In this instructable you will be learning how to make a snowflake meant for a 3D printer!

These 3D snowflakes make great ornaments and can be sold as part of a fundraiser or hung up to show off your 3D printing skills!

For this project you will need access to the following software:

Tinkercad
Polar Cloud
3D Printer

Step 1: Learning About Snowflakes

In order to make your 3D snowflake accurate, you will have to learn about the properties of snowflakes.

It is important to note that:

Snowflakes have 6 folds of symmetry
Each of the 6 arms are identical
When snowflakes begin growing, they start as hexagonal prisms
No two snowflakes are the same

Step 2: Starting Your Design

Start your snowflake design with a base. I started my design with a hexagon because snowflakes begin their formation with a hexagonal prism.

I set the height of my hexagonal prism to 10mm. It is important that you make all of your design have the same height.

Step 3: Building the Branches

Build one of the branches of the snowflake. Make the design as simple or as complicated as you would like.

After you have designed all of your pieces, be sure to "group" them so you will be ready for step 4!

Step 4: Attaching the Other Branches

Since snowflakes are symmetrical, all of the branches can be the same.

"Copy" and "paste" your original branch 6 times to make the other branches.

Be sure that each branch is 60 degrees apart around your base.

Step 5: Finalize Your Design

Now it is time to finalize your design!

Make sure all of your pieces are the desired height and size.

Group all of your pieces together.

Shrink or enlarge your design so it is the size you would like to print. Make sure the entire design is within the blue grid on Tinkercad.

Step 6: Time for Printing

Now it is time to print your design. Depending on your 3D printer, this step is different for everybody. We export our design and upload it to Polar Cloud as an STL file.

Step 7: Revisions

Now that you have printed a copy of your 3D snowflake it is time for revisions. It is important to have a growth mindset and work to improve your design. Here are some of the mistakes we made before we had our final product.