Proof of Concept + Fan Boy ring

My last order arrived...

The 'Proof of concept' in full color - an exciting modeling concept/idea to transfer any low-poly cube modeling into fully textured organic model without that tedious UV unwrapping process.

For this idea, to cut short the R&D, i've used a model from Google's Sketchup which thou is a public domain repository this specific model is a copyrighted WOW character.

Its great to see an idea that works and materialized using 3D printing - i believe with this process anyone can now turn a low poly cube modeling into a fantastic looking Full Color 3D printed model - it could even be suited for kids.



The full color model arrived with a very darken colors - the following pics were pre-processed with an added high brightness - since with the native pics you wont have been able to see much of the details/colors.

I don't know if its the wax coatings that killed the colors or my bad.
(the textures were set to high contrast/brightness but still the result is a bad print - plus it's beyond me why shapeways sent it broken in the first place and issued refund at the same time)

Anyway i'll re-order again this time with even higher contrast /brightness colors.

This is an example of a cube modeling , low poly - only 1727 triangles:


<a href="http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=51dd32c84bfdac524bf0eef83f5065cb&prevstart=36" target="_blank"></a>

Transferred into fully textured 320k poly model:



with Flash:













The clearing hole was filled with clear epoxy and flooded the carved logo ..
Too bad the model isn't fully coated this way even for an extra $.








And this is the 'Fun Boy' ring - originally was 18.5mm diameter - i was hoping for a 0.3-0.5mm shrinkage in the oven but it shrank by 1.3mm .. I'll reorder it again probably in Gold plated.

You mean by taking it from WoW Model viewer, connecting the vertex, applying the already pre existing texture and then printing it, claiming full recreation? The polys are the same. Exactly. Give or take a "smooth" command such in previous thread. Yeah!!! owait.. Cool. I guess.

Yep its a very cool stuff.

This cute model and many others can be found here
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=51dd32c84 bfdac524bf0eef83f5065cb&prevstart=36

As i've stated many times.. the model in itself isn't the issue, the process is. (well for me at least)

If you have the tool to make the "smooth command" while retaining the texture exactly in its place without the smudging or artifacts please share - it could help a lot

Hey Dizingof,

Interesting experiment, thanks for sharing.
I saw a post where Dotsan put the full color print in the microwave, which melts the wax a little to get the colors to even/brighten up a bit.

Might be worth a try.

As far as sending broken they would have though you would be excited to see, plus it give you a chance to iterate the process.

Cheers

Hey drscott,

I did try the Microwave trick, it didn't work, colors remain dark.
What worked for me in past is a clear epoxy spray - i will try it later.

I've asked support for my next tests to ask the production guys not to use the wax coating and was told it can be done (for a clear white and vivid colors prints ) - i'll share when i get these results.

That looks really cool.
And yeah, I do like the idea of allowing the sandstone to be supplied untreated; I wouldn't mind trying it myself sometime, but I'm not a fan of the idea of having it coated in wax; I have a feeling something like Future would work equally well as an alternative coating, giving a similar brightening effect with an acrylic finish rather than wax.

I agree. Shapeways research team should find a better alternative than wax coating for the finish of Sandstone.
Something that does not get scratched with finger nail and that does not alter the white color too much.
And what about some polishing for removing the stepping artefact a little bit and perhaps give a kind of "velvet" effect?

Why stop there... We want Porcelain !

dizing, my post was sarcastic as you are still claiming to build these models yourself when you are not. "More testing - cube modeling to organic + mesh manipulation" for your latest uploads.

these "cube modeling models" you should just rename to an export since you didn't do them yourself and you are trying to get credit for it. your other thread was a prime example of this. it would be more honorable to call it a "model export test" then to have people think you properly modeled these yourself. as I stated before, previous models texture maps line up exactly polygon wise in the model viewer. I don't have much more to say about this subject.

if you are referring to the "organic mesh" as a defense, maya does the same thing with the smooth command and does not mess up the verts, texure map, or anything. its literally one button.

just disappointing, really. no offense.

none taken.. i keep saying it again and again it's my own personal research - if your know-how exceeds mine then good for you

I'm sure your 4 models are a result of years of study and not a "one click" stuff.

I'll keep on ordering and researching with these cute models and you're welcome to compare notes..

Ok, we all know the Mammoth is a WoW model. The models are not for sale. So Dizingof is not profiting off of Blizards IP (atleast not on shapeways). So lets keep that aspect out of the discussion please. Seeing these are to demonstrate smoothing a model in Sketchup without losing the associated texture mapping, how bout you tell us how exactly you do that in Sketchup. This could be very useful for someone that makes a model, has polys to play around with, and wants a less polyed looking (more organic looking) model without having to redo the texture map and works with Sketchup (a cheap to free alternative to pricey modeling software such as Maya).

looks so awesome!.. great job!

Here is the model coated with 2 coats of clear lacquer fast-dry spray - 20 minutes apart and from a distance of 20cm for a nice even coat.











The shiny gloss gives the the model the look & feel of porcelain.


I've been told by customer support that shapeways looking into the yellowish color on full color sandstone due to curing the model in the oven - they are about to change that.

more to come..

That looks great.

Is it the new model (without wax you were expecting) or the original overcoated?
Either way the colours seem to be a bit brighter on the laquered model.

Just getting into full colour sandstone myself, so any insights would be very welcome

Cheers,
Paul

Same model, the lacquer did brighten up a bit the colors.
Yeah i noticed many Shapers started looking into full colors designs. cool.

Apparently there is no such thing as full color sandstone coated with wax... i don't know how that term came to be.

Here is a quote from customer support explaining once and for all why there is a yellowish-white instead of pure white.


So its good news but this is from today's email :
It would seem thou that some Shapers were recently "lucky" with their full color prints..



I placed a new order of full color sanstone and can only hope to be also "lucky" this time around..

I'm not sure where 'wax' came from either... must have read it along the way. The XLA MSDS reads nearly as scary as Dihydrogen Monoxide

Well, here's hoping I can get to experience 'proper' white with full colour sandstone.

Cheers,
Paul.


[edit]... hang on... I remember talking with a painter, to make white look more brilliant white he used to add blue to 'white' paint... would the same work in this case. Yellow (in terms of RGB) is red and green, adding blue may bring the balance back to white... just a thought.

"Infused".
Want pictures of what the "wax" looks like when it gets stuck in not-easily cleanable spaces?


The last line of this quote straight from the fullcolor material page would probably be where it comes from:
Although other sources state that the processing for sandstone and fullcolor is just the same? :confused

Now I'm confused.

Yesterday i tried to place an order with another 3D printing service for a full color model (they have a free worldwide shipping offer ending March 15th) - but their automated system didn't accept my WRL file..
so i'm waiting for a human to evaluate the cost of printing it.


It's probably going to be a bit more expensive then Shapeways but it would be cool to check how other 3D printing services are capable of printing pure white, vivid colors and even with only a 2mm wall thickness as a required minimum (!?)


I'll share my findings.

Please do, I'm very tempted to take advantage of the free shipping on a titanium print. I've just been too lazy lately to make my model more suited for titanium.

youknowwho4eva, who is doing titanium prints?

Ray