Week 4: 3D scanning and printing

I have done a lot of 3D printing for architecture studios, typically using the Zcorp printer because it is so much more precise.
Here is a video of a game I made for an elective last semester. The 3D printed puzzle pieces conceal tunnels for a marble to pass through, which I don't know how I would have made any other way.
For this week, I scanned an existing object, edited the mesh, and printed.


This is a huge triangulated fiberglass bear leaning in to the convention center at home in Denver.



My mom gave me a mini one which I've taken with me everywhere I've lived. It is ceramic and has broken
several times, shoddily repaired with superglue. The idea this week was to scan and see if I could repair the mesh and print a new undamaged bear.



I used 123D Catch for the scan. I'm pretty impressed with the detail it was able to capture. I first opened the mesh in Rhino and realized I had
to use a different tool to clean up the mesh.



I tried MeshLab first. It crashed every time I tried anything at all. Gave up on it pretty quick.



Then I downloaded AutoDeskRemake, which is designed to edit meshes taken from 123D Catch.



I deleted the surface easily with a trimming tool.



Here you can see the break in the bear's wrist. Remake offers easy tools to pull and push the mesh, using variable size and strength "brushes".



The edited mesh.



Ready to print with our new 3DWox Printer.



Printing...



I printed a mini bear first which took only 12 minutes. The supports helped it stand up straight.



Mini bear. This scale was too small and demanded a degree of precision that the printer couldn't handle. The edges and points, especially around the nose,
are very scrappy. Pretty impressive that it retains the balance of the original bear and can stand on his two feet.



Bigger bear with supports still on. This print took 1.5 hours.



I'm pretty impressed with 123D Catch. The resolution of the print isn't perfect of course, and at the larger scale there are still issues around the points.
It's just kind of amazing that the balance of the original bear was maintained in scanning and printing. And I was able to heal the broken wrist!