Radiolarian

Last crawled date: 1 year, 11 months ago

This is a replica of a radiolarian exoskeleton. Radiolarians are microscopic organisms with intricate silica skeletons.

This model is an attempt to demonstrate some of the structural properties of radiolarians that are found in nature. Since most radiolarians are much smaller than a millimeter, it is nearly impossible to see the details of these tiny skeletons without magnification.

This 3D model allows students to examine the frameworks typical of radiolarians. 3D visualization and distribution services like GrabCad make models like this accessible to learners from around the world to study things that would otherwise be out of reach.

In addition to visualization, 3D printing of this model was an important aspect. The nested cage design of radiolaria would be difficult to fabricate in traditional molding and casting processes, so 3D printing was a necessity. Also, not just any 3D fabrication technique can make these objects. I printed this model with a Stratasys Eden 260v at my college. Polyjet printing is preferred due to the intricate support structures.

However, removing the wax-like support material from this model was difficult because it was hard to reach the inside surfaces to clean them properly. I tried ultrasonic vibration, but it didn't remove enough material. And cleaning with a waterjet system damaged some of the finer structures. Maybe if there was a chemical solution that could completely remove support material without damaging or weakening the model resin, that would be the perfect cleaning option.

Finally, this model was created in Blender 2.79 and rendered in Cycles using an HDRI lighting backdrop from HDRI Haven. Thank you to Greg Zaal for making these backdrops free.

I have included photos and screenshots of the prepared, printed, and rendered model in the comments section below.