3D printed Bonsai Fusion Support ?

[onlyrey]

Anyone tried 3D printing bonsai supports ? My new hobby is 3D printing and I am trying to somehow find a way justifying the cost of the printer, so this is one of them. Printables came up with a contest for 3D printed plant supports and I thought this may be a good application for it. Here is the page where I shared the models:

Printables 3D printed Bonsai Fusion Page (sharealike/free STL model files for 3D printing).

The supports are 8 x 8 x 5" but can be scaled (formal and informal versions). I printed this test in PLA, a part of me thinks that in the spring, and under initial growing conditions, the support in this material should survive enough to support the saplings while they retain the form (a few weeks). If PLA doesn't work, I'll try PETG, which is not biodegradable and lasts a lot longer. What are your ideas regarding these supports, and fusing saplings in general ? Also, if anyone has a bonsai fusion success photo you can share, I'd love to put it in the page, with of course attribution to the author.

 

[Gabler]

Anyone tried 3D printing bonsai supports ? My new hobby is 3D printing and I am trying to somehow find a way justifying the cost of the printer, so this is one of them. Printables came up with a contest for 3D printed plant supports and I thought this may be a good application for it. Here is the page where I shared the models:

Printables 3D printed Bonsai Fusion Page (sharealike/free STL model files for 3D printing).

The supports are 8 x 8 x 5" but can be scaled (formal and informal versions). I printed this test in PLA, a part of me thinks that in the spring, and under initial growing conditions, the support in this material should survive enough to support the saplings while they retain the form (a few weeks). If PLA doesn't work, I'll try PETG, which is not biodegradable and lasts a lot longer. What are your ideas regarding these supports, and fusing saplings in general ? Also, if anyone has a bonsai fusion success photo you can share, I'd love to put it in the page, with of course attribution to the author.

I've never seen a fusion project that produced either better or faster results than the classic grow and chop method for producing tapered trunks.

I'd love to be proven wrong if someone can show us a successful fusion.

 

[pandacular]

I've never seen a fusion project that produced either better or faster results than the classic grow and chop method for producing tapered trunks.

I'd love to be proven wrong if someone can show us a successful fusion.

I can't find it at the moment, but I saw a project on here where someone had fused literally 100 saplings and it was wonderful.

I also don't see the need to be discouraging of trying a new technique. Perhaps fusions aren't the best they can be because no one has tried novel stuff like 3-D printing. Assuming that there is a single best way to do something sets us all back. Personally, I think many trunk chops never look good, and the patient path be preferred with my favorite deciduous trees.

I'd be really excited to see a fusion with a 3D printed support!

 

[PowerTap]

The Pacific bonsai museum's current exhibit, Avant Garden, featured a tree on a large 3d printed container / stand. Not quite what your showing here, but maybe some inspiration.

Exhibits | Pacific Bonsai Museum

pacificbonsaimuseum.org

I've always thought it would be cool to 3d print a container that looked like a building and have a tree growing out of it to have a slightly post apocalyptic feel to it.

 

[Shibui]

I've never seen a fusion project that produced either better or faster results than the classic grow and chop method for producing tapered trunks.

I'd love to be proven wrong if someone can show us a successful fusion.

I agree. For every success there must be hundreds of failures. I've tried many times and never achieved anything that could not have been done easier and quicker from a single seedling.

 

[onlyrey]

Thank you for the comments. I will update the title to remove “fast” . It was kind of a joke because later on I emphasize that “fast” is 5 years.

Come next spring I’ll give a try to the fusion focus pocus and report back here. I should have a fully grown and fused bonsai in 2 to 3 weeks since it wouldn’t be from seed which typically adds about an extra week.

 

[rockm]

Anyone tried 3D printing bonsai supports ? My new hobby is 3D printing and I am trying to somehow find a way justifying the cost of the printer, so this is one of them. Printables came up with a contest for 3D printed plant supports and I thought this may be a good application for it. Here is the page where I shared the models:

Printables 3D printed Bonsai Fusion Page (sharealike/free STL model files for 3D printing).

The supports are 8 x 8 x 5" but can be scaled (formal and informal versions). I printed this test in PLA, a part of me thinks that in the spring, and under initial growing conditions, the support in this material should survive enough to support the saplings while they retain the form (a few weeks). If PLA doesn't work, I'll try PETG, which is not biodegradable and lasts a lot longer. What are your ideas regarding these supports, and fusing saplings in general ? Also, if anyone has a bonsai fusion success photo you can share, I'd love to put it in the page, with of course attribution to the author.

The trunk fusion thing isn't really a thing any more. The trees made by the that process were hit and miss, mostly miss, trunks aren't all that great and fusion takes mostly as long as growing a decent solid trunk...

 

[Ruddigger]

I was thinking about these yesterday, after seeing Bjorns video where he’s sitting next to what appears to be a fused Trident.

 

[bluone23]

I was thinking about these yesterday, after seeing Bjorns video where he’s sitting next to what appears to be a fused Trident.

View attachment 506895

I was thinking about this trident maple all day, and could not connect it to this thread

 

[Shogun610]

No don’t do it don’t do anything just argue about it …

Try it out and report back to see how it goes .. and grow another tree next to it without and fused seedlings and make comparisons as the years go. Do a study and find out.

 

[rockm]

I was thinking about these yesterday, after seeing Bjorns video where he’s sitting next to what appears to be a fused Trident.

View attachment 506895

this looks like the back of the tree. I think Bjorn posted the front image on FB a while back in April. "Biggie Smalls" trident is 30 years old and he said it has "finally fully fused." Arguably could have gotten superior results just by planting it out and doing successive chops...without the gaps on the hollow trunk. Short cuts aren't really short cuts.

 

[BobbyLane]

The fusing of seedlings at the base here definitely counts as a fusion type bonsai

Some of @clem's work with the maples fusing at the base is similar.

The Hawthorn here needed further work, but the trunks were pretty much one after some time in the grow bed..

 

[Gabler]

The fusing of seedlings at the base here definitely counts as a fusion type bonsai

Some of @clem's work with the maples fusing at the base is similar.

 

[rockm]

The fusing of seedlings at the base here definitely counts as a fusion type bonsai

Some of @clem's work with the maples fusing at the base is similar.

The Hawthorn here needed further work, but the trunks were pretty much one after some time in the grow bed..
View attachment 506909

Fusing trunk bases is not really the same as a fused trunk bonsai built on a metal/plastic scaffold. Doug Phillips made that practice popular back in the 90's. The original tree that he worked on using this technique is still around.

Fusing maple bases is not uncommon. Have some of those myself. Jam a fist full of maples in a tight container. Let them grow and the bases fuse. Amur maples developed from Bill Valavanis seedlings.

 

[Shibui]

Fusing maples at the base is relatively easy. Just one point of contact. Start with a few extras so if some don't fuse just take it out and no real problem.
Fused trunks is very different. Fusion needs to be right up the trunks to the top of the frame. Any trunks that fail leave a gap. Any spots where the trunks don't fuse is a problem.
Consider the top of a fusion project. As each trunk thickens so does the top section where they all meet, often making the top just as thick as the base - there goes all that expected taper.
Where do branches come from? I can't prune an individual trunk in a fusion to force back buds to get branching.

I have personally done lots of fusion trials but still have not promoted any of these to my own collection of bonsai though there's a couple in development that may make the cut. Note that those are all way older than similar sized, similar quality trees from a single trunk. The only redeeming feature is the trunks can have 'character' from the fusion and lines of multiple trunks.

I find it interesting that some people who are dead against grafted trunks for bonsai can be so excited by fused trunks which is essentially grafting???

 

[BobbyLane]

Yeh well, gaps only pose an issue depending on what style of tree you want to build. Let's not talk people out of creating/attempting different styles of trees, and broadening the mind a bit.
On this experiment the trunks meet higher up from the base...

 

[Wood]

Matt Ouwinga does a similar thing with root-over-rock trident maples all the time. If you visit Kaede Bonsai-en, his grow beds are full of lace rocks that have several 1-2 year old seedlings wrapped around them. He crosses the saplings in several places so they fuse together, then covers them in wire to hold them in place. The trunks merge and fuse, and within a couple years, he's got a mesh of roots all over the rock and a good start at a trunk

That being said, he's not aiming for a completely seamless trunk like building over a frame. You've got nothing to lose by trying it

 

[BobbyLane]

When you start to look real closely at some trees, its clear that specimens like this Plum probably started life as a bunch of seedlings or a clump that fused together, even some of the outstanding collected Carps from Croatia

I tried to mimic it myself by hammering five trunks together.
Yes you should definitely be trying to get creative, thinking for yourself and attempting new ways

 

[bwaynef]

For all the successes w/ fusions, there are infinitely more misses...



...just like "traditional" bonsai from meager/starter material. Its not the panacea some make it out to be, but there's no harm in trying if you go in w/ the right expectations. I have a japanese maple fusion project that was started by someone else and given to me a few years ago. Its going to make an ok tree, but not in any less time than it would've taken w/ a single trunk in the ground. (In a pot, MAYBE a little thicker.) Its currently in the grow-out phase for the 2nd or 3rd year since I've had it.

 

[pandacular]

I think @BobbyLane makes an excellent point. the challenges of trunk fusion to build a "normal" trunk. That does not preclude the technique from potentially being able to create a different style of trunk. I think Bjorn's tree posted above is a great example. It doesn't really look like the sort of thing you could get easily without massive trunk fusion.

There's not one way to do things, and there's not one goal either.