Roy (aka “The SmithBot”) fills us in on a improbable DIY vacation reward thought – customized snowflakes that incorporate hidden names throughout the design. All made attainable by the science of 3D printing (and 3D printers such as you).
Posted on December 18, 2015
by
Roy Smith – Visitor Contributor
You possibly can print customized 3D snowflakes with the names of your family and friends members magically hidden inside their snowy crystals! Comply with these simple steps, and your mates might be impressed. So will you!
You want the next software program in your system:
- Adobe Illustrator, or not less than some drawing program that lets you 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 could actually import Illustrator 3 information as splines. (That’s proper: Illustrator 3, not CS3. Old-fashioned.)
- Your 3D printer software program. I’m utilizing a MakerBot Replicator 2 (MakerWare), printing with MatterHackers white PLA filament. MatterControl can be a effective software program alternative for RepRap customers.
Step 1. In Illustrator (or different): Sort a reputation of a pal. I’m utilizing “MatterHackers” for example. Select a font that’s not too loopy and that’s daring sufficient to print effectively.
Step 2. Convert the textual content to outlines: Utilizing the strong arrow software, choose your textual content field, then below Sort > Create Outlines.
Step 3. In case your pal’s identify has a lower-case “i” or “j” then the dots will fall off once you print. Each form should join effectively with each different form to supply a viable snowflake that you would be able to proudly dangle out of your tree. Hold 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 consequence ought to look about proper for half of 1 arm of a six-armed snowflake, then go to Object > Broaden 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 duplicate your complete form on a vertical axis, and transfer the consequence to the proper, once more utilizing your Shift key to maintain every little thing 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 will provide you with a snowflake form. Make sure corners overlap sufficient within the center to supply robust connections. Use your Illustrator Pathfinder palette to mix each form into one compound form. The ascender within the “okay” within the identify “MatterHackers” occurred to overlap its mirrored offspring. This may both contribute to the energy of your snowflake or completely confuse your pc, inflicting spurious outcomes. Hopefully your mates have shorter names with out too many ascenders or descenders or dots. If not, discover new pals with names like “Ron” or “Jan.”
Step 9. Save your file as an Illustrator 3 doc. For those who strive to reserve it as CS5 or no matter, traces of code might be too lengthy. Your file format must be importable as an editable spline in your 3D software program.
Step 10. In 3DS Max (or different), select File > Merge, and discover your file. Possibly this gained’t work. If not, again up a number of steps and check out a unique font or regulate your shapes. Possibly your compound form wasn’t full? Strive ungrouping and utilizing the Pathfinder software once more. While 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, once you present these snowflakes to your mates, they gained’t discover their names in any respect. This gives all types of enjoyable alternatives so that you can regularly reveal these magically hidden crystalline phrases in no matter inventive methods you possibly can think about!
