this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2025
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I'm working on a sculpt of a toy for my nephew and I want to do 2 different 3d prints. One of the hair with black filament and one with the head in a skin color.

It 3d prints fine if it's the head and hair together, but it's not a great sculpt with the normals and edges when separated. I can't boolean because of this. I have no idea how to do it because it doesn't want to be an exact positive negative to glue the hair on.

Think Lego or Play Mobil hair snapping on to the head. It has a positive and negative. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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[–] actionjbone@sh.itjust.works 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Are you trying to print the hair and head as curved/complex interlocking objects? If so, that could be your problem.

I always have better luck using simple geometry for the interlocking features.

If that's not your problem, might help if you share screenshots of the actual models you're working with.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

No, they're not interlocking, they'll be glued.

Here is a screen shot with the hair off to the side. When one is overlapping the other, it prints just fine. Separating them, makes it not work and boolean doesn't work. I hope I'm explaining it properly.

[–] actionjbone@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, that makes sense.

That's a LOT of polygons. What happens if you try a boolean transformation with a simpler shape, like a square or an iso sphere? Does that successfully cut out a shape?

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

No, it breaks and leaves a *tiny square. It's awesome that it still prints when they're combined, but I'm at a loss as to how to get that shape. I guess I could copy the hair over and booleon it out of the circle. I was hoping to be able to maybe make more different styles in the future. and use the circle.

Edit: When I say use the circle, maybe cast a bunch of them at one time instead of printing each one.

[–] actionjbone@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

The hair object is incredibly complex. How small is this printing? You might be better off recreating the object as a simpler series of polygons, especially since the current level of detail may not show up in the final print.

With a simpler object made from fewer polygons, you'll have less trouble doing boolean cutouts.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

The detail shows up, it's not small. I guess you're saying that there isn't another way to do it then. Thanks, that helps a lot. I won't spin my wheels trying to come up with a way around it.

The more I type this out, the more I think I'll cut the circle out and attach it to the hair. It'll take some time, but I think it'll be worth it.

[–] actionjbone@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

There might be another way to do it. But when I encounter issues like this, I find simplification is usually the easiest.

Still, would be worth seeing if anyone else replies with ideas. Maybe I can learn something, too.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 hours ago

I appreciate the help.