Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Print Your Head in
3D!
7
Use digital photos and a 3D printer to make a mini
plastic replica of your noggin.
W
RITTEN
BY
K
EITH
H
AMMOND
Here's a great project to get you started in 3D
printing—create a 3D model of your own
head and then print it out in solid plastic
(
Figure 7-1
).
software out there for creating 3D files to
print.
We chose Autodesk 123D software because
it's free, it's web-based so you can use it from
any computer, and amazingly, it lets you cre-
ate a 3D model directly from digital photos.
That way, you can do it all from home, and
you don't have to get yourself scanned by a
laser scanner or fiddle with a Kinect.
When you're done making your 3D model,
you can print it even if you don't have a print-
er: you can take it to a makerspace where
they have a 3D printer, or you can send it out
to a service and they'll print it and mail it right
to your home. We printed our heads on an
Ultimaker printer, using Cura as the printer
software. It was easy!
Imagine what else you could 3D print with
these tools. Instead of printing your head,
why not replicas of buildings or sculptures at
an art museum? Or you could make models
of your pets, your car—almost anything you
can capture in photos.
Figure 7-1.
A build plate full of heads
A 3D printer makes an object by squirting
out a tiny filament of hot plastic, adding one
layer at a time. Because it adds material rath-
er than cutting away at it, 3D printing is
called
additive manufacturing
. You send the
printer a file that's a 3D model of something
—an iPod case, a bike part, your head—then
it prints out the object for you. These ma-
chines are becoming affordable for schools,
labs, libraries, and families, and there's lots of
