How can I use 3-D printer to duplicate driftwood pieces?

Do you know what the smaller one solid would cost? And the larger size is actually more like 3'x15"x8". If a person had their own printer, how much cheaper could they do it for?

It's been a couple of years since I looked into this, trying to remember what the deal was with silicon molds. i think either the expense or I just couldn't wrap my head around how to do it at the time. My piece had lots of voids in it, and I think I was told that the silicon would either not go into them adequately or not be able to be removed completely afterwards...

A cylinder of 10cm length and 1.25 cm diam has a volume of about 12.5 cm3, which in wsf would cost about 1.5 + 12.5*1.4 = 19 USD

On my volume estimator.. just set the thickness to 0 to see the price as a solid:
https://stonysmith.com/wired/VolumeEstimator.asp?L=100&W= 12&H=12&T=0

When you say "had their own printer".. do you mean the $500,000 printer that Shapeways uses, or some home printer that costs $1500?
The trouble with the home printers is that the surface details are VERY rough, and you often have a total build space of less than 8" in any one direction.

====
But, if it was a solid block, your item at 36x15x8 inches would require 70,690 cm3 of material.
A 1kg spool of 1.75mm filament is ~330m of material. That's 790 cm3 of plastic.
So, you'd need 90 spools of filament, and they cost $30 each.

I suspect your item is no where near a solid block, so it be more like 1/4 or 1/8th that volume. But it's still a LOT of plastic, not to count the fact that RepRap style printers are slowwwwww. You'd likely be looking at weeks of printing time.

This book seems to have a section on molding driftwood. It's an old book but maybe you can find it in a library.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Breakthrough-Habitat-Exhibit-Manua l/dp/0925245070

I found the book on Amazon..no details..saw another copy at a woodworking site. Have you experience with this book personally? I'm not able to open it anywhere to see what it has to say on the subject.

I saw a post on a taxidermy site that said it had 5 or 6 pages covering this issue but I have never seen the book. That's why I recommended finding it in a library rather than purchasing it.

http://www.taxidermy.net/forums/MoldingArticles/99FD0ABA13.h tml

Have you considered doing this with a subtractive CNC process instead, perhaps using cheap foam? There should be lots of companies that could provide such a service, particularly those that work with prop companies to create masters or molds.

Another idea is to try to find a company that does 3D prints using sugar as the build material. I would imagine using sugar would be a lot cheaper than plastics and maybe they can do larger objects. Also you could create a mold around the sugar print, dissolve the sugar out of the mold after it is dry using water, and then form your fake driftwood with a casting material.

If you search on the web you can also find people that soak real wood in solutions overnight to get the look of driftwood. Maybe you could start with wood that's been machined to specific shapes and then process them chemically to get the right look.

Good luck!

Could you elaborate on the subtractive CNC using cheap foam idea? Sounds interesting...


....whilst swimming this AM, a flash came across my screen~~

What about to perhaps make a 3 D mold with the printer...and taking it from there for finishing the process, using resin to replicate the wood grain. I have a friend who has bottle stops originally made in wood replcated in China. Not quite sure of the process, but not entertaining that idea..just that's what he does. Anyway, the resin really looks like wood. I know someone who actually bought a resin piece thinking it was carved wood, and paid a pretty dime for it. But so far not sure of how that look was achieved.

CNC machining uses a milti-axis milling machine to carve material from foam, plastic, wood, metal, whatever. In contrast 3D printing is additive. Here's a quick example I found on the web.

http://dinorentosstudios.com/Custom-Foam-Props-Gallery.html

I also have some wall hangings that are made using fake wood. They are probably some type of foam resin that was cast in a mold and are much lighter than real wood. I'm not sure what methods would give you an actual realistic grain on the surface of your fake driftwood. It seems like that's the biggest pain in your quest. You might need to create that effect with hand tools in the mold or create it with artistic application of paints and stains on the casting. Personally I'd rather try to find some driftwood on a beach. What exactly do you do with your simulated driftwood pieces? Use them in museum displays? Hang them on your wall?

I didn't have time to read the rest of the comments, so disregard if someone already mentioned this.

Another thing that could be done is to MAKE driftwood. HAHAHA! You'd just get a cement mixer, throw some wood, gravel, sand, water and salt in there and then let it tumble for a few days. Then you'd treat it with an Oxyclean solution to instantly turn it gray.

Did you ever say what you're actually wanting to do with this fake driftwood once you have it made or duplicated from the originals?

The reason you're getting a good response on this thread is, just about everyone here in the forum is a maker. We love to design and make stuff! Sounds like you're a maker too! You might get an even better response by posting something like this in the Work In Progress part of the forum, since lots of people subscribe to that.

MrNib, I really appreciate you taking the time to explain all these things, and going out of your way like you do. Looks like the foam is definately the way to create volume, from the link you sent.

In answer to the maker question, I'm a wanna be. I actually am more of a discoverer of already formed art. I must have made a pact with the Divine Architect of nature, because I find the driftwood in amazing forms. I have done this since i was quite young, so have a collection by now. I also am a landscaper, and one of the pieces I mentioned before, the 3'x 15"x 8" I wanted to replicate for distribution if I could do it. I thought it would be gorgeous in a rock garden. It is very stylized looking, with many voids, but is distinctly a "Blackbird Singing"..(in the Dead of Night)...as the song goes.

I thought if I could replicate it in resin or other it would stand up better to the elements. Of course as it is I only have one of a kind to display. It very well may turn into a museum, maybe I can charge an admission somewhere down the line.

On the subject of Oxyclean to grey out new wood, I was aware of bleach for that, but thought it might be too drying. Is that pretty much the same thing or less of a desicant?


So I thank all of you for being gentle with me as such an obvious newbie on this subject. I'll hang with you guys as long as you'll let me!

I'm not sure of the exact chemical reaction or whether a desiccant effect would occur, all I know about it is an actual experience case. I had just built a new redwood fence at my house and there was some spots that were discolored with tire marks from being run over by a forklift that I wanted to try to clean off. So I mixed up a batch of Oxiclean with water and sprayed it on with a hand can. To my horror that whole area that I sprayed turned to a 100 year old gray in under 15 seconds! Consequently, I had to spend a few hours with a belt sander to get the area back to looking like new wood. HAHA!

http://www.craftiments.com/2012/06/diy-driftwood-tutorial.ht ml