The file from 3d.nih db is a ‘grid’, obtained vie EM, with blobby proteins on the surface (Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase). To prepare for PLA print, the mesh was modified in Blender: removed double vertices, added a deformed sphere inside, deleted parts of the grid-like structure. The file was exported as stl, and further modified in PrusaSlicer: re-sized to about 5 cm, added internal negative sphere and cut in two parts for printing. 

Part of a series prepared for a didactic exhibition at CNR in Milano (Italy). All models are scaled to 1 million times and printed in the lab with a PRUSA MK3S 3D printing machine. 

Most files from 3d.nih db were modified using MeshLab, Blender and PrusaSlicer (see each virus for details). Some intermediate files (.blend or .obj) are available on request. 

The collection includes Yellow Mottle Tymovirus (YMT), Phages T7 and T4, Influenza, Zika, Papilloma, AdenoAssociated, and Ebola virus. All models were printed in various colors, and samples were distributed to observe symmetries, proportions and other features of each virus.