Introduction: Roman Villa, 21st Century Tech.
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About: I'm an Engineer, who originally inherited the family business (Thanks Dad (RIP JC Taylor, 1938-2011)) after working in it for 25 years, designing and building scientific instruments. In 2013, I was head-hun…
This little project was made for a "year 7" history project (age 12) with my son Jonnybo111. It uses techniques from the Instructable https://www.instructables.com/id/Architectural-Model-Making-Using-A-Laser-Cutter/
and the software tool developed by "FlightOfIdeas"
https://www.instructables.com/id/SketchUp-Inkscape-and-Ponoko-Laser-Cutting/
The project had to relate to making a model of something from either the Medieval or Roman periods begins with a decent looking model - hands up, we cheated. Sketchup provides a world of possibilities - Jonny chose the picture above. If it had been my choice, we'd've chosen one that was square-cornered, but hell, YMMV.
The process starts by extracting all the surfaces in the model. My acolyte did that over a couple of nights. The "FlightofIdeas" plugin produces well formatted SVG files, but these aren't compatible with most Chinese lasers, at least, which demand .DXF (Autocad) files.
Jonnybo111 found a conversion plugin, and turned the files into the correct format.
Lasercutting in 3mm acrylic then began.....
Assembly followed, using thixotropic acrylic glue (stays where you put it) - keep the area well ventilated), and was the slowest part of the process, because it simply isn't safe to glue too much at once.
Avoid dropping the glue bottle on the model......
The biggest problem was the roof, and in the end Dad had to model it in his own CAD system to make it all fit.
Dad provided the materials, and the CNC turned columns for the model.
Apart for the pillars, the labour and inspiration is all Jonnybo111s.
Final finish was "privacy spray" - the stuff you use to frost the windows of a bathroom, or private meeting room. It looks just like we used frosted acrylic, but helps to hide fingerrprints, glue splashes etc.....
Final details was a name plate, and a scale figure. The name plate says "Meum Die architecti"
and the software tool developed by "FlightOfIdeas"
https://www.instructables.com/id/SketchUp-Inkscape-and-Ponoko-Laser-Cutting/
The project had to relate to making a model of something from either the Medieval or Roman periods begins with a decent looking model - hands up, we cheated. Sketchup provides a world of possibilities - Jonny chose the picture above. If it had been my choice, we'd've chosen one that was square-cornered, but hell, YMMV.
The process starts by extracting all the surfaces in the model. My acolyte did that over a couple of nights. The "FlightofIdeas" plugin produces well formatted SVG files, but these aren't compatible with most Chinese lasers, at least, which demand .DXF (Autocad) files.
Jonnybo111 found a conversion plugin, and turned the files into the correct format.
Lasercutting in 3mm acrylic then began.....
Assembly followed, using thixotropic acrylic glue (stays where you put it) - keep the area well ventilated), and was the slowest part of the process, because it simply isn't safe to glue too much at once.
Avoid dropping the glue bottle on the model......
The biggest problem was the roof, and in the end Dad had to model it in his own CAD system to make it all fit.
Dad provided the materials, and the CNC turned columns for the model.
Apart for the pillars, the labour and inspiration is all Jonnybo111s.
Final finish was "privacy spray" - the stuff you use to frost the windows of a bathroom, or private meeting room. It looks just like we used frosted acrylic, but helps to hide fingerrprints, glue splashes etc.....
Final details was a name plate, and a scale figure. The name plate says "Meum Die architecti"