Koi Fish Chopstick Rest

The fish prints first separately and is then inserted into the chopstick rest while printing. Choosing the correct slicer settings is important to make the model hollow.

3D printing tips

The colored spots on the fish are printed using a layer filament color change.

The transparent part of the chopstick rest must be printed with 0% infill.

1 perimeter at 0.2mm layer height is optimal for viewing purposes.

To insert the fish it’s best to set the printer to make a stop while creating the g-code instead of waiting by the printer. I would say setting a color change is better than a simple pause even though you don’t want to change the color of the filament. This is because as the printer is waiting for you to insert the fish, filament will ooze out of the nozzle and a pause will not extrude additional filament when returning to the model. Since the model is printed with a single perimeter this can result in a gap in the layers which would ruin the whole print. Whereas with a color change you can be sure there will be fresh filament in the nozzle when you resume printing.

Design Process

I thought the best design of a chopstick rest would be something that you simply lay your chopsticks on like a pebble or a wooden block. But if I would like something like that 3D printed I would want it to have an element that is specific 3D printing.

I liked the idea of having it somehow connected to Japan as I have chopsticks connected mainly with sushi. Then I thought of the idea to embed a Koi fish under a transparent layer to make it look as if it was under water. This also gave me the freedom to make the shape purely practical while keeping it interesting.

While viewing it from different angles the shape of the fish gets distorted through the transparent layers so it can almost appear as if it’s swimming. This was tweaked by adjusting the distance of the fish from the surface. The koi carp can freely move inside the chopstick rest.

Do you like the model and don't have a 3D printer? There are lots of people who offer 3D printing services these days. Try searching for someone who offers them in your area.

This model was brought to life by Filip from 3Demon. We are a group of modeling and 3d printing enthusiasts based in Prague, Czech Republic. We’ve been making 3D printable models for more than a decade. We make a lot of cosplay accessories but we also make all sorts of interesting 3D models. You can join our community or just look at more of our creations here