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The popcorn buckets were themed Gain popularity As collectibles for years now, they first started as limited edition items at theme parks and in recent years have grown to most major movie theaters. While most people have heard of the weird Dune bucket and the Deadpool and Wolverine show designed to mock it, the truth is that many big movies arrive in theaters with some sort of collectible popcorn and drink that extends far beyond the design wrapped around a standard bucket or cup. This isn’t always an option for smaller film releases like Markiplier-backed Iron Lung, but it is a partnership with Regal Cinema It allows anyone with a 3D printer to show their support by making and bringing a movie-themed bucket. As you can see in the image above, the design is intense.
The rules are simple: If you show up with one of these in hand, you’ll get free popcorn on opening weekend. Unfortunately, I’ve come to throw cold water on this plan and I urge you to heed a few warnings before you show up ready to eat from your giant nightmare bucket.
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While this article may make it seem like I’m a big fan of this idea, the opposite is true. I like the idea behind this promotion and how it appeals to an audience like Markiplier’s, who likely own some sort of 3D printer, with a ready-made excuse to use it for something like this. With a little polish on the design and some recommendations for the printer on how to make sure it’s safe to use and will still be something that looks pretty on the shelf, this is the start of a fun new world of fan-assisted popcorn buckets and more. I like the future, once we get over some of these early bumps.
First and foremost, you need to be very careful about what you use to print this deck and how you print it. The most common material used to print objects today is… Polylactic acidor PLA, which is made using plant starch, mostly corn, and is what you find on most shelves in electronics stores for 3D printers. While PLA is generally considered food safe when at room temperature, the printing process and how you choose to use a printed object can greatly impact how food safe it truly is. The mechanical parts of the 3D printer are covered with lubricant to ensure smooth performance, so it is impossible to avoid some transfer to the plastic during its shaping. And I haven’t even mentioned the risks associated with painting this thing before eating from it, which you should never do.
Printing can introduce unsafe food-safe substances into the plastic.
The way 3D prints come together also creates some issues with using PLA in food. The individual layers of each print and the semi-porous nature of the plastic can trap bacteria and make it completely unsafe to eat from if not properly sealed. If you think you can just wash it, keep in mind that this material begins to soften at about 120 F, which is lower than the temperature of hot water coming out of most faucets in the United States. It is also close to the temperature of melted butter on popcorn when served fresh, which does not mean it will damage the print, but it does present the risk of bacteria when used more than once. You can reduce some of these risks by switching to polyethylene terephthalate glycol strings instead (PETG for short) or investing in some food-safe sealants for the inside of the bucket. I’m a fan This is a food safe sealant From Krowne, but there are plenty of other options out there.
It should also be noted that this bucket wastes a fair amount of material. Design that is free Something differentdivided into two pieces, each one will take about $20 to $25 worth of filament roll to print, so you’re not saving any money here (which isn’t the point, but there’s a common misconception that printing is always cheaper). There’s a bottom half with all the teeth and the movie’s Iron Lung branding, and a bloody top half with the Regal logo prominently featured. The top half has no bottom, and although there are no instructions telling you to glue these two pieces together, this is likely the behavior of a lot of people who choose to do so. A twist lock design or full bottom insert would have been a better idea here.
This inner piece has no bottom but looks very much like blood.
Both halves of this design must be printed using supports, and depending on the type of printer and cutting software you have, these supports can quickly get expensive. There are a number of thin supports that are expensive to support, not to mention how easy it is to break thin pieces while cleaning the supports. At the very least, the teeth could have been designed to print separately to save time and frustration. If you have a printer with a multi-color support and only one extruder, the color changes, as well as the supports, resulting in a significant amount of plastic waste. You could certainly paint all of this in one color and paint it yourself, but that would also take a long time.
Whether you plan to go all out and make your bucket as elaborate as possible, or you just want to get free popcorn to enjoy with your movie, you’re on your way to having movie-themed fun. But as companies look for ways to encourage community engagement for films that don’t have huge marketing budgets, hopefully some of these early issues will be addressed quickly for everyone to enjoy.