In response to the Ultimaker Thingiverse Halloween Decoration Challenge 2023, I conceived Eldritch Flora, a unique plant decoration system marrying flexibility and stability for a truly haunting ambiance. Crafted with meticulous detail, the 3D model features specially-designed holes to securely hold interchangeable panels, ensuring both aesthetic appeal and practicality. This innovative approach allows for effortless panel swaps without compromising stability, offering enthusiasts a customizable and immersive Halloween experience that elevates any space with an eerie charm.

This project began with a vision of a versatile plant decoration system, where flexibility and stability were at the forefront of design. The 3D model was carefully crafted to include specially-shaped holes that would securely cradle decoration panels and a secondary set of holes to ensure the support truss could be firmly anchored in the soil. These design choices aimed to not only enhance aesthetics but also prioritize functionality, making it easy to interchange panels while preventing any wobbling, instability, or damage to the plant.

Next, I experimented with different print-in-place models and friction-locking joints. The friction models printed with supports seemed to produce the most reliable results with my (admittedly clunky) Ender-3. I went with this model for simplicity, but I really enjoy how the arms articulate and I may utilize and upgraded version this design for future projects.

The octagonal holes in the joints are meant to hold the truss in the soil without the pieces wobbling or becoming unstable and each truss piece has one 5x5mm insert that can lock into decoration holes at two at different angles. I included two posts on each model to accommodate different pots and plants that require different configurations of the joint truss. The second post has the added benefit of additional support for the decoration piece. The decoration pieces were designed in illustrator with supports added later in TinkerCAD.