🎃🖨️ From Our Farm to Your Family How 3D Printing Gets Spooky

Most people look at a roll of filament and see plastic.

We look at it and think…

“You know what that could use? A skull.” 😂💀

Welcome back to From Our Farm to Your Family! This week, we're leaving the pasture for a little while and heading into another part of life at MLB Farm & The GOAT by MLB—our 3D printers.

Because apparently raising goats, making goat milk products, printing shirts, creating gifts, and running a store weren't enough.

We bought 3D printers.

Several of them.

This was a perfectly reasonable decision.

Probably. 😂

And when Halloween rolls around?

Ohhhh...that's when things get interesting.

🐐🖨️ Meet Professor PLA

Every department around here apparently needs a goat in charge.

Chief Goat has taken over the kitchen.

Chief Investigator Goat handles suspicious activity around the farm.

So it only seems appropriate that our 3D-printing department finally gets its own highly qualified professional.

Meet...

PROFESSOR PLA

Director of Additive Goatufacturing

Qualifications:

✔ Has seen a 3D printer
✔ Knows filament comes on a spool
✔ Owns safety glasses
✔ Carries a clipboard
✔ Looks extremely confident
✔ Has absolutely no business touching the printer settings😂🐐🖨️

Professor PLA would like everyone to know that he personally supervises every layer.

We would like everyone to know that this is not true.

🧵 It Really Does Start With a Roll of Plastic

One of the coolest things about 3D printing is watching something go from a digital design on a computer to an actual object you can hold.

For many of our prints, that process starts with filament.

Filament comes on a spool and is fed into the 3D printer. The printer heats it and lays the material down one thin layer at a time, gradually building the object from the bottom up.

And when we say one layer at a time, we mean it.

Layer.

After layer.

After layer.

After layer.

Are you done yet?

No.

Layer.

Layer.

Layer.

😂

Depending on the size and complexity of a print, that process can take HOURS.

And yes, we check on the printer.

Then check it again.

Walk away.

Come back.

Look at it.

Walk away.

Check the camera.

Come back again.

Because apparently staring at a 3D printer makes it print faster.

It does not.

We have conducted extensive research. 😂

💻 Before We Hit PRINT...

There's more happening behind the scenes than simply downloading something and pressing a button.

Once we have a 3D model, it has to be prepared for the printer using software commonly called a slicer.

The slicer essentially takes that three-dimensional model and converts it into instructions the printer can follow.

This is where we can adjust things like the size, orientation, layer settings, supports and other print settings.

Then comes one of our favorite decisions:

WHAT COLOR ARE WE MAKING IT?!

And anyone who has seen our filament collection knows that this question can get out of control VERY quickly. 😂

Black?

White?

Orange?

Purple?

Glow-in-the-dark?

Something shiny?

Something that changes colors?

Something we bought because it looked amazing and we had absolutely no idea what we were going to print with it?

USE IT IF YOU GOT IT! 😂

Professor PLA strongly supports this policy.

🎃 Cute Spooky or NOPE Spooky?

One thing we love about Halloween 3D printing is that spooky means something different to everybody.

Some people want:

👻 Cute little ghosts
🎃 Pumpkins
🕷️ Adorable spiders

Other people apparently walk into the store and say:

“Yeah...show me the demon skull.”😂💀

Fortunately, we can accommodate both personalities.

👻 The Ghost Shelf Sitter

We'll start on the adorable end of the spectrum.

Our little ghost shelf sitter is designed to perch on an edge with his articulated legs dangling down.

Put him near a battery-operated tealight and suddenly you have this cute little glowing ghost hanging around looking like he has absolutely nowhere else to be.

Honestly?

He's adorable.

Spooky Rating: 👻
Cute Rating: 👻👻👻👻👻

Professor PLA approves.

🕷️ The Little Spider Trinket Holder

Then there's our spider.

Now normally, if we see a spider carrying something around, we probably have questions.

But THIS spider gets a pass. 😂

His body doubles as a little holder for trinkets and small items, which means he's both creepy and useful.

That's our kind of Halloween decoration.

Professor PLA calls this:

“Functional Spookology.”

We don't believe that's a real field of study.

Please don't tell him.

💀 Then Things Get a Little Darker...

If cute Halloween isn't really your thing, don't worry.

We've got you. 😂

Enter:

THE SKULLS.

We've printed a skull goblet, a Grim Reaper goblet and a demon skull that looks like it knows things we probably don't want to know.

The demon skull in particular falls firmly into the category of:

“Nope. Nope. Nope...okay, that's actually pretty cool.”😂💀

That's another thing we love about 3D printing. One printer can make a cute little ghost one day and something that looks like it crawled directly out of the underworld the next.

Same machine.

VERY different energy.

☕💀 Would You Like Your Beverage With a Side of Doom?

And then there are the goblets.

Because apparently a regular cup isn't dramatic enough during Halloween.

We have a skull goblet...

and a Grim Reaper goblet.

The Grim Reaper one especially looks like your beverage comes with terms and conditions.😂

Professor PLA has requested one for the employee break room.

His request is under review.

🎃 Let There Be Light!

We've also printed Halloween tealight holders, including spiders and pumpkins.

Add a battery-operated LED tealight, and the light shines through the design to create that perfect little Halloween glow.

And this is where 3D printing gets REALLY fun.

Something can look cool sitting on the table during the day...

then completely transform once you turn the lights down and add that glow.

🎃✨

Important Professor PLA Safety Announcement: We recommend battery-operated LED tealights for our 3D-printed holders rather than an open flame.

See?

He IS qualified for something.

😂🐐

💀👜 And Then There Was...THE PURSE

Okay.

We saved one of our favorites for last.

Because somebody, somewhere, looked at the human skeleton and thought:

“Fashion.”😂😂😂

Ladies and gentlemen...

THE RIB CAGE BONE PURSE.

Yes.

It's a purse.

Shaped like a rib cage.

With bones.

And orange showing through between the ribs.

And we LOVE IT. 💀👜

This is exactly why 3D printing is so much fun.

You can make something practical.

You can make something decorative.

You can make something adorable.

You can make something creepy.

Or...

You can carry your stuff around inside a skeleton.

Try finding THAT at your average department store. 😂

Professor PLA has officially classified it as:

HAUTE GOATURE

And unfortunately, we're going to have to let him have that one.😂🐐💀

🖨️ But Not Every Print Is Perfect...

Here's something you don't always see when looking at finished 3D prints:

Sometimes...

THE PRINTER HAS OTHER PLANS.😂

A print can fail.

Filament can cause problems.

Supports can misbehave.

Something can come loose from the build plate.

A print you've been waiting HOURS for can decide somewhere around hour 12 that it no longer wishes to participate.

And then you walk into the room expecting your beautiful creation...

and discover what looks like a giant bowl of plastic spaghetti.🍝🖨️

There are few experiences quite like staring at a failed print and thinking:

“Well. That's several hours of my life I'm never getting back.”

Then you figure out what happened, make adjustments and try again.

Because that's part of 3D printing too.

❤️ Why We Love It

3D printing gives us the opportunity to offer things that are a little different.

Sometimes they're useful.

Sometimes they're decorative.

Sometimes they're cute.

Sometimes they're completely ridiculous.

And sometimes they're a rib cage purse. 😂

But every time we watch a print start with that very first layer and slowly turn into something recognizable, there's still a little bit of:

“HOW COOL IS THAT?!”

Even after all the things we've printed.

That feeling hasn't gone away.

And we hope it never does.

🐐 Professor PLA's Final Report

Halloween Print Department Status:

🎃 Pumpkins — PRINTED
👻 Ghosts — PRINTED
🕷️ Spiders — PRINTED
💀 Skulls — DEFINITELY PRINTED
☠️ Grim Reaper — PRINTED
😈 Demon Skull — QUESTIONABLE, BUT PRINTED
👜 Skeleton Purse — FABULOUS
🐐 Professor PLA — STILL NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH THE SETTINGS

Overall Assessment:

SPOOKY SEASON IS OFFICIALLY UNDERWAY.

And Professor PLA would like to leave everyone with the official 3D-printing philosophy of The GOAT:

USE IT IF YOU GOT IT!

Especially if it's a roll of filament you bought six months ago because the color was pretty and you've been waiting for an excuse to use it.

😂🐐🖨️

From Our Farm to Your Family
Real farm. Real family. Real creations. And apparently...a Professor Goat running the print department.

MLB Farm & The GOAT by MLB ❤️🐐