so, i've been busy.
I built a 3D printer. Well, more accurately, I took software I already had and used it to slice 3d models into layers, which I used an off the shelf machine to cut out of paper. I then designed and built my own machine to stack and glue the paper together, resulting in 3 dimensional construct of the model, now exsisting in the real world, and feeling much like a hunk of wood.
As proof of the quality and level of detail this process is capable of, I modeled a rubber ducky as well as selected a starship model and put them through the process. First, a video demonstrating the effectiveness of stacking layers, and show the digital models.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD3F103pYZ4
As you can see in the video, while a single layer (one frame of the video) shows very little difference from it’s predecessors, as they are stacked together, any number of complex shapes are created, from a simple ducky to a spaceship, taken from a video game. each layer represents a single page of cardstock, which is .008 inches thick. using the cutter, I’m able to place very precise holes in the paper to ensure the alignment of the stack of pages.
Then using a watered down mix of wood glue and a brush applicator, glue is applied to each page before adding another to the stack and repeating the process. The entire slab is then placed in a press I built and clamped under a few hundreds pounds pressure for about an hour while the glue sets up. Removing the slab from the clamp, I let it sit over night to full cure before “weeding” the the excess paper and extracting the printed models. A layer of superglue is then applied as a shell to protect the vulenerable and somewhat flexible paper and glue.
The result is… well, pretty much anything I can get or make a 3d model of. This means I can print models of everything from custom toys and machine parts, rayguns or goggles for the steampunk scene, custom nerf gun mods, even models and statues of game characters. Quite literally anything. Here’s the result of the test:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ElysiumEmporium/assets/images/autogen/a_Duck5.png
As you can see, the printed model is slightly stretched along the Z-axis (vertical) when compared to the earlier video. This is because I didn’t account for the added thickness from the glue, which turned out to be nearly 40% of the whole. So, instead of a 2 inch stack of 250 pages, I ended up closer to 3 inches. A simple adjustment in my planning will correct this, though. In the end, it’s a positive mistake, as it means fewer layers which need cutting for a given thickness.
Similar techniques for 3d printing use machines and materials (ultraviolet sensitive glues, plastics, resins, etc) costing tens of thousands of dollars. Mine cost about 250 USD, not counting software I already had. Unfortunately due to the nature of using generic 3d modeling software and a commercially available cutter, I don’t think I can patent or sell the printing system. However, I can absolutely sell the resulting models. To that end, I present www.ElysiumEmporium.com, my website for marketing the models.
As proof of the quality and level of detail this process is capable of, I modeled a rubber ducky as well as selected a starship model and put them through the process. First, a video demonstrating the effectiveness of stacking layers, and show the digital models.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD3F103pYZ4
As you can see in the video, while a single layer (one frame of the video) shows very little difference from it’s predecessors, as they are stacked together, any number of complex shapes are created, from a simple ducky to a spaceship, taken from a video game. each layer represents a single page of cardstock, which is .008 inches thick. using the cutter, I’m able to place very precise holes in the paper to ensure the alignment of the stack of pages.
Then using a watered down mix of wood glue and a brush applicator, glue is applied to each page before adding another to the stack and repeating the process. The entire slab is then placed in a press I built and clamped under a few hundreds pounds pressure for about an hour while the glue sets up. Removing the slab from the clamp, I let it sit over night to full cure before “weeding” the the excess paper and extracting the printed models. A layer of superglue is then applied as a shell to protect the vulenerable and somewhat flexible paper and glue.
The result is… well, pretty much anything I can get or make a 3d model of. This means I can print models of everything from custom toys and machine parts, rayguns or goggles for the steampunk scene, custom nerf gun mods, even models and statues of game characters. Quite literally anything. Here’s the result of the test:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ElysiumEmporium/assets/images/autogen/a_Duck5.png
As you can see, the printed model is slightly stretched along the Z-axis (vertical) when compared to the earlier video. This is because I didn’t account for the added thickness from the glue, which turned out to be nearly 40% of the whole. So, instead of a 2 inch stack of 250 pages, I ended up closer to 3 inches. A simple adjustment in my planning will correct this, though. In the end, it’s a positive mistake, as it means fewer layers which need cutting for a given thickness.
Similar techniques for 3d printing use machines and materials (ultraviolet sensitive glues, plastics, resins, etc) costing tens of thousands of dollars. Mine cost about 250 USD, not counting software I already had. Unfortunately due to the nature of using generic 3d modeling software and a commercially available cutter, I don’t think I can patent or sell the printing system. However, I can absolutely sell the resulting models. To that end, I present www.ElysiumEmporium.com, my website for marketing the models.