Spiral Vase Calla Lily

Looking for another flower to print? Want to support me as a designer? This year's vase mode flower design is a hibiscus, and I'm selling it for $5 USD.

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People have really liked the Spiral Vase Rose I shared for Valentines last year, so this year I thought it would be nice to follow it up with another flower: a calla lily.

Fun fact, and terminology I will be using in the instructions: The main parts of a calla lily are the spathe, the outer part that may be white or colorful, and the spadix, which is the bit that sticks up in the middle.

This design has three parts, two of which print in spiral vase mode: the spathe and the spadix. The third part, the stem, prints normally. The spadix screws into the stem, and then the spathe pops onto the stem, for very easy assembly. (No glue needed, although you can always use some if you want the added permanence.) 

Update 2/16: I can now confirm that this also works in PETG! You may need more carefully fine-tuned settings for the stem to make sure the connecting areas don't get messed up; make sure you have the fan running for the bridges, etc. The spiral vase parts should be slow, especially the top of the spadix, and I recommend minimal to no fan. Do not try to brute-force remove the parts from the bed, especially the stem.

TO PRINT:

• PLA or PETG (have been tested so far)
• 0.2mm height, 0.4mm standard nozzle
  • I’m planning to do a slightly altered model for larger nozzle sizes, which may not work with this original set of models without scaling them up, although I haven’t tested.

The spathe (flower):

• Spiral vase mode
• 1mm of bottom layers (5 layers at 0.2mm layer height) - make sure you have at least this many, otherwise it will slice wonkily.
• I’ve been able to print this in PLA without extra bed support (just glue stick on glass), but if you’re worried about bed adhesion you can try a raft or 0mm distance skirt.

The spadix (stamen/lil stick in the middle):

• Spiral vase mode: for PLA you’ll want to use the lower end of your filament’s temperature range and slow it down to at least 10 mm/s. (In Prusa Slicer you can find this ‘Expert’ setting in Filament Settings > Cooling > Cooling thresholds > Min print speed)
• If you have trouble with this piece, or you want it to be more opaque, it will also work as a standard style print. It’s a small and fast part.
• Jon had the clever idea to use fuzzy skin above the threads to make the spadix look more realistic.

The stem:

• 3 perimeters
• Unless the filament you’re using is super opaque, I recommend 15% gyroid infill for a more organic look when light shines through; OR use a modifier block above where the base tapers into the stem, to specify 0% infill and no top layers. This latter option will make the flower slightly more top heavy (with 3 perimeters it moves the center of gravity up a few mm), but looks nice in translucent and also gives the option to insert a weight or stick at the bottom of the stem.
• For bed removal, I recommend the ‘stick the build surface in the freezer or fridge’ method. (Or, if you don't have space, putting a flat ice pack underneath the bed.)

MISC.

• Programs used for this design: OnShape
• Filaments in photos: Atomic Filament Rose Gold Metallic Translucent PLA, Printed Solid Jessie Green Ice PLA, Prusament Pineapple Yellow PLA
• In terms of scale, at 100% this is more of a miniature calla lily than a standard size.

New to vase mode or still learning?

• Spiral vase mode takes the outside wall of a solid, continuous model and calculates a continuous single spiraling path to print to the top. (Usually this is after a few standard solid layers at the bottom - PLA is very flexible when thin, and this gives it more stability.)
• In Prusa slicer, this is the “Spiral vase” option you can check off in Print Settings > Layers and Perimeters. It will automatically change several of your settings to be compatible with the mode.
• In Cura slicer: Special Modes > Spiralize Outer Contour
• To get a good vase mode print, you'll want to refine a couple more settings. You want to print slow and steady, and often at a lower extrusion rate than normal printing. IMO you should test this for each filament, as well as for different layer heights, to determine a temperature, extrusion %, and speed (if the speed hasn't been slowed down automatically) to get a nice, clean vase mode print with that filament. Too much extrusion will get you tiny bumps around your print; too little can make it too fragile and prone to cracking between layers.
  • If you're still getting bumps: especially if you're on a more basic machine like an Ender 3, it may be a matter of computing and RAM, and your printer having tiny moments where it pauses. Fixes include using a faster microSD, being hardwired to the printer if you usually use OctoPrint, or upgrading your firmware (this is what worked for me) with options including arc calculation (marlin 2.0 and on), disallowing the printer from writing to the SD card, and turning off the power failure recovery mode. (The latter is very useful but may cause those little pauses with a big file.)