Tiny Cannon

Discussion in 'My Shapeways Order Arrived' started by Schmeagle, May 28, 2017.

  1. Schmeagle
    Schmeagle Well-Known Member
    My next delivery was supposed to arrive Tuesday, but to my surprise I came home today to find a Shapeways box shoved in my mailbox! I knew exactly what it was, and boy was I excited to open it.

    And here it is...the tiny civil war cannon! This was a test to see how much detail I could shove into a tiny brass product. I'm pretty impressed, considering that it's about an inch from front to back.

    (Perhaps I can get some better pictures when the sun comes up) o_O

    Cannon02.png Cannon03.png Cannon00.png
     
    mygadgetlife likes this.
  2. Kaleidechse
    Kaleidechse Member
    I don't know much about cannons, but my first thought was "this looks really realistic." You're right, the detail is impressive for that scale - I'd say your test was successful!
     
  3. Youknowwho4eva
    Youknowwho4eva Well-Known Member
    Amazing work!
     
  4. Schmeagle
    Schmeagle Well-Known Member
    Thanks! I really appreciate the feedback.

    I created the original model using online schematics, photographs, and even catalogs for replica parts. Ideally, I would have loved to find a real one and take pictures from every angle.

    For this test, I had to reduce the detail so that it could pass the checks. I accomplished this by using Meshmixer's "Make Solid" tool, applying an outward offset. Here's a comparison:

    CannonSimplified2.png
     
    mygadgetlife likes this.
  5. Sparkshot
    Sparkshot Well-Known Member
    Your brass canon is awesome I must say.
    Looks like an expensive Monopoly piece. :)

    Is the outward ofset basically an automatic thickening tool?
     
  6. Schmeagle
    Schmeagle Well-Known Member
    Thanks!

    As I've already ordered several of them, one of them may very well be used the next time I play Monopoly, since all the good tokens are usually already taken. I don't want to be the shoe! :D

    The outward offset is an option in the "Make Solid" tool in Meshmixer. It will indeed thicken your model, but be aware of what the "Make Solid" tool does. The result of "Make Solid" is an approximation of the original model created by using voxels. Because it is an approximation, detail may be lost. You can increase the resolution, but this will also increase the polygon count and file size. I've also noticed some strange artifacts as well. Here's the documentation.
     
  7. Sparkshot
    Sparkshot Well-Known Member
    Hmm, many thanks. :)
    It is a program I don't have but that tool I'm sure I could make really good use of. I usually thicken everything up manually and this will no doubt still be the best option for a lot of things yet this tool I very much would like as it could be usefull for a few bits. Ok, thanks for the reply. :)

    I usually try to get the dog piece on Monopoly...depending which version is played.
     
  8. Youknowwho4eva
    Youknowwho4eva Well-Known Member
    I need to make my own battleship, my daughter always has to use the pieces I want to use so we fight over blue pieces and the battleship :p. Thanks for share your tools of creation!
     
  9. SnoozeAlongSnail
    SnoozeAlongSnail Well-Known Member
    That does look amazingly detailed. And weird to say about a cannon I guess, but it's so cute :D
     
  10. Schmeagle
    Schmeagle Well-Known Member
    There's nothing wrong with calling a tiny cannon cute. A normal cannon is a different story. :)

    Since I'm here, I figured I'd post this video. I was having fun with a lighting tent and a turn table. Now if I could just figure out how to deal with the specks of dust. I also managed to scratch the mirror surface already, too. Oops!



    By the way, SnoozeAlongSnail, I really like that profile picture. :D