I made this Korean Pagoda with the intention of 3D printing it. I’m not sure who here does 3D printing with their Blender files, but it is a different approach than modeling for a still image. There are minimum wall thicknesses and minimum detail constraints you have to have in mind before you begin. This was a very fun project for me. It is so excellent to also have something mailed to you to have it in your hand.
I had this 3D printed by www.shapeways.com if anyone is interested in checking them out. I got this within 5 days of ordering it. Really great and fast service.
The ‘shotforBlenderForum1’ is the real pagoda. I used this and one or two other pictures to model the pagoda. The renders aren’t really meant to be realistic renders but just to throw some colors on top of the geometry so that you can see the different details.
3D modeling means that any detail you want to see in your finished product can’t just be applied textures or anything, it has to actually be the geometry.
The printer gets pretty darn good resoultion. The min. detail thickness for this material is .2mm, there are also many other materials to print in.
This did cost a fair amount because of its size, but you can usually get pretty decent models printed for not a lot of money. It’s usually worth it as it serves as a nice conversation piece.
Shapeways charges based on how much material you use to print (not by the bounding box volume) so part of the trick with modeling for 3D printing is to hollow out your objects wherever you can. Nobody will notice it’s hollow anyway and as long as you don’t make the walls too thin the model will not suffer from a durability standpoint.
My model here is hollow through the entire hexagonal center.
Both models are brilliant. I am curious as to how the shingles were modeled. I’d like to see a fly though animation and upclose shots of areas of interest when printing. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks simpo and Unhurdof…
The shingles are actually laid on top of the roof that had the correct shape. I modeled the roof to have the correct shape basically with 2 hexagons connected by multiple edge loops to form a grid within the hexagons. I used proportional editing to get the curves correct on the roof. Then to lay the shingles I just created one shingle (poly count doesn’t need to be high as printing won’t get you a good enough resolution to notice) and then duplicated it with the right rotation as it spread outward. Then there were subsequent layers of shingles going back up into the roof until it culminates in the top…that’s the gist of how I did it anyway.
The good thing about 3D printing is that separate objects can intersect and the printer will just the union of the two objects so the shingles just needed to slightly penetrate the roof to stay as one printing object.
let me grab a couple of close ups to compare the render to the actual print out…
That’s pretty incredible detail, I’ve had a model I did printed by shapeways - I would definately recommend them, they’ve just started steel printing, and colour sandstone printing. Prices are very good for 3d printing too.
Have you thought of having this done in the coloured sandstone? Or is it not really suited to the material?
I thought about doing colored sandstone or even painting my model since I used to paint figurines when I was younger. The sandstone would be 66% the cost of the strong white and flexible that I had printed this model in, so that would be good. However:
Strong white and flexible: Min. wall thickness = 2mm, Min detail .2mm
full color sandstone: Min. wall thickness = 3mm, Min. detail .1mm
The problem would be the minimum wall thickness. I designed my model with 2mm in mind and I would have to go back and carefully look at areas that are 2mm or less and be sure that they would print. You can sometimes go smaller than the minimum wall thickness as long as it is not an expansive region so this would be a consideration. My biggest concern initially would be the balusters which are 2mm might not survive the printing or cleaning process and then the entire railing being held by them would fall. So I like the thought but I may have to go back and expand regions (which may then become disproportionate and look too wide or big) or become more confident in a certain part of the model being okay as smaller.
Thanks for the thought, if I get another print in another material I’ll put it up here…
Steel is really cool too, but because of how expensive that is, you need to keep your models a bit smaller.
I was going to paint the model, but now am thinking that I will not. I sort of like the pristine white look of it, and the details are clear even without paint. I made this to give to someone, so one day I may print another copy for myself and paint it.
This model was fairly expensive. A few hundred dollars. However, take a look at the shapeways gallery which posts models others have done. There is often a price there next to the piece and a size that the model is. This will give you a good idea of how much things cost compared to their size. Again, hollowing out the model will save you money. I could have spent some time winnowing off some areas to save probably up to $50, but I wanted to get it printed quickly.
