Knitting Benchy

We all recognise the popular benchy. I thought it would be nice to see it in some knitting pattern. That was my first attempt ever on any model to transform the surface into more warm appearance. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

How to print:

for the best result I recommend using smallest possible nozzle and layer height.
Presliced file which I use is for Prusa Mini with 0,25 mm nozzle, 0,15 mm layer height and Prusament PLA.
Generally supports are not required but if you have any problem with sagging it can be better to try with them. The knitting pattern is somewhat tricky to print.

Material - use the one you like the most.

For the files:

benchy_wireframe - to anyone wanting to try doing own patterns. Packed because of unsupported format for import on Printables
benchy_knitting_stl - for people wanting to slice file themselves
benchy_knitting - for those who just want some cute benchy on the shelf.

For the people interested how did I do this - FreeCAD and Blender are your friends.
I use lattice2 addon in FreeCAD and vanilla Blender. Freecad has some problems with correctly interpreting step files, so I had to use .igs instead.
Steps:

1. Import .step file
2. create planes which will cut through geometry - intersections are our evenly spaced wires
3. extract contours from geometry as separate curves
4. extract surfaces for orientation of arrays
5. create simple shape to pattern
6. create arrays on curves
7. export stl/obj (obj can have multiple parts)
8. import into blender, simplify and repair mesh
9. export stl from blender
10. use the slicer to print

I also add original freecad file if anyone is interested in recreating my result. Be warned however - because it was my first approach, the file is very messy and unorganized.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Also, suggestions what could be done better are very welcome.

As always, happy printing!
RaVeN