Introduction: 3D Printer's Cube (aka Turner's Cube)
Alrighty... so this Instructable is a test to one's patience and
perseverance. For my father's birthday I decided to make him
a Turner's cube, however, I decided not to make it the
conventional way. Instead of using a lathe, my choice method
for this project was to 3D print the cube (or cubes) by way of
the laser cutters at TechShop San Jose.
Yes... I am a little bit crazy....
The main reason for my choosing this method was the fact
that I have a lot of cardboard hoarded up at my house, and
needed to use them for something.
Things used:
perseverance. For my father's birthday I decided to make him
a Turner's cube, however, I decided not to make it the
conventional way. Instead of using a lathe, my choice method
for this project was to 3D print the cube (or cubes) by way of
the laser cutters at TechShop San Jose.
Yes... I am a little bit crazy....
The main reason for my choosing this method was the fact
that I have a lot of cardboard hoarded up at my house, and
needed to use them for something.
Things used:
- cardboard (single ply)
- laser cutter
- Autodesk Inventor
- 123D Make
- Elmer's Glue
- acrylic paint
- polyurethane
Step 1: Design It!
First I started off by making a 3D model using Autodesk Inventor.
Draw up a few cubes, extrude some holes through each face,
and do a sphere cut out of the inner surfaces.
Then export a .stl file.
Draw up a few cubes, extrude some holes through each face,
and do a sphere cut out of the inner surfaces.
Then export a .stl file.
Step 2: Slice It!
Next, using 123D Make, I imported my "turner's cube".stl file
and typed in the dimensions of my cardboard to create
the slicing files for the laser cutter.
and typed in the dimensions of my cardboard to create
the slicing files for the laser cutter.
Step 3: LASER It!
Using the vector files from 123D Make I cut out all of my
slices.
140 layers
9 sheets of 24'x18' cardboard
equalling a grand total of
904 pieces
(didn't I say I was a bit crazy muahahaha)
since there were so many pieces, and a lot of them in the tiny
size range, I decided to use a piece of sacrificial material
underneath my cardboard to help take all the pieces out of
the laser bed.
(after 9 layers of cutting, I got a pretty cool [accidental art] piece
out of my mdf sac layer and my cardboard scraps,
one of these will become an Instructable as well in the near
future, wink wink ;)
slices.
140 layers
9 sheets of 24'x18' cardboard
equalling a grand total of
904 pieces
(didn't I say I was a bit crazy muahahaha)
since there were so many pieces, and a lot of them in the tiny
size range, I decided to use a piece of sacrificial material
underneath my cardboard to help take all the pieces out of
the laser bed.
(after 9 layers of cutting, I got a pretty cool [accidental art] piece
out of my mdf sac layer and my cardboard scraps,
one of these will become an Instructable as well in the near
future, wink wink ;)
Step 4: Assemble It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ya this this step deserves all those exclamation marks.
As usual, this is a pretty self-explanatory step.
Using Elmer's Glue I glued together all 904 pieces.
The smallest cube I glued all together, and the larger cubes
I kept in two halves until they were all painted and ready to
put the smaller cubes inside.
As usual, this is a pretty self-explanatory step.
Using Elmer's Glue I glued together all 904 pieces.
The smallest cube I glued all together, and the larger cubes
I kept in two halves until they were all painted and ready to
put the smaller cubes inside.
Step 5: Paint 'em!
Using acrylic paint I painted the cubes
white, light blue, and blue. =)
white, light blue, and blue. =)
Step 6: Cover It More Plastic!
And then....
I painted on a few more layers of polyurethane for a
glossy finish and little bit of strength.
I painted on a few more layers of polyurethane for a
glossy finish and little bit of strength.
Step 7: Glue the Big Cubes Together
And the final step,
place the smaller cubes inside the larger and glue together.
voila 7 inch 3D Printer's (Turner's) Cube!
a suggestion for those who wish to make their own:
place the smaller cubes inside the larger and glue together.
voila 7 inch 3D Printer's (Turner's) Cube!
a suggestion for those who wish to make their own:
- i would highly advise extruding a cylinder through the four corners of the original model. that way all the pieces have a hole cut out and you can use that to align them with a steel rod or wooden dowel. Gives you added strength and saves you the headache while gluing everything together. win win =D