This volcanic cave is my first original functional design.

I created it as a shelter for my little turtle in the garden, trying to reproduce the look of a natural volcanic rock while keeping the model easy to print.

The model was prepared and optimized in Bambu Studio to handle a large organic surface while keeping slicing and printing time reasonable. I used Lightning infill and a slightly larger layer height, which works very well with rocky textures and helps hide layer lines.

The cave is designed to print without supports and almost fills the build plate of my Bambu Lab H2S. The irregular rock surface gives the print a natural stone look once finished.

It can be printed in PLA or PETG.

If you print it in PLA and plan to use it outdoors, after printing I recommend applying a clear outdoor varnish. This helps improve resistance to rain and UV exposure and allows the print to last longer outside.

If you print it in PETG, the cave can be used outdoors directly without any additional preparation, as PETG is more resistant to weather conditions.

This project was also a great learning experience for optimizing large prints and experimenting with organic shapes in Bambu Studio.

If you print it, I’d love to see your results.