Hello "Shapers"! I have been thinking about designing simple D6 dice, but I am wondering how I can ensure a design that will produce a fair die, particularly with regard to correct weighting? I read through the forums, but there doesn't seem to be much about this. I have yet to design anything, but 3D printing is so exciting! Any tips for designing dice?
The first suggestiion that comes to my mind is that where you carve in example 5 holes for n. 5 face, you put the hole volume inside the dice on the back of the face to counterbalance the holes missing material. This of course is not a perfect solution because the weight would not be as far as the holes are on the face and so it wouldn't give back the total equilibrium of the dice but I think it would be fairly ok, if you are not an engineer. Otherwise my dear you will have to go and make calculations for each face... and know how to do them
Unless you add/remove a good portion of weight to a side, you shouldn't significantly influence the outcome of the roll. The calculations would be endless, as you'd also have to calculate the weights distance from the center and aerodynamics and etc. So basically as long as you don't try to make the die unfair, it's mostly be fair.
You could model the holes or bumps of the dice so that their total volume on each side is always the same? As the numbers are symmetrical I'd guess that this would result in a fair and balanced weight distribution. To illustrate: make the dot of the number '1' side 6x deeper than the dots on the number '6' side. Good luck! Bart
Excellent Thank you for all the great replies. I think fairness would become more of an issue for complex designs; as I am just starting out, it may seem that weight concerns will be manageable. Thanks again!!