This week, a big focus was on learning how to 3D print. As the task was to print an object that cannot be made with subtractive methods, I was interested in making a fabic, or chainmail of sorts.

Although the simplest form of chainmail is the typical hoop-based assembly, knowing how a 3D printer needs to print supports and the circles would need to ensure not to touch one another, I felt such a thing is materially and time-wise inefficent to 3D print. Instead I tried to make flat, hexagonally-shaped modules. I used grasshopper to create the parametric model for this.

This chainmail is made up of two componenets - one part that spirals out and forms the 'node' condition, and another that alternates between 'high' and 'low' members that act as the connectors between the nodes.

After having completed the modeling for this object, I needed to decide which of the three printers to use. When making this decision I made a brief comparision of the three printer types below.

	Sindoh FDM Printers (DP200 and 3DWOX1)	3DS Projet 660 3DS Powder Printer	Stratasys F170 ABS (FDM)-F170
MATERIALS	pla material	white powder material	abs material
PRINTER
PROS+STENGTHS	strong prints rapid printing sustainable self-service many printers available	easily achieves small details	extremely strong
CONS+DRAWBACKS	fail often supports need to be broken off difficult to remove supports from small spaces self-service	very fragile not self-service cannot print very thin members prints need to be hollowed out and need drainage holes	lengthy process - additional 24h of support dissolution not self service one print at a time
BED SIZE	200 x 200 x 185mm	10" x 15" x 8"	10" x 10" x 10"

Due to the pros and cons above I decided that the powder print would not be the most suitable, as the components are smaller and thus break easily. The Sindoh printers also seemed like a poor choice, as in my design the chainmail float near each other without actually touching and thus would require supports to be broken off in between the peices which might break the peices themselves. In the end I decided to go with the ABS printer which has dissolving supports and additional strength.

The 3D print had to soak in the dissolving liquid for a while, but finally I got my hands on my chainmail - and it was sucessful! The size of the pieces ended up being a bit larger than I would have liked, but the system itself was sucessfully malluable..

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3D scanning

The second portion of this week's assignment was 3D scanning. I have scanned mostly architectural-scale elements and 3D architectural models in the past (and even this week was scanning my current studio model), so I decided to have some fun for this and scan some of my plushies I have in my room.

I decided to use the IOS app Polycam to complete the scans. I've used this app for all of my scanning in the past and find it is very accessible and reliable while also removing the nessecity for additional processing.

The first method I used to scan was LiDAR, which works on a phone by emitting laser pulses and measuring the time it takes for the pulses to bounce back, creating a detailed 3D depth map of the surroundings.

The file can be downloaded here,

The second method I used to scan was photogrammetry, which is the process of taking many photos from various angles around the object and then consolidating them into a 3D model. this process was more challanging compared to the LiDAR as the software was not hinting to me where the 'blind spots' on the scan were and i was unable to move the phone too quickly in order to capture the images consistently.

The file can be downloaded here,

Overall, I felt that the LiDAR scan turned out more detailed and accurate, however this may be because I did not have as much patience with the photogrammetry due to the lack of feedback within the app.

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week three

printing and scanning (almost) anything

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3D printing

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3D scanning

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