Jedi Holocron

[Gibbtall]

So I know some people have worked on this project before and I may never get this off the drawing board, but I was hoping to get some tips on this project.

So here are some of the ones that have inspired me.

Jedi Holocron - YouTube
Holocron release.wmv - YouTube
Inner Cube | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

My original plan was to use Shapeways.com to 3D print out a cube with a design already carved into the inside faces and fill it with some electronics including a BlinkM from thingm :: an electronic product studio: BlinkM and hopefully a flash drive at some point.

My problem is that although I love Shapeways' idea of bringing 3D printing to the masses, it's kind of gouging on the prices. In order to get the Frosted Detail material, which I think would give the best result of smoothness and translucency, would cost anywhere from $200 to $500 for a 7cmx7cmx7cm cube depending on the wall thickness. I would prefer to try and keep the 3D printing bellow $50, which would let me spend another $50ish on electronics. I know guy at Genesis Custom Sabers sold his for $200 and I can't see anyone wanting to spend much more then that without getting a huge amount of storage space.

So I'm wondering if anyone would know of an alternative to Shapeways, maybe a member has their own 3D printer that is willing and capable to do a small run, or is there an alternative material that would still be easy to use and cost effective.

 

[coronhorn]

Well they're not doing it yet but Staples is supposed to be joining the 3D printing fray in the near future

Staples announces in-store 3-D printing service - CNN.com

I dunno what kinds of materials they'll be offering but I imagine the more folks move into the space the lower the prices will get.

 

[cboath]

The price is that high if you print a SOLID cube. You're charged based on the amount of material you consume. A cube, say, 3mm thick would not be remotely that much. You also have to leave, at a minimum, one 1/8" (3mm) hole in it for the powder they use to drain out.

Another option would be to find a place that does laser engraving and have them etch your design on frosted glass and cut the squares for you. Then you simply attach the pieces together however you want and there you go. The engraving route is much cheaper as well.

 

[Avolow]

I made some about 10-12 years ago.

While not 3D printed it was rather cheap and easy to make. For materials I used a two piece base ball case for the bigger one, and the same style golf ball case for the smaller one.

Different colored clear plastic sheets cut into squares that fit inside perfectly, some brass angled sections from the hobby shop, and finally the things in the corners of the big one are from model train section and are meant as gabbling for those that custom build their model layout buildings.

I cant remember what the corners on the small one are, but I think we got them at Hobby Lobby.

My wife and I drew this out in Coral Draw for the inside.

When it was all put together we rolled a piece of paper the same height as everything else and taped it into a tube so it pressed all the sides tight and holds the top tight. The bottom of most of those baseball cubes has a little cradle molded into them for the ball to sit in, I don't think the golf ball ones do though.

All in all I thing I spent about $20.00 making both of them, but that was also ending up with parts to make maybe 3-4 more. Granted that was 1999-2000 prices.

They are not as fancy as the ones some people are doing these days, but they are simple enough that everyone can make them and cheap enough also. When done with the baseball case one you could also mount anything you want in them. Lights, USB drives, whatever. Might even be able to do the same thing with the golf ball case if you used a micro SD card.

If you wanted something a little more gritty in appearance here is the image we started with before just redrawing it completely.

Hope this helps. :thumbsup

Avolow.