A 3D wall decoration featuring the thorn crown and Death, Peace and Mind band symbols.
I placed the symbols on a door; the vines are 5mm thick, with 4mm thick thorns. The symbols in the centre are scaled down from 5mm to 2.5. I used 10% infill on all parts, with 2 walls and 2 top and bottom layers
What you need:
- 500x500mm space on a wall/door
- 8 3D printed vines, numbered 1-8
- 27 3D printed thorns, labelled 1A to 8D (not required if printing vines with thorns)
- 3D printed death, peace and mind symbols (optional)
Tools:
- Double-sided adhesive tape
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Pencil (or anything erasable)
- Eraser
- Tape measure (optional)
- Glue (optional)
Included in download:
- Files for the thorns of 4 mm height (for offset mount in the 5 mm vines)
- Files for the thorns of 5 mm height (for flush mount in the 5 mm vines)
- Files for the vines of 5 mm height (compatible with both heights of thorns)
- Files for vines with 4 mm thorns (for single colour printing or advanced multicolour)
- Files for vines with 5 mm thorns (for single colour printing or advanced multicolour)
- Files for Death, Peace and Mind symbol with background (small parts connected with a background)
- Files for Death, Peace and Mind symbol without background (All parts separate)
- Images containing dimensions for mounting
- Assembly instructions/mapping for the thorns
How to print:
Just choose any colour you like, material does not matter either.
There are a few options here, depending on what you like to print/can print:
If you want to print the thorns in a secondary colour:
- Use a multi-material printer and set the colour change manually in the files for vines with thorns
- Use separate files for thorns and vines and swap the filament manually.
There are two options for separate thorns:
- 5mm height, this is similar to the height of the vine, so the top surface is level/flush
- 4mm height, these are 1 mm thinner than the vines and will add some depth
- Note: You can also print thorns in different heights, for an increased 3D effect. Make sure not to print the same thorn in two heights, as there is only one spot they fit.
There is only one height for the vines. If you want to scale the height, make sure to scale the thorns as well!
The files for vines with thorns are available with 4 mm or 5 mm thorns. These can be printed in a single colour or can be used with advanced multicolour printing.
For the Death, Peace and Mind symbols, there is an option with and without a background. The ones without background have all parts disconnected, including the inner parts of the eye and the peace symbol.
I printed the thorns with the text down and the vines with the text up.
- Note how, in this way, the top layer of the thorns and the bottom layer of the vines will be visible.
I used a layer height of 0.2mm for all parts, though you can increase/lower it and scale all parts as you like.
To print the death, peace and mind symbols, I recommend a filament colour change at layer 1 or 2. Choose a light tone first and print over with a darker tone (or whatever you want). Since the eye and peace symbol have small inner parts, I decided to include a background layer. It looked better to also include this in the other parts, even though these do not really require it. I enabled concentric ironing on all top surfaces for these parts.
Tips:
- Do not remove the vines while the print bed is still hot; this will deform the parts and might make it hard to stick to the wall.
- If you scale the parts in height, make sure to scale all parts to the same value.
- If you scale the parts in length and width, use the same scaling factor for plotting the dots in the next step.
Additional settings I used in Cura:
- I used ironing on the thorns in a concentric direction to add a bit of 'depth'; the top layer will look triangular.
- I used ironing on all top surfaces of the symbols.
- I enabled fuzzy skin to hide layer lines and give the vines a more natural, bark-like texture.
- If you want this as well, I recommend a value of 0.1 thickness and 5.0 density for the vines. For the thorns and symbols, I used 0.1mm thickness with 2.5mm density.
With the 0.2mm layer height, it looked quite good.
How to install:
The thorns are labelled on the back for easy identification and positioning. Each vine is numbered and shows the corresponding letters, A, B, C and D, where the thorns fit. For example: on vine 5 at position B, you place thorn 5B. Use the assembly image included in the download for reference.
1. mark the positions on the wall
If placing on a door, simply measure the width and draw some dots at half this distance below one another. Then draw a vertical line through these dots using a ruler.
If you place it on a wall, ensure the line is close to vertical. I suggest measuring from a straight reference point, like a connected wall. If this is not possible, make sure the horizontal line we will draw is close to perpendicular to the line you have drawn.
The final height is around 470 mm, so to mark the middle position, we will draw a dot halfway, at 235 mm from the top. This is our centre point. Draw a thin horizontal line here; it should go about 250mm in both directions.
- Note: the crown is an organic ellipse, so use the provided dimension guide for accurate positioning rather than relying on a perfect radius.
Included with the files is an image with the dimensions from the thorn tips towards the centre. This shows the distance from the first and last thorn on each vine to the horizontal and vertical lines you have drawn. With these distances, you can plot two dots on which you can align the thorn tips of an assembled vine.
- Tip: Reduce or increase the distances by 1 or 2 mm, depending on the direction of the thorns, to hide the dots underneath them. This way, you do not have to erase it afterwards, which can be tricky.
Optional: Mark dots for the death, peace and mind symbols. The Peace symbol can be placed on the centre dot (I moved it slightly to the left). Draw dots at the dimensions shown in the image, Dimensions 2.
- Draw dots at half the Peace symbol height above and below the centre
- Draw additional dots at the specified distances
- Tip: All symbols are nearly the same width, so you could also draw vertical lines to help with positioning everything straight up.
After marking all positions with dots, you can erase the horizontal and vertical lines, but do NOT erase the dots! I recommend erasing the lines before placing the parts, as these will cover some of the lines and make it harder to erase afterwards. Make sure you draw ALL dots before erasing the lines. If you do find yourself missing a dot, measure the distance relative to the centre dot.
2. Prepare the contact surfaces
To ensure the adhesive tape lasts, both the wall/door and the printed parts must be completely free of dust and grease.
- Clean the surface: Use a specialised degreaser or a moist, soapy towel. Allow it to dry completely or gently wipe it down with a lint-free cloth.
- Clean the prints: Wipe the back of the prints (the side with text) to remove skin oils from handling.
- Optional for better Adhesion: You can lightly sand the back of the vines with fine-grit sandpaper (e.g., 400 grit) to create more surface area for the tape to grip.
3. Prepare the vines
- Insert the thorns in the correct positions
- Apply double-sided tape over the back; you can cover the thorn connectors to secure them in place
- Alternatively, you can glue the thorns in place before adding the tape or glue the vines to the surface
4.Mounting the vines
- Position the vines by aligning the assembled vine in the corresponding positions you marked earlier
- Note how vine number 1 is the one with the leftmost thorn position.
Optional:
- Add Death, Peace and Mind symbols
- These can be installed just like the vines
5. Finishing up
- Apply firm pressure: Go over every inch of the vines and symbols with a cloth or your thumb. Apply firm pressure for at least 10-20 seconds per spot, especially near the ends and the thorns. This is vital for activating the adhesive bond.
- Check the 'Spring' effect: If you notice a part pulling away due to slight warping, keep it pressed down longer or use a hairdryer to settle the plastic as described in the Troubleshooting section.
- Glue: If you opted for construction glue/mounting adhesive instead of tape, follow the curing times on the container before touching or cleaning the decoration.
Troubleshooting & Tips
The tape is not sticking to the wall/door:
- Check the texture: If your wall has a heavy texture (like coarse plaster or "spachtelputz"), double-sided tape only touches the "peaks" of the texture. In this case, a few small dots of mounting adhesive (construction glue) or a hot glue gun might be necessary for a permanent bond.
- Paint type: Some modern "easy-clean" or "stain-repellent" wall paints contain silicone or wax, which makes it nearly impossible for tape to stick. If this is the case, cleaning with isopropyl alcohol is a must, or you may need to use small command strips/velcro intended for these surfaces.
The tape is sticking to the wall, but falling off the 3D print:
- Increase surface area: 3D prints have tiny ridges. If the tape isn't sticking, the surface might be too uneven. Use the sanding tip mentioned in step 2. Sanding the back of the vine flat ensures the tape makes contact with the plastic, not just the tops of the layer lines.
- Degrease again: Even a single fingerprint can ruin the bond. Wipe the back of the print with alcohol or soapy water one last time right before applying the tape.
The vines are warping or bending:
- Heat issues: If the prints were removed from the heatbed while still hot, they might be slightly curved. You can gently warm them up with a hairdryer (not too hot!) and flatten them under a heavy book before applying the tape.
- Weight distribution: Ensure you place tape on both ends of each vine and near the thorn connectors to distribute the weight evenly.
How I made this
I used the symbols available online and imported them into a 3D modelling program. I traced the outer lines and converted the drawings to parts.
I decided to make the thorns separate parts, to allow for printing in another colour. I modelled a small connector, which has a very loose fit; you might want to add some glue there.
POEPOEFRED
