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Third day of scanning and 3D printing with 123D Catch
Posted by Jason in 3D printing, 3D scanning on Feb 13, 2013 | 0 Comments
Continuing my recent 3D scanning and printing binge, I scanned a few more objects for printing on the university’s Makerbot Replicator. This time around, I had more pieces that I chose not to print because of their unique geometries, but what I did print was a lot of fun. “Spiral wonton” and “Small saladfingers” glass [...]
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Cast bronze supershapes from 3D-printed forms using the lost ABS process, with cast aluminum cradle
Last month, I prepared a batch of small 3D-printed objects for the “lost ABS” process, some to be cast in aluminum and the rest in bronze. One of the pieces, a 3D-printed two-part mold, was placed in the kiln on Tuesday and cast with aluminum on Thursday. The other three pieces were all supershapes I [...]
Lost ABS experiment with 3D-printed objects and aluminum casting
All throughout this semester I’ve been learning about mold-making and casting at through my university’s sculpture and glassblowing studio and have been working on ways to integrate 3D printing with our new Makerbot Replicator in some way. So far I have had good success with directly printing two-part and open-face molds generated in OpenSCAD, but [...]
Glassblowing + electronics collaboration – first experiments
This week I began collaborating with glassblowing artist and student Kenny Galusha to explore dynamic lighting in hand-blown glass. At first, Kenny had a nice, uniform frosted glass “coral bowl” piece that we both thought would be worth adding some lighting too. Pretty soon we were sticking my LED circuit under and into whatever random [...]
Experimenting with the superformula and 3D printing
A few months ago I cooked up a simple Processing sketch to generate 2D SVG line art using the superformula, and ever since then I’ve been a little bit obsessed with the possibilities of this mathematical equation. This formula is able to generate a pretty surprising range of interesting organic shapes, and can easily be [...]
MakerBot Replicator has landed at UNK – unboxing and first print
Last week I sat down with Visual Communication and Design professor Mark Hartman and ordered a MakerBot Replicator 3D printer for UNK’s Art department. Today, it arrived, and I got to be the first person to get their hands on it! I was able to unbox it, set it up, calibrate it and print a [...]
ExtraCore RST – cheap, tiny Arduino-compatible board variant
For probably about a year now, I’ve been dying to find an Arduino-compatible board that I can install into old projects and not need to think about the cost involved. Typically, a brand-new Arduino Uno or Duemilanovae can cost anywhere between about $20 and $30, not including any of the other required components like the [...]
“Superformula” print series using DIY wall plotter
A few months ago I began working on a wall plotter drawing machine as part of an independent study in my graduate program at UNK. The goal was to not only create the machine, but to also use it to produce some artistic prints, and eventually even install it in public on campus. Fast forward [...]
Real-time location tracking for Der Kritzler wall plotters
While working on my own wall plotter, I came up with a list of features I’d like to see. Two days ago, I actually got my wall plotter working correctly, so I’ve been thinking more about how to actually execute these features myself. Yesterday I was able to add the first of these features: real-time [...]
Newest Posts
How to make and use 3D-printed relief, intaglio and stencil plates for printmaking
Posted by Jason in 3D printing, DIY Projects, Lessons & Workshops, Teaching on Mar 16, 2013 | No Comments
Process at a glance There are probably many ways to achieve the effect outlined here, but the way I’ve chosen to create my plates is through using only free, community-driven software and UNK’s Makerbot Replicator 3D printer. The overall process will look something like this: Make a 2D vector design. Generate a 3D model of [...]
Overview of the “sip n puff” interface for educators of students with diverse needs
Posted by Jason in Assistive technology, Teaching on Feb 25, 2013 | No Comments
What is it? The “sip n puff” interface is a unique input method for individuals with limited mobility that interprets a user’s breath (inhaling and exhaling) using a sensor connected to a tube held in the user’s mouth. By inhaling (sipping) or exhaling (puffing) through the tube, the user can trigger various actions to occur [...]
Overview of the MaKey MaKey for educators of students with diverse needs
Posted by Jason in Assistive technology, DIY Projects, Teaching on Feb 22, 2013 | No Comments
What is it? The MaKey MaKey is a neat little circuit board that allows you to turn nearly anything into a keyboard or mouse that works on any computer. All you have to do to get started is use alligator clip wire to connect different parts of the board to physical objects like leaves, Play-Doh, [...]
Overview of the Eyewriter eye tracking system for educators of students with diverse needs
Posted by Jason in Assistive technology, Teaching on Feb 22, 2013 | No Comments
What is it? Eyewriter is a low-cost, open-source eye tracking system that can be built using off-the-shelf components and free software. For less than $100, the eye movement of an individual with limited mobility can be captured and used as input on a computer to do things like moving the mouse and drawing. The system [...]
Finished assembling camera rig for 123D Catch
Posted by Jason in 3D printing, 3D scanning, DIY Projects on Feb 20, 2013 | No Comments
Last week I printed out the parts required to build a camera rig to scan objects using 123D Catch, which I was able to assemble yesterday. Assembly was ridiculously easy – just some wooden dowels, some small wood screws and a couple bolts and wing nuts (see BOM below). The person who uploaded the rig’s [...]
3D printed parts for a 123D Catch camera rig
Posted by Jason in 3D printing, 3D scanning, DIY Projects on Feb 16, 2013 | No Comments
This semester I am exploring DIY 3D scanning systems for use in undergraduate arts curriculum and have so far been focused on using Autodesk’s 123D Catch program to generate textured 3D models from photographs. This system has been so easy to use that I thought it would make a great platform for helping undergraduate art [...]
Second day of 3D scanning and printing experiments with 123D Catch
Posted by Jason in 3D printing, 3D scanning on Feb 13, 2013 | No Comments
Continuing my experiments in 3D scanning and printing in preparation for teaching students about 3D scanning and printing, I captured a few more objects using 123D Catch and printed them out on our Makerbot Replicator. I’m generally really happy with the results I’ve been getting using 123D Catch and will most definitely be using it [...]
Third day of scanning and 3D printing with 123D Catch
Posted by Jason in 3D printing, 3D scanning on Feb 13, 2013 | No Comments
Continuing my recent 3D scanning and printing binge, I scanned a few more objects for printing on the university’s Makerbot Replicator. This time around, I had more pieces that I chose not to print because of their unique geometries, but what I did print was a lot of fun. “Spiral wonton” and “Small saladfingers” glass [...]
First 3D scans of objects using 123D Catch
Posted by Jason in 3D printing, 3D scanning on Feb 02, 2013 | No Comments
This semester I am exploring 3D scanning technology to help make it easier for students and faculty to create 3D models and 3D prints of their work in the Art and Art History department. Pursuing this work is giving me the opportunity to fine-tune and document a friendly workflow that can be opened up to [...]
Complete set of printed parts for Prusa Mendel hot off the printer!
Posted by Jason in 3D printing on Jan 19, 2013 | No Comments
Ever since helping UNK’s Art & Art History department acquire a Makerbot Replicator at the end of last summer, I’ve been somewhat obsessed with the technology behind it all and the community that makes it happen. It turns out that one of the most common DIY 3D printers, the Prusa Mendel, can be built for [...]