2012 How to Make almost Anything

Week Four | Three Dimensional Print and Scan

The 3d printer can create unique objects through its additive layering method of assembly. In order to take full advantage of this method I chose to create a gear assembly that could be operated immediately after the printing was finished. Rhino 3d was utilized to create the object as well as demonstrate its utility. The mechanics of the object along with a flashlight host, generate the transformation of geometry through light. The hope is that the light will be filtered in such a way that the current image can be seen in parralell with the previous and incoming image as well.
FINAL PRINT

The 3d object relied on the accurate measure of the flashlight that it would sit atop. A digital caliper ensures that the measurement stay precise.

The design was to be printed as one unit however one small axel was too think and the part brok in two. It was still functional although you had to manipulate with one two hands instead of one. Next time i should take the thickness of the print extrusion thickness into account to wnsure all the parts stay together

The result of the light projected through the print is not as clear as i would have hoped. this has to do with the strength of the light as well as the distance the cutout is from the beam. The mechanism has no way of focusing itself and therefore the images will reamin blurry. For this prototype too many liberties were taken with the relationship between light and image.

Advanced photography merging techniques allow complex models to be translated into the computer as 3d models with some sophistication. The geometry that I am interested in translating with this process is one that was not generated with the computer. The bone above was chewed on consistently by my dogs. The exact deformation of this object is impossible to calcaulate in the computer and even more possible to model with 3d editing tools. However, 123D Catch software was able to capture most of the nuance that makes this geometry unique, and offer a new tool in combining the analag with the digital.

Details like the top of the bone are impressive, however the software failed to capture the hollowness of the inside.

The texture and deformity was captured very well. Only a few small parts were deformed in the wrong ways. This could easily be fixed in a mesh editor at a later date.

The hardwod floor was enough reflection and texture to ensure that the smoothness of the bone was not lost. One small error in choosing the wood floor as a scanning plane was the simlarity in color to the bone. In small instanced the texture of the floor was mapped onto the bone.

The transparant effect that this created is one I would not expect but something that if levaraged correctly could yield productive results.

By witnessing the triangulation of the mesh, it can be seen just how precise this software is. Without texture the smoothness of the bone is completely visible. Rhino's output of this mesh emphasizes surface and contour over texture and shape, and the result is all the more rewarding.

It becomes clear that 3d scanning will be instrumental at merging the analog and digital production together.