3Dsnowflake
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Published on December 2, 2010
This thing was Featured on December 4, 2010
Description
Hopefully just in time for Christmas ... A slot together 3Dsnowflake ornament. This is my digital version of John A Nelson's scrollsaw pattern.(Approval gained). Dimensions: 111 x 111 x 111 mm.
It is designed to be laser cut from 3mm Acrylic or MDF. Though I have also successfully cut it from 3.2 mm hardboard and plywood. That would be 1/8 inch. Due to the kerf width and shrinkage the 3mm acrylic version required glueing. In the UK we often use Tensol cement. Superglue would deposit a fine white mist. 3.2 mm hardboard allowed a (difficult) press fit.
The files were designed in Pro/Desktop, saved as DXF and imported into Techsoft 2D Design, both widely used in UK secondary schools, then lasercut. You can download both versions. You can also download the files for a corrugated cardboard frame so you can send the 3D snowflake in the post as flatpack self-assembly ornament.
The images show some renderings and photographs of the actual thing. The one with the shadow is frosted. I sprayed it with spraymount and then dipped in our plastic powder dip coating machine. This could equally be achieved with spray-on snow I suppose. Of course, they can be painted too (with glitter paint). I would love to see derivatives of this from the community.
I am getting a batch produced in 3mm aluminium and I might try brass too. A lot going on for such a trivial project but as I try to impress on my students; if something is worth doing you have to do it well
It is designed to be laser cut from 3mm Acrylic or MDF. Though I have also successfully cut it from 3.2 mm hardboard and plywood. That would be 1/8 inch. Due to the kerf width and shrinkage the 3mm acrylic version required glueing. In the UK we often use Tensol cement. Superglue would deposit a fine white mist. 3.2 mm hardboard allowed a (difficult) press fit.
The files were designed in Pro/Desktop, saved as DXF and imported into Techsoft 2D Design, both widely used in UK secondary schools, then lasercut. You can download both versions. You can also download the files for a corrugated cardboard frame so you can send the 3D snowflake in the post as flatpack self-assembly ornament.
The images show some renderings and photographs of the actual thing. The one with the shadow is frosted. I sprayed it with spraymount and then dipped in our plastic powder dip coating machine. This could equally be achieved with spray-on snow I suppose. Of course, they can be painted too (with glitter paint). I would love to see derivatives of this from the community.
I am getting a batch produced in 3mm aluminium and I might try brass too. A lot going on for such a trivial project but as I try to impress on my students; if something is worth doing you have to do it well
Instructions
-Add text such as "Season's Greeting 2010 from ..."
-Measure your stock material thickness; remove some of the protective film from Acrylic and measure with vernier calipers. Beware, some acrylics shrink more than others
-Set laser cutter to vector cut (and vector engrave for text)
-Load material & set height.
-Laser cut.
-Dry fit.
-Apply glue: Acrylic cement with a cotton butt/syringe&needle/fine brush. Woodbased: use propietary woodglue.
-Assemble, watch those narrow bits.
-Lay down or Hang up
Tips: file the corners of the tenons so they slip into their mortices more easily. Don't scale unless you want to spend time redesigning the mortices & tenons!
-Measure your stock material thickness; remove some of the protective film from Acrylic and measure with vernier calipers. Beware, some acrylics shrink more than others
-Set laser cutter to vector cut (and vector engrave for text)
-Load material & set height.
-Laser cut.
-Dry fit.
-Apply glue: Acrylic cement with a cotton butt/syringe&needle/fine brush. Woodbased: use propietary woodglue.
-Assemble, watch those narrow bits.
-Lay down or Hang up
Tips: file the corners of the tenons so they slip into their mortices more easily. Don't scale unless you want to spend time redesigning the mortices & tenons!
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License
3Dsnowflake by Smoutech is licensed under the Attribution - Non-Commercial - Creative Commons license.
More from Smoutech
Cool design, have you considered entering modifying the design so that it is Makerbot friendly thereby allowing it to be entered into the Makerbot vs the Holidays challenge?
http://blog.makerbot.com/2010/...
Thanks - have posted thingiverse.com/thing:5200 with STLs.