Archive for the ‘ projects ’ Category

New 3d print: Print The Bay

This is a print of the San Francisco bay area I made based on the fantastic tool by Thatcher Chamberlin, Terrain2STL. I used Meshlab for cleanup of holes, and scaling operations.

I epoxied each of the four regions to a custom piece of light blue acrylic acquired fromTAP Plastics.

Get more info and download the files to print yourself over on Thingiverse.

To see a detailed overview the process I used to make them, check my pose here.

Check out the article written on it at 3dPrint.com.

New 3d print: Light Orb 01

I used the code for my latest “hex” designs on a sphere: The result is a complex shape that still prints nicely with no supports on a FFF style machine. It’s just under 6″ across.  It’s also the first real print I’ve done since my upgrade to Sailfish firmware.

As designed, the hole in the base will fit a votive candle: I wouldn’t put a real votive in there, but LED votives work well. It will also lay flat on this base without rolling around.

It also looks good as a large ornament on your Christmas tree :)

For the illumination hardware, I purchased a “snap-in candelabra base socket” from Home Depot (picture included), and a 45w candelabra bulb: Note that the bulb hot, but as of yet I’ve not had any issues since the print itself is so open. If you want something more decorative, I’d go 25w.

Get more info and download the file for print over on Thingiverse.

New 3D Print: Hex Vase 01

I used the same technique for the “hex vases” to make a simple bowl.  This one took a little over seven hours on my Makerbot Replicator (1).

Get more info and download files over on Thingiverse.

Two new 3d prints: Hex vases

Hexagons are a great form to build with when it comes to 3d-printing: for FDM machines, like my Makerbot Replicator (1) that print layer by layer, overhangs past a certain angle don’t print well, or print at all.  While my machine can print overhangs less than 45 degrees, that is the rule of thumb when it comes to making 3d printable items that won’t require support:  Make sure all overhangs are 45 deg or greater.  And if you tip a hexagon on its point, then the angles it creates for overhangs are exactly 45 degrees and avoids any bridging:  Complex structure, no support needed.

With that in mind, I made a Python script in Maya that will turn polygonal quads into hexagons with the click of a button.  The below two “Hex Vases” are the first tests with it.  You can find more info + downloads on their Thingiverse pages here, and here.

New 3D Print & Sandcast : FHL Necklace

Following up on my previous post of the “FFF Necklace“, I spent the day designing the “FHL” necklace design for my wife, based around the “Faith, Hope, & Love” verse found in 1 Corinthians 13:13. Designed in Autodesk Fusion 360.

Tried two different approaches: The larger one (01A) has the letters recessed into the volume, while the smaller one (02A) has the letters extruded from the volume.

Continuing my experiments with aluminum sand casting at a small scale, neither came out exactly how I wanted: The one with recessed text grabbed the sand too much, so the pattern didn’t remove properly, and for the one with extruded text, even though there were clean shapes, the molten aluminum didn’t fill the voids fully, leaving softened forms. But regardless, the end results are nice and rustic 😉

Download the files for print over on Thingiverse.