A two-course meal of CAD craftsmanship and digital capture
Serves: One designer craving geometry
Total Time: One week of sketching, scanning, slicing, and printing
This week I returned to CAD to create a special treat: a Pythagorean cup. I began with a sketch, revolved it to create the main body, and added the central siphon channel — the clever mechanism that drains all the liquid if filled beyond a certain level.
I printed the design in white PLA. While not perfectly watertight, it functioned in several tests, demonstrating the delightful chaos a Pythagorean cup is known for.
Next, I moved to the Creality CR-Scan 4 to try my hand at 3D scanning. I started with a small goose statue — a simple appetizer before the main course. The scanner captured the details beautifully, even picking up a tiny embedded magnet.
For the final and most challenging dish, I attempted a human head scan. A very willing MIT alum (a finance major) volunteered for the process. The glasses proved tricky, requiring extra passes to capture accurately.
Once the scan was complete, I spent significant time in the Creality mesh editor, cleaning artifacts and removing improbable floating triangles that appeared during capture. Afterwards, I moved the cleaned mesh into PrusaSlicer, closed the model’s underside, added organic supports, and printed it in black PLA.
Overall, I’m incredibly pleased with the results. Despite a few blemishes, the scan preserved more detail than expected — especially in the glasses and hair. This week was a wonderful blend of digital sculpting, careful cleanup, and hands-on 3D printing.