Thank you for sharing this amazing project. I always wondered if it is possible to simulate the engraving with 3D printing. Thanks for sharing your process.
Thank you for sharing this amazing project. I always wondered if it is possible to simulate the engraving with 3D printing. Thanks for sharing your process.
I've been very pleased with how well fauxgraving is able to print in resin. The biggest downside is that it's not the easiest thing to model (at least if you're engraving on a sphere). And I'm happy to talk about that workflow if anyone has any questions.
The same ability for resin to print clean sharp details has tons of less common applications as well. These key caps (for a semi-related DSKY build) will allow backlighting through by only leaving thin sections 1-2 layers thick. Want something more durable? Print resin is generally a combination of acrylates, epoxies, and urethanes so they will adhere to a huge variety of substrates. Glass, acrylic, metals, etc. can all be printed on directly. Masks, stencils, and chemical etching are all possible by stepping slightly outside the box.
Thank you for your kind words and following along!
These are unfilled. I want to say the thin/translucent areas are around 0.2mm thick. "Opaque" print resins are all somewhat translucent. If I took these pics *before* painting the faces matte black, there would be significant light bleeding through.
I'll be testing a couple of methods for my DSKY soon. Clear resin filling is certainly one option.
Ken's blog is what started me on this project. I wish that I had a junked out one to start with because mine turned out to be fully intact, which is a good thing aside from disassembly feeling more like working on a watch. Overall they're remarkably dense for being so delicate. The needles have to be moved around to reach screws and remove the masks (dials) which are all very thin sheet metal. Everything wants to bend/break and I think CuriousMarc's video demonstrates this fact incredibly well.