Real Driver Park: Project

Difficulty: Intermediate
Objective: Learn how to go about printing jewelry, specifically custom wedding rings, and hear my experience with doing so.

Why you should 3D print your wedding ring?

At first I didn't even consider 3D printing, however my wedding band shopping experience was so unsuccessful that it led me to 3D print a ring. I had looked at dozens of stores in person and online but could not find anything that I would want on my hand everyday, for the rest of my life. I wanted to have a ring that was unique, symbolic, simple, geometric, fit my style, and something I felt attachment towards. I found a store that did custom design and became interested in going that route. It was then that I realized that instead of paying someone else $600 to design a ring that they would 3D print, that I could do it myself.

So within about 30 minutes I had created a custom design ring using Blender, drove to a jewelry store, and it was ready to be 3D Printed and completed in a day. I saved $600 in design fees, have the ring of my dreams, and it is more special to me because I am the creator of it. Also I should mention that I still had not found a ring days before my wedding, so being able to complete the whole process in less than 24 hours was a huge plus. And most importantly, it is awesome.

How to actually 3D print it?

Designing Your Ring

The first step is to come up with the 3D model, which can be done with free software such as Blender or Autodesk 123D Design. For most ring designs, anyone can quickly learn enough of these programs to create their dream ring. So I highly recommend looking into designing the ring yourself no matter what level or skills you have in 3D modeling. If you don't want to design the ring yourself, then you can hire someone else to design it for you (animator, engineer, industrial designer, etc. should have the capabilities).

The next step is the harder one which is to make sure your model can be printed. Or in other words that it is manifold geometry. See these posts for more detailed information:

Finding a Printer

The last step will be finding a place to print your model. For most printing companies they will print your model in plastic first and then make another mold using that plastic part. This new mold will then be injected with the material, for example, gold will be melted down and ejected into the mold. Lastly the mold will harden and then be put in a tumbler/ polishing device in order to make the ring look good.

You will be surprised how many businesses nearby will be willing to do this. When I made mine I was in Reno so I choose http://www.bvwjewelers.com which I would highly recommend. But you could also find a company online such as Shapeways that you can email your design and have your ring mailed to you.

How much does it cost to 3D print a wedding ring?

Design Cost

For me it was free (or 20 minutes of my time), otherwise this will depend on the designer. The store I went to charged $600 to design it, but as I mentioned earlier, I believe most people should and can design it themselves.

Material Cost

The price here varies greatly. I love yellow gold and knew that was the only material that I wanted. So for me the material cost was about $650, however if I was to print the ring in Silver it would have been only $40. If I choose platinum then the cost would have easily been in the thousands.

3D Printing Cost

This will depend on the company, my cost to print the ring in plastic and make the mold was $125

Company Charges & Tax

There may be some other charges for service, polishing, and taxes which may add a couple hundred onto the cost.

Total Cost

As many of these categories greatly vary, I believe the cost is anywhere from $150 to $2000, mine was about $900 due mostly to the cost of gold.

What materials can I print in?

Gold, Platinum, Silver, Aluminum, Rubber, just about anything you would want. Here is a list of the materials shape ways uses: Materials

What I Learned and Would Recommend

Go to a store in person and try on various rings because what you want changes when its not just a picture and actually on your finger (Weight, Size, Color, Material, Thinkness, etc.).
Make sure the 3D Printer can handle the detail.
Most printers will charge the same cost to print 1 ring or 10 rings, so print as many as you can or perhaps different rings all at once to save money. Print cuff links, earrings, etc.
Look up ring design tips. For example, I knew I wanted a comfort fit so I beveled the edges of my ring. Don't make the ring too thin.

And, yes I just got married, hence why there hasn't been any recent posts.

Please leave your comments.

and as always thanks for visiting,
The 3D Printing Ninja

3DNinjaneer@gmail.com

Difficulty: Advanced
Objective: 3D Print any geographic location. The lazy methods are found near the bottom of this post.

USGS Method:

1.) Obtain Geo-spatial Information

First, we need to obtain DEM (digital elevation model) data, which we can get from USGS. You can enter coordinates or draw a box as seen in the image below:

Next, choose what data you want to download. In our case, "Elevation DEM Products" and then choose one of the options with "Arc Grid."

Finally on the left hand side of the page you can checkout, which will ask for your email to send you a link to download.

2.) Convert the Info into a Model

Next Open Sculptris, which we will be using because it can handle more geometry and is faster. See the image below for help with the steps.

Replace the sphere with a plane - because the world is flat
Turn off symmetry - we don't want it
Subdivide the plane a few times (like 5) - the more subdivisions, the more detail
Upload your height map image for the brush and make sure to enable it
Adjust the size, strength, detail, etc.
Zoom to the correct distance, get a top view, click once, and export it. (this may take a few atempts to get right)

Next we will use Blender to make this model 3D Printable. First we need to convert the model to an stl format. We can do this by importing our model from Sculptris into Autodesk Mesmixer. Then export the model out of Meshmixer and import it into Blender. Once imported in Blender:

Go into Edit Mode [tab] (convert triangles-->squares with alt+j)
Select the Edge Loop [alt + right click]
Extrude [E]
Flatten out the vertices [S+(X,Y,orZ)+0]
Fill in the hole [F]
Export your model that you can now print!

Hint: You may want to add a smooth modifier if your model has a lot of noise.

Note: This could have all been completed in Blender starting with the JPEG image found in the downloaded folder. You would open Blender and then use the displace modifier on a subdivided plane, see this tutorial for info on how to. But Sculptris handles the detail better without crashing as Blender would have.

I used ArcMap (not free), an Esri GIS product to import the DEM information. I unzipped the file and then imported the raster dataset.

3.) Export the Model

Finally export the model as an stl.

4.) Fix the Model

The model may have non-manifold errors (holes, separate parts, etc.) This is the hardest step in the process and will require an understanding of non-manifolds. Perhaps the easiest method is to upload the model(.stl) into the netfabb cloud, although this may not work. If it doesn't then you will need to try other methods found in the following post. I would start with Meshlab. An easy way to see the errors is in Meshmixer as seen in the image below.

Also one method may not be enough, as multiple methods may be needed to fix the model.

If you do not do this step then your model may not 3d print properly.

5.) Prepare & Print the Model

You may need to choose a side for the supports to be printed on. This should probably be the side that you care the least about the appearance of. You may also need to orient, scale, split, add a raft, etc.

It should be noted that these models are often complex and can take days to print, so make sure you are not on a deadline to have it printed. Also note that it may take a couple of hours for this model to slice alone.

If you do not have a printer check out 3D Hubs to get your model printed in sandstone (full color).

Google Earth Method

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:15276/#instructions

The Lazy Methods:

Many common landscapes, such as famous mountains, are already a model ready to be printed. You can search for the model and download an .stl file of it. Try Thingiverse.
You can quickly obtain a rough model from this website as seen in the image below. Type in coordinates, or use the center to view button to make a selection as seen in the red rectangle. The Arc/seconds will make the selection larger, or just zoom. Finally push the button create STL file.

3. The Terrainator is also very similar to the method above, except that you can't download the model and are forced to print the model through Shapeways.