San Luis Potosi's (Mexico) Water Tank, called La Caja Del Agua or la Conservera, is a favorite subject of mine, I've painted and sketched it several times. This 3D model was made in 3DS Max, mostly with me bumbling around trying to get it to look decent.
It's not a perfect replica - I've widened the thinnest parts of the model to reduce possible printing problems (and it's also hollow). Even with my changes, I'd still recommend printing at above 4" inches, preferably above 4.5" to ensure the top of the model doesn't mess up.
La Caja Del Agua was finished in 1835, designed by Jose Guerrero.
Printer:
Monoprice Maker Select V2
Rafts:
Doesn't Matter
Supports:
No
Resolution:
.2 mm
Infill:
30%
Notes:
This design is hollowed out, in case you want to light this model from the inside.
Printing the model by itself at less than 4.5" high is not recommended - the urns at the sides print pretty well, but as the print nears the end there isn't enough time for the pla to cool before the next layer is printed, messing up the very top. You can see what happens in the copper picture above.
The best solutions for printing less that 4" tall would be to print two at a time, or maybe print a waste tower off to the side, maybe a cylinder that's the same height as the model.
I used 3DS Max for the design. The original design was in Blender, but with 3DS Max I was able to produce a more accurate model.
I started by importing an image of the monument, sketching over it, and revolving the result. I added the urns on their base, copied and rotated that x4, and then turbosmoothed everything. It's my first design in 3DS Max, but I'm happy with it!
