JANET LIUHow to Make (almost) Anything

## 3D Scanning This was my first time every 3D scanning something! I used the Sense scanner in the Harvard shop. The process itself wasn't very complicated - you just turned on the computer, opened the software, and followed the instructions for scanning. I tried to scan my head just for kicks, but soon found that it's a lot harder to get a good clean scan than I thought. Fair warning, a lot of the next scans are pretty scary looking! At first, I just scanned the front of my face: <figure><img src="../images/full/03/janet.png" width="500"/> </figure> The scan was picking up on a lot of stuff in the back. There wasn't really a defined background color/pattern, and I think my clothes/hair color blended in a lot with objects in the background. This made it hard for the scanner to pick up exactly the parts I wanted it to. After the first test run, I tried to scan all over my face. I did this by myself, so the results were really bad. It was so much harder to keep my head (relatively) still than I thought. Also, it was next to impossible to not move when trying to scan the back of my head, and my scans also weren't as thorough as I'd have wanted it to be. Next time, I'll definitely enlist a teammate to rotate the scanner around my head as I stand in place. You'll see below that the movement/lack of consistently made the scan come out really weird and scary in parts. Facial features melded together, and large chunks of the back of my head were missing. All in all, a super fun project but it definitely would have come out a lot nicer if I had a helping hand. Front | Back | Left | Right :---------------:|:---------------:|:---------------:|:---------------: ![](../images/full/03/janet_front.png) | ![](../images/full/03/janet_back.png) | ![](../images/full/03/janet_left.png) | ![](../images/full/03/janet_right.png) ## [3D Printing](/cad/cable_manager.stl) For my 3d printing this week, I searched on tinkercad and reddit for some cool inspiration for my design. I found some 3d printed cable managers, and decided to design it + make some modifications. First, I created the CAD using Onshape. The idea was to have a pretty large "mouth" that would anchor to the table, and then a rotating channel that would be able to hold the cable in place and not let it fall out. The anchor would be a simple bolt through the bottom of the "mouth". The bolt would pres up against the bottom of the table, and the nut would hold the bolt in place and create enough friction to anchor the print to the table. This allowed for variable table widths, since I wanted to be able to use this without worrying about exact tolerances/different table widths. <figure><img src="../images/full/03/cad_cable.png" width="500"/> </figure> Printing it was pretty straightforward. I downloaded the STL file and imported into Prusa Slicer, where I selected the main flat face as the one on the bottom. All the presets were already there for me, so I just had to export the gcode. I used an intermediary laptop that has an SD card slot to put the gcode on the SD card. After that, it was pretty easy going to actually start the print. Thankfully, I didn't run into any issues with the print itself! <figure><img src="../images/full/03/prusa_slicer.png" width="500"/> </figure> However, after taking off the print I found a lot of things that I would change on a different iteration. In my CAD, I allowed for 1 mm of tolerance between the two rotating pieces. But, the actual print definitely expanded into the tolerance area. I'm not sure if it was the heat from the extruder or just the filament expanding, but when I took the piece off the bed, it didn't rotate. I had to use a vice gripper to force the pieces to rotate. <figure><img src="../images/full/03/using_the_vice.png" width="500"/> </figure> Even after it started rotating, the rotating was still super sticky/tough. I ended up taking a file to the inner rotating piece, filing off little bits of the filament so that it would rotate a lot easier. But, after filing things down, it rotated nicely! I also added a few sticky rubber feet to the top of the mouth so it wouldn't scratch the table. Lastly, I put together the bolt/nut, and tested it out! On a shop table | On my dorm table | In action! :---------------:|:---------------:|:---------------: ![](../images/full/03/shop_test.png) | ![](../images/full/03/room_test.png) | ![](../images/full/03/print_in_action.gif) It looked and worked great on the shop table, which I was super happy about. But, after taking it to my dorm room, I realized that my dorm room table has a little lip on it and isn't actually wide enough for me to securely place the print on. If I were to reprint this, I would create more tolerance in the rotating parts, and also add a triangle of bolts on the bottom. The idea would be to have two bolts close to the edge of the mouth, and one last stabilizing bolt closer to the inside of the mouth. All in all, I'm still super happy with the print! Super useful :)