3D Printed Stencil (Art)

[Lee Foulkes]

I had some part used canvases around the garage following my daughter’s GCSE (UK) art classes. With the Ender 5 Max sitting waiting to be repackaged….hmmmn stencils, what are they about?

Gave it a go. Bit of a learning curve but a nice application for the large bed printers and low quality filament. In fact this geeetech copper PLA used was pulled from a skip (I work in waste). Sure Im not going to be the next ‘Banksy’ (UK street stencil arts), but every new skill helps.

The problem is, the rabbit hole opens and the mind peaks in……..’I wonder if a vacuum box would improve stencil position and reduce bleed.

Could see an application where a very large x/y but very small z height could come in handy. Sure one could CNC the stencils, but not as clean and home friendly as perhaps a printer.

[Lee Foulkes]

For closure. Completed output.

A few lessons learned.

Initial things that should be obvious to anybody with an IQ over 4 - to which i failed.

Be patient.

However keen one is to see how it comes out - wait till the paint dries before removing.

Ensure you mask the whole frame, can spray spreads out.

Don’t do it in the wind.

Masking is a pain.

Some thoughts on the 3d printing aspect / where it can help.

1. Alignment is a bit of a pain - perhaps print pegs on the corner of the canvas for each layer to align with.

2. 3d Print Masks also, especially if plant to multiple productions. Masking with paper outside in the wind is not much fun.

3. I used a 3 layer 0.6mm stencil thickness. Slightly thicker is probably better for longevity, but the stencil also needs to flex a bit to match the relief of the canvas.

Overall bleed wasn’t too bad. Interested how it could be made tighter.

Give me a few ideas. But for now the creative energy is drained on this.

But i achieved what i set you to do - so one over on the monkey.

Fawksey3D

[Lee Foulkes]

*the monkey mind.