Summary

This is a Seifert surface of a figure 8 knot designed by Mithra Muthukrishnan and edited by Dave Pfaff and myself for my Math 341 Introduction to Topology class in Fall 2014. The colored model shows the knot in pink/red, one side of the Seifert surface in white and the other side in yellow

Print Settings

Printer Brand:

MakerBot

                                            <p class="detail-setting printer"><strong>Printer: </strong>                     <div><p>MakerBot Replicator 2X</p></div></p>                                                                                <p class="detail-setting rafts"><strong>Rafts: </strong>                     <div><p>Yes</p></div></p>                                                                                <p class="detail-setting supports"><strong>Supports: </strong>                     <div><p>Yes</p></div></p>                                                                                <p class="detail-setting resolution"><strong>Resolution: </strong>                     <div><p>0.2mm</p></div></p>                                                                                <p class="detail-setting infill"><strong>Infill: </strong>                     <div><p>10%</p></div></p>                                                        <br>                        <p class="detail-setting notes"><strong>Notes: </strong>                    </p><div><p>You may need to rescale this object by a factor of 10 in Makerware since it is sized in cm not mm. You may also need to move the knot onto the platform, I think it is just above it. The knot is about 8cm x 8cm x 10cm in size. This knot was first printed on a Project 260 3D Systems printer.</p></div>

How I Designed This

This was a complex design. The figure-8 knot and its Seifert surface was first created in SeifertView. After exporting the file, we opened it in Cinema4D. There the surface was extruded in both directions creating the two sides of the Seifert surface. Finally, three copies of the surface were made. In one, all the surfaces were deleted leaving the knot. In another the knot and one side of the extrusion was deleted. In the final copy, the knot and the other side of the extrusion was deleted. This left three pieces which could each be given their own color before printing. For the .stl file here, the model is just in one piece.

Figure 8 Seifert Surface