3: 3D scanning / printing

There were two directions that I was interested in: A) gears, B) mathematical surfaces. Both are interesting interpretations on obejects that are impractical if not impossible to create by subtractive methods.

I tried to replicate both but I just couldn't figure out how to do it in time... so I instead decided to work with something simpler to produce: Hilbert's space filling curves.

The idea is that each curve can be recursively made more complex through L-system (Lindenmayer system). The interesting part for me is that it is not only a 2D but 3D filling curve.

Here is a render of a 3D Hilbert Curve, with 3 recursive iterations.

...And a more funkier cousin of the same curve, with filleted edges.

I was hoping to print it on ABS; ABS prints is suitable for this type of print because the support material could dissolve in lye tank, and the flexibility of the plastic could allow me to play with it without worrying about breaking it. But ABS printer became malfunctional and so I sent it to ZCORP, hoping that it won't snap right away... And of course it did.

3D scanning was kind of a continuous failure. I heard from previous HowToMaker that Autodesk Recap does a better job than the Sense scanner so I gave it some tries. Here is my original object:

First try: With only about 20 photos and I rotated the object around instead of moving the camera around the object. No good.

Second try: about 50 photos and I moved the camera around the object. Still no good.

After many tries: about 50 photos and I moved the camera around the object on the ground with a relatively constant environment (cutting mat, floor). This yielded the best result out of all the methods that I've tried but again not that great.