Silky Star Holiday Ornaments

Every year I design and make a large set of star ornaments and share with my tiny community for a holiday event. To give each family a unique ornamen, I designed 3Dl star models based on the same 2D outline and print in a range of colors.

This year I created 5 star variations of an open star that's designed to emphasize inside and  outside walls. This makes it a perfect model for using silk or silky filaments where the shinny, ribbon like effect is at its best. What makes each design different are the 3D CAD extrusions. Check back during future holiday seasons. As I add new designs The holiday collection will grow. 

PRINT SETTINGS

These models were designed for PLA Silk filaments but PETG silks but any colorful filament will work fine,  Transluscent filaments would look great, too. Silk filaments are at their best where a model's sidewalls are emphasized. In this case, the deep inner bevels were created to addeven more shine.

Standard .20 print settings work great for emphasizing the ribbon effect of silk filaments. Finer settings (.15 or .16) gain you nothing. Because the bottom surfaces of the stars are minimal, I suggest slowing down your first layer print speed to 30-40 mm. If you still have adhesion issues at the star tips, consider using a bed adhesive and a smooth build plate. This combination holds models with low surface area better. If using a textured build plate make sure you clean the plate after every run and never touch the plate surface.