Hell Lord Puzzle Ball - Cabin in the Woods

Hi guys, I've posted the whole process of the Puzzle ball and how I built it. I had two attempts at this and one was drastically different than the other. Both used magnets but found the first time that there was one position that two magnets opposed each other and pop there goes one of the pieces. Some re-engineering was needed and I was able to correct it. The second attempt was less detailed than the first in terms of metal where I ended up molding the frames. I'll post those pics soon.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.497130200346920.1073741825.172760979450512&type=1

This is the link.

Accck, so much amazingness. Is there any chance you could post what your laser etching file looks like? I've gotten a hold of a company that might be up to the task. I have an idea of how it should look but I've never designed something for the purposes of laser engraving. Also, any chance you'd be able to rent out your shop's laser engraving for the purposes of this project? :D I'd be willing to build a special one just for you, then you could have a new and improved version for yourself! The way I'm building it you'll be able to even move the corner pieces around.
 
i love the puzzle ball. im a fan of ricks on facebook, and was going to post a link when i seen this thread. looks like he beat me to it.

id be interested in a puzzle ball if you make them. let me know :) -Josh
 
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Huzzah! So some progress.

print01.3.jpg

print01.4.jpg


So since my last update, I've pretty much decided to go with Chris's method of laser etching (if it proves possible/plausible) so that means I need a 3D model of all of the pieces with their major detail, such as borders and large grooves, and a file with all of the designs to be engraved on them. Once the pieces are engraved I'll be sending it to someone that is set up for casting/molding, preferably someone with a vacuum chamber for maximum detail/minimum bubbles. Whoever is molding/casting it will probably be the one setting prices and such for any runs, since they'll be the one doing all of that work.

In order to make this project as easy as possible for the other people I'm handing parts off to, I'm trying to design the 3d print as a sprue, so as you can see on the picture of the bottom, I've added a structure for the pieces to be attached to. This sprue has to do 2 functions though, 1 is it must keep all of the detail pieces together and aligned and with all of the faces to be printed on in relatively the same plane (If I have something that is like 1cm higher then another the laser won't focus properly, so I'm trying to keep all faces withing a few millimeters of each other). It also has to keep all of the pieces together for the purposes of molding and casting, without impeding that process. I'm TRYING to keep all of the detail pieces in one chunk and the "peg" pieces in one, in order to keep the manhandling to a minimum, but it might be easier to do 2 or 3 chunks each? I'm just thinking now about the problems of molding a then flat piece with not much support on the inside, I can certainly see it sagging in the middle.

Currently I have a sort of lattice underneath the detail pieces, this is to both raise them up to allow for the larger curve the corner pieces will have, and to keep the entire model as flat as possible when engraving. I built it to be able to be broken off before casting, but I'm worried it won't make it through the mail to me/the engraver. The little square poking off of it has an X on it that I would mark with a pen for clarity, it's my idea of a registration key, I would line up the engraving file to at least 2 of these things in order to align everything. Also the peg's apparently broke apart while he was washing off the support material, so I'll have to give them some extra support, which isn't hard.

So the final kits with look similar to these. They would be big sprues of resin or what not, that you would break apart, clean up and attach to an Eastsheen 4x4x4 which are about $15-$20. The pegs will be filled in prior to casting, so they'll probably be more solid, but that's up to the caster.
 
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Does anyone have a suggestion for where to get this thing laser engraved? I'm afraid the "local" one I was speaking to is fed up with my shenanigans.
 
I'm sure some member here must have a laser, and be closer to you than, say, Baltimore, which is the one guy I know of.


-M
 
Out of curiosity, why didn't you have the details 3D printed with the parts, rather then have them engraved afterward?
 
Out of curiosity, why didn't you have the details 3D printed with the parts, rather then have them engraved afterward?

We were havinv problems with the detail. The amount of polygons we needed on the piece to get the level of detail we wanted was too much for a 3d printer to handle. Programs like mudbox or zbrush do something called tessellation to increase the geometry of an object, which essentially devides each face into 4 equal faces. The amount of geometry required to get the small details of the symbols was becoming too much for a 3d printer to read properly, as well as it was destroying the hard edge detail of the rest of the model.
 
Hey Gibbtall I know most every sign/trophy shop has a laser engraver. I used to laser engrave if you have access to CS3-5 they should be able to use that file format to cut from depending on their rip software. I'd suggest starting there calling around to the local shops I'm sure someone will be able to help u out.
 
Hey Gibbtall I know most every sign/trophy shop has a laser engraver. I used to laser engrave if you have access to CS3-5 they should be able to use that file format to cut from depending on their rip software. I'd suggest starting there calling around to the local shops I'm sure someone will be able to help u out.

Ooo, that's a good idea. I bumped in to someone with a laser engraver recently at a con, I shot them an email but they haven't replied. This project is in limbo but it's not going away, I have the alpha test print sitting on my desk taunting me still, heh.
 
Necro-bump.... but just wondering if you ever managed to finish this?


Nope, I haven't been able to get this done, I've gotten lots of experiance making molds and 3d printing though, so I've got a much better grasp of what would be needed to get this done. As of right now it's shelved but not forgotten, I'd love to get the chance to get back to this later this year, but as of right now I've got half finished projects that are more of a priority.
 
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