Roy (aka “The SmithBot”) fills us in on a implausible DIY vacation reward thought – customized snowflakes that incorporate hidden names throughout the design. All made potential by the science of 3D printing (and 3D printers such as you).
Posted on December 18, 2015
by
Roy Smith – Visitor Contributor
You’ll be able to print customized 3D snowflakes with the names of your family and friends members magically hidden inside their snowy crystals! Comply with these straightforward steps, and your pals will probably be impressed. So will you!
You want the next software program in your system:
- Adobe Illustrator, or not less than some drawing program that permits you to convert textual content to outlines; a program that may flip, duplicate, rotate, and mix shapes into compound shapes, and that may save information in a format that your 3D software program can import.
- 3D software program: I’m utilizing 3DS Max as a result of it may well import Illustrator 3 information as splines. (That’s proper: Illustrator 3, not CS3. Old skool.)
- Your 3D printer software program. I’m utilizing a MakerBot Replicator 2 (MakerWare), printing with MatterHackers white PLA filament. MatterControl can also be a superb software program selection for RepRap customers.
Step 1. In Illustrator (or different): Kind a reputation of a pal. I’m utilizing “MatterHackers” for instance. Select a font that’s not too loopy and that’s daring sufficient to print nicely.
Step 2. Convert the textual content to outlines: Utilizing the stable arrow software, choose your textual content field, then below Kind > Create Outlines.
Step 3. In case your pal’s identify has a lower-case “i” or “j” then the dots will fall off if you print. Each form should join nicely with each different form to provide a viable snowflake you can proudly cling out of your tree. Maintain this in thoughts whereas continuing to Steps 4 and 5.
Step 4. Go to Impact > Distort and Rework > Free Distort; use your mouse to create a distorted form as within the instance right here. The outcome ought to look about proper for half of 1 arm of a six-armed snowflake, then go to Object > Develop Look. Save your work: You may want to regulate this later. I do know I did! The “MatterHackers” snowflake took me two tries.
Step 5. Utilizing the Mirror software, select Horizontal and Copy. Holding the Shift key, transfer the ensuing form down, leaving some area between the right-side-up and upside-down variations of your pal’s identify.
Step 6. Draw an extended, skinny rectangle between the 2 names that barely covers the underside of the highest one and the highest of the underside one. Align and heart it fastidiously to overlap the 2 shapes equally. Utilizing your Pathfinder palette, unite all shapes into one compound form.
Step 7. Utilizing the Mirror software once more, flip and replica your complete form on a vertical axis, and transfer the outcome to the precise, once more utilizing your Shift key to maintain the whole lot in line.
Step 8. Choose all of your shapes, use your Rotate software at 60 levels, clicking Copy, after which do it as soon as extra. This gives you a snowflake form. Make certain corners overlap sufficient within the center to offer sturdy connections. Use your Illustrator Pathfinder palette to mix each form into one compound form. The ascender within the “ok” within the identify “MatterHackers” occurred to overlap its mirrored offspring. This could both contribute to the energy of your snowflake or completely confuse your pc, inflicting spurious outcomes. Hopefully your pals have shorter names with out too many ascenders or descenders or dots. If not, discover new mates with names like “Ron” or “Jan.”
Step 9. Save your file as an Illustrator 3 doc. In the event you strive to reserve it as CS5 or no matter, traces of code will probably be too lengthy. Your file format must be importable as an editable spline to your 3D software program.
Step 10. In 3DS Max (or different), select File > Merge, and discover your file. Perhaps this gained’t work. If not, again up a couple of steps and take a look at a unique font or alter your shapes. Perhaps your compound form wasn’t full? Strive ungrouping and utilizing the Pathfinder software once more. Once you’re assured that you’ve an extrudable spline, then extrude it about 0.1 inches.
Step 11. Export your file into .stl format, or no matter your printer prefers.
Step 12. My MakerBot is happiest printing snowflakes between three to 5 inches in diameter. This MatterHackers snowflake is 4.75 inches from nook to nook.
At first, if you present these snowflakes to your pals, they gained’t discover their names in any respect. This gives all types of enjoyable alternatives so that you can steadily reveal these magically hidden crystalline phrases in no matter artistic methods you possibly can think about!
