Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Extra credit
Is having the numbers in sequence the best idea or should they be scrambled on
the wheel? When making dice, the pips are placed in such a way that they balance
themselves. Balance isn't a problem with this spinner, but perhaps it would "feel"
better, if they were in a more random order. And why do they have to be numbers?
Pips or even pictograms could be used instead.
Could the spring be replaced with something that is printed in 3D? Plastic is flexible
and printed springs have already been proven effective. Perhaps one of them could
be incorporated into this project?
This project could be extended in other ways. A D6 roller is fine, but how would a
different number of options work out? The gear is designed to stop the numbers in
specific places. Eight numbers and hence eight teeth on the gears would probably
work fine, but how could a D20 be implemented?
What about a 2D6, spinning two disks simultaneously and outputting two different
numbers. Perhaps the finger switch underneath would have to be abandoned, but
more than that how could both spinners be spun at slightly different rates so they're
not just spinning in tandem, always returning the same pairs, or something close
to them? The answer to this might be to make gears slightly different sizes, and
have them interact with the teeth at different radial depths. How would this be
implemented? Is there a different way to spin both spinners at different rates?
Summary
In this chapter, we came across gears from an add-on in Blender, parts designed
to move freely within constraints, and a print inserted to create motion. This has
been an interesting project. Also, hopefully its application to useful devices
should be obvious.
While Blender's gear add-on may not be the best, the gears it produces can
be perfectly serviceable. There are other gears that can be downloaded from
Thingiverse, if something of a more technical sort is desired, which can then
be imported into Blender, and incorporated into any project.
The creation of mechanical interactions is never easy, but it can be one of the best
uses for 3D printers. Blender has proven to be adequate at this task.
In the next chapter, new modeling tools will be introduced and explored that will
open up new modeling possibilities. Skinning a mesh and sculpting tools will be
combined to make a detailed, organic model.
