Fidget Column

An impossible pyramid but in the shape of a column.

Supplies:

1.  PLA filament (silk optional for middle piece)
2. Superglue(optional)

Machines/programs

1. Fusion 360
2. 3D printer and slicer

Below is a Youtube video that can help in learning how to make a spiral pyramid. Using that idea as a base you can change the overall shape into the column. The hardest part for me was making the bottom flower for the spiral, so I would suggest going over the video multiple times. If you want to make a different type you can do that as well. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD8E9eI1DBY&t=12s&ab_channel=getprototyping

Make a flower (using the video as a guide), extrude the flower with a coil upwards, one larger for a cutter and one smaller for the print piece.

Make a column out of simple shapes. I sketched a square and extruded it up into a block, not a cube. On top of the square I sketched a circle and extruded it to almost the height I wanted the column. On top of that I sketched a square that’s the same size as the bottom square and extruded it. It only needs to be extruded a little compared to the first square. Now make a sketch on the size plane of the square. On top make two circles to the sides of the rectangle. The centers should be toward the bottom and outside shouldn’t exceed the top. There should be a space between where both the circles are to make a triangle with lines. Once sketched, extrude through the column, and join it. Make sure that it is lined up with the other side of the column.

Make the smaller one cut to be in the shape of the column. Use the column shape as the tool and do an overlap merge keeping tools. Use the bigger (exterior spiral) one to cut out the area of the column for the smaller one to fit through.

Sketch a small block the same size as the bottom on the floor plane. Extrude and join the box up to close off the bottom block of the column piece. Repeat to cut for the middle spiral piece. The middle piece after being shaped and now cut can be a new component. For the outer piece column, sketch a square on the top of the bottom block of the column. Then extrude and cut as little as possible to separate them into two pieces. Make the top a component. 

If you want to add something to the bottom like a logo or picture. Insert an image as a canvas on top of the plane side you want to put it on. Sketch it out and then extrude cut inwards. Make sure it’s not far enough that you expose the spiral area. Make it into a new component.

Before printing, separate the pieces. In the splicer you can separate them again to print certain pieces or however you'd like for color combinations. If you have a multiple filament printer you can do it all at once but it will make a lot of waste depending on the printer. The top piece can’t be made with silk because it was too brittle in testing. Depending on the size you may want to double the density of the middle piece when using silk filament. It can be used on the inner piece as long as there is enough room in the thinnest part of the petals in the spiral. You can print the middle, and the top and bottom separate for a one filament printer. There won’t be anything to put a different color for any logos or pictures on the bottom using a single filament printer.  

I found if you make it tall, like the column, you will have to play with the amount of petals and the slope of the spiral. If there are too many petals it's brittle (I ended up using 6 petals). I recommend keeping the petals at an even number. If there is too low of a slope, it won’t be able to pass through, so adjust it as needed. One of the most important parts of the video is adding in that middle space while making it, so I highly suggest using the video for that portion. That is closer to the end of the video but better to start with it. Using the splicer wasn’t working the best as compared to having it built in. Making it to size helps as well. Almost each time I made it it was a different size. Adding in the constraints makes it so you can change the spiral's flower shape later on.

For the column I put different shapes together to get the shape I wanted extruding to combine them. Make sure not to combine it to the spiral. When you make the spiral the smaller inside will be the one to print and the bigger one that is for the give is for cutting out of the column. You use it as a tool merging as a cut out. Don’t make it a new component yet if you want the bottom to be separated. To separate the bottom of the column and the top I made a box on the top of the bottom in the sketch. Then extrude and cut from the column keeping the spiral out of it. Then at this point you can make the top a new component.