This object was created with Matlab, and my .m script is in the downloads section. I generally use OpenSCAD for design, but these curvy forms are not well suited to it. Instead a made a recursive knot script, that builds a 3-1 knot around the path of a 2-3 knot, along which the earth rolls. Doing my own texture mapping was a new and interesting challenge.
The 3MF contains all the texture info and such. 3D Builder will open it (and hopefully more 3D apps soon as well). I work on this format, since STL and OBJ are somewhat lacking as 3D printing formats.
…I decided to branch out and try designing something for a full color powder printer. The STL really doesn’t do it justice; if you have Windows 8.1 (or 10), you can open the 3MF with 3D Builder, which I work on.
I used NASA images: the Blue Marble for the earth, and the Hubble Deep Field for the knot. The earth is forever captured, but can roll around a knot-shaped orbit. See my video of the finished print.
One of the cool features we added to 3D Builder is “Buy Print”, which allows you to make things in materials we can’t manage at home. I printed this in Colorstone for $172 (I know, not as cheap as we’d like, but pretty good for a 6 inch wide piece)….
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! We also offer the LulzBot TAZ – Open source 3D Printer and the Printrbot Simple Metal 3D Printer in our store. If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
