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Next exciting project is to design and model a chess set for 3d printing! But not just a regular normal everyday expected chess set, I've put a lot of thought and planning into how I might design something really unique. First idea was to explore 3d modelling various body organs that could be modelled and then 3d printed in order to create a very body focused chess set. And that gave me the idea to expand outwards to explore various digital plugs - USB of various sorts, HDMI and others - easier to model, also interesting to print. But even after all of this exploratory research, I think I've come up with another idea....

Tangent: ring! Shapeways! Just starting to get into 3d printing and a whole world of potential for affordable creative manufacturing. Just something simple, a band using the 'flow' command in Rhino3d to wrap the band around the circle to make a ring. Which renders really nicely for gold.  And then Shapeways! So many options to farm out almost anything to be 3d printed in a whole range of materials. Including gold. Gold is way too expensive; better to sand and paint up some metal-infused PLA.

 Final post! This project involved learning a great deal more about Rhino3d in an extended project. The assignment was to find a reasonably complex object, and then learn how to use and use digital calipers to  measure and accurately reproduce every angle, facet, corner, edge, thickness, and diameter of that object in Rhino3d. I decided to measure and render a full 3d reproduction of an Arduino UNO, with case. I think I must have put at least 30 hours or more into this. And now for the renders! First view is just a simple overhead view, looking down at the Arduino UNO. Followed by a normal isometric view.  A more fun closeup of the power and USB input side of it. A fancy lighting view with at least a half a dozen different lights! A super closeup of some of the components and chips. And finally, an exploded view of all the components laid out. Again, seriously, at least 30 hours put into this, measuring all sorts of really tiny components and angles, but I really do think I captured th

 Significant progress made over the week!  Found out I'd actually somehow gotten my circuit board reversed from my acrylic plastic backing but that was an easy enough fix with some mirroring. Got most of the components accurately measured and accurately placed. That's a lot more work that it sounds when the components are this tiny - measurements at the half millimetre scale and diameter are common.    Just started on materials and texturing, really looking forward to getting this to look as real as I can. Fortunately for me the lettering on this will be minimal!

 I ended up picking the Arduino UNO to disassemble and reproduce in 3d! Poor thing. But it's for a good cause! Once I have this accurately reproduced in 3d to 0.1mm accuracy I'll have a  solid accurate reference foundation for future special projects - for example, designing and 3d printing accurate chassis for various special projects. For this progress blog I focused on that acrylic top plate with all the fiddly angles and measurements. Learned a lot about accurate measuring in this - I was fortunate enough to be able to rotate and flip this top  plate to double and triple check the accuracy. Also learned to double check I'm accurately zero'd out, as that button can sometimes be accidentally be pressed in the midst of recording things.      Some organizational tips I figured out as I was doing this so I don't get overwhelmed - USE LAYERS. At least three - I have one layer I use for the base curves I'll extrude later on for 3d. A second layer for accurate measu