of the model without paying too much attention. Ah, well. I know how to do it, I can make a larger one.
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