![]() I created a cylinder with a 16mm outside diameter and hollowed it out so it had 12.5mm open inside. ![]() Measuring my Sharpie markers, it seemed 12.5mm inside diameter would be enough to hold most pretty firmly - and 1.75mm walls would be strong enough. I first created one individual holder without a base - just a hollow cylinder. The image in my mind was a "porcupine" or "sea urchin" pattern - where the colors of the pens could really be shown and the pens could be easily inserted and retrieved. I decided on a whim to create a functional pen holder that would also look good on my desk by showing off the colors of the markers. Sometimes, the hole can be part of the model (birds eye) In Autodesk 123D Design - you've pretty much got the same options - using a Cylinder and subtracting that from the main object to punch the hole, or using a torus and adding it to the model in a position which will let it print successfully In TinkerCad - you're either using the "cylinder hole" object - aligning the hole object with the place you want the hole - or using a torus, which is offered in a few different ways in the Geometric Shapes category. ![]() If you use the second method, remember to add the ring (torus or hollow cylinder) to a place which is conducive to successful printing - not floating out on the side of the model which will require supports or just fail to print right. Again, you want to have approximately a 3-4mm hole and 2-3mm of material on all sides - so either of these shapes should have a total outside diameter of around 7-10mm depending on how much strength you need and how thick of a keyring you expect to use. The two shapes which work for this method are the torus - which is a rounded-edged ring, or a flat cylinder with its center removed. Second, you can add a small ring of plastic at the edge of your model - which is the most useful method for wide models which are not really flat enough to allow clearance for a keyring. Sometimes you can get lucky and the hole can become a natural part of the model - like in the Twitter bird name tag examples in the post about name tags. I try to pick a corner of the model for the hole to give more clearance for the keyring. It seems that 2-3mm is about right to get enough strength with not too much width to get a keyring around the material. I've found that about 4mm is the right total diameter to make it easy to get a key ring into the hole - but it also matters how much material you leave around the hole. This is the best method for the flat models. There are two simple methods to achieve this.įirst, you can actually punch a hole in the model by subtracting a round circle from the main model with a cylinder. I simply added a keychain hole to the handle of each of the four tools and they definitely became more useful - or at least displayable. I found a great simple set of Minecraft (tm) tools on Thingiverse. The first time I did this was with the first model I ever printed on my printer. This is especially meaningful when teaching a beginner or a group of younger students, as it gives beginner 3D printing enthusiasts a way to show off their work and start a conversation about their new hobby ("Yo, what's that plastic bulldog hanging from your backpack?"). ![]() I've gotten into the habit of adding a loop or a hole in my models so that at least the object can be hung from a backpack, used as a zipper pull or put on a keychain. I've found one little change I can make to most models to make them at least semi-useful. Things like logos, name tags, even models of objects like buildings or vehicles or cartoon characters. Many 3D Printed models that we make are pretty useless. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |