Alpakka Manual Gallery Components

The parts are designed to not require any additional supports, even though for specific parts, such as the thumbstick and the home button, some supports are recommended for optimal performance (see below). Printers are expected to print at least 10 millimeter long bridges with reasonable accuracy.

Our best experience is with FDM printer from Prusa.

SLA / MSLA (Masked Stereolithography Apparatus, a.k.a. Resin) printers should also be an option, even though we have not yet tested this technology.

While private ownership of a 3D printer becomes increasingly common, you should alternatively check if such printers are available in your local library, university, or tinkerer workshop. Another option is the use of local or online 3D-printing services.

We also have a #diy-share-parts channel on our Discord server, with a very active and helpful community. There you may be able to get advice wrt. 3D printing, printing the Alpakka, 3D printers in general, or 3D printing services. You may also be able to find people in your vicinity, who are willing to help with your printing needs, or to share cost.

Materials

There are no specific requirements wrt. the selection of materials. For FDM printers, any suitable material should work well. Some, especially silk-PLA appear to be more brittle and thus less suitable for some components, such as the thumbstick.

Our best experience is with PLA from Prusa.

One requirement for the hexagon is conductive PLA. We have tested a number of different materials from various providers, but so far the conductive PLA from Protopasta was the only one that could reliable provide good results.

List of 3D parts

The following is a list of all the models and their recommended settings for FDM printing.

Primary color / material

Preview	Name	Recommendations
	Front case	0.15mm layer height. Primary color. 10% gyroid infill. 2 perimeters. Very slow first layer.
	L1/R1 triggers	0.15mm layer height. Primary color. 15% gyroid infill. Tight and loose variants available. 2x units, mirrored.
	L2/R2 triggers	0.15mm layer height. Primary color. 15% gyroid infill. 2x units.
	L4/R4 triggers	0.15mm layer height. Primary color. 15% gyroid infill. Tight and loose variants available. 2x units, mirrored.
	8-directional hat	0.15mm layer height. Primary color. Consider using brim.
	Select buttons	0.07mm layer height. Primary color. 15% gyroid infill. 4x units.

Secondary color / material

Preview	Name	Recommendations
	Back case	0.15mm layer height. Secondary color. 10% gyroid infill. 2 perimeters. Very slow first layer.
	Back bay cover	0.15mm layer height. Secondary color.
	Wheel	0.15mm layer height. Secondary color.
	ABXY buttons	0.07mm layer height. Secondary color. 15% gyroid infill. 4x units.
	Dpad buttons	0.07mm layer height. Secondary color. 15% gyroid infill. 4x units.
	Thumbstick cap	0.07mm layer height. Secondary color. 15% gyroid infill. Custom supports. See additional notes.
	Home button	0.07mm layer height. Secondary color. 15% gyroid infill. Custom supports. See additional notes.
	Wheel shaft	0.07mm layer height. Secondary color. Consider using brim.

Electrically conductive material

Preview	Name	Recommendations
	Touch-sensitive hexagon	0.15mm layer height. Electrically conductive material. If using Protopasta: 245°C. 3 perimeters. Tight and loose variants available.

Any color / recycled material

Preview	Name	Recommendations
	Anchors	0.15mm layer height. Any material / recycled. Internal part. Consider using brim. 2x units.
	Wheel holder	0.15mm layer height. Any material / recycled. Internal part. Consider using brim.
	Soldering stand	0.20mm layer height. Any material / recycled. Optional tool.