Kukai Fundation on Solidworks 2022

This looks great! I've also tried printing, but it sucks...
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I'm now trying to figure out how to do simple sculpting with aluminum or other materials. My idea is to split it into upper and lower parts and then weld the middle part using wire/thin carving
 
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I think it looks good! The upper part especially looks like it came out really clean. I always have a hard time getting the right support settings, so I've been trying to learn more about it. Here are a few articles I thought were helpful:

3D Printing Supports Guide
Cura Tree Support
Designing To Remove Supports

I've started using tree support since I updated my slicer software recently. It seems to work pretty well for complicated figures with a lot of different angles, and I like the patterns it makes.
Part of a model of the Kukai Foundation with tree supports in Cura. Part of a model of the Kukai Foundation with tree supports in Cura. Photograph of the same model being printed, with a cross section of the tree supports in the center.

I tried printing another version at about 1.5x the size of the previous one, and I think it turned out a little better (the upper part ended up too low because of how I measured the filament for the center part, but overall it was less rough than my previous attempt). I wanted to make it possible to remove the top part as well as the bow of the Durandal from the inside, although I haven't figured out a good way to get the base to sit on the lower part of the Durandal without using some adhesive (the ship is actually in two parts to give the illusion of it being docked in the Foundation).

3D printed model of the Kukai Foundation and the Durandal. Close-up photo of the Foundation model showing a map of the colony with the Durandal in the center.
 

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Finally, after getting it last night, I finally finished the metal version of kukai fundation
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She is made of aluminum alloy (ALSI10MG) and nickel-based superalloy (GH4169) as a whole
It is divided into three parts, two of which are processed by Mitsubishi's M4G2 five-axis machine tool, and the remaining part is machined by myself (using a lathe).
Here's the top half, those curved sides are really hard to do, but after two failures it worked out
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On some of the gaps I welded because they are very fragile
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This is the upper part. There was no aluminum alloy material at that time, so I chose a nickel-based alloy with the same color for processing.
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Also welded
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And one more thing I made on a lathe (connection piece for the upper level)
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Really, this thing is so hard to do, especially the bottom layer, it took me almost 7 hours to deal with it (processing + failure + redo + sanding + welding + polishing)
 
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