Category Archives: Studio Stuff

3D Printing Relief Printing Plates

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When I printed some flat test plates on the new Elegoo Saturn 2 resin 3D printer I thought "oh this is a lot like a printmaking relief plate".

I enjoy the process of mono printing with acrylic sheets and have found combining that process with relief printing interesting.

The goal became 3D print relief plates that are the same thickness as the acrylic sheets I use to mono print. This would make it possible to switch between the mono print plates and relief plates with less press adjustments.

Printing flat stuff on resin printer with out it warping can be a bit tricky. Normally the flat object is turned on a 45 degree angle on supports to reduce issues of the print coming off the printer plate, but what I needed for this was the ability to print the plate flat on the printer surface without and supports and rafts.

After much fussing with settings and waiting 20 minutes for each test to print I have had good success.

 

Tips learned

Important to have the minimum of over exposed first layers so the print adheres well with the resin expanding into the printing surface deforming the details. For wider prints there needs to be enough delay before the print lowers back down to allow the resin to flow evenly under the last layers.

 

3D Printing Tiny Alien

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Having discovered that the place I had used to print very tiny 3D characters would no longer supply them, I researched what 3D printers could accomplish this on site.

I settled on an Elegoo Saturn 2.

Using 8K water washable resin, I have had great success. The details are even better than the original supplier.

Paper Making Press Making

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After attending a couple of workshops on paper-making, I just had to have my own paper-making press.

So, I set out to build one and test some ideas I had about combining some designs I had seen online and was provided with by one of the workshop instructors.

What better material to use for this working prototype? Two by fours, of course!

So far, it has worked well.

I built it with a jack at the bottom to provide a good amount of pressure and a threaded pressure plate on top that can be set at a convenient height without disassembling the press.

I built in a cutter system that directs water runoff to a tube that runs into a bucket and prevents excessive wet floors and studio furniture.

 

Curved Rear Projection Screen Build

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Making a curved rear projection screen

Thought it would cool to be able to have my videos feel a bit more immersive.

Decided to try a curved screen.

To avoid the complication of preventing the casting of a silhouette of the viewer I went with rear projection. I could also, avoid a silhouette by using a short throw projector. Mine would do the trick, but I thought it would be interesting to make something that did not require a short-throw, given that short-throw projectors are a bit more pricey than the typical projector. It seems nice to make something that is more easily obtainable by the general public that doesn't horde neat electronic toys.

The screen is a $20 cloth rear / front projection screen. The screen is kept fairly taunt by the wait of the lower PVC and the screen is held in place with sticky-sided velcro.

Millumin Projection Mapping software is being used to bend the image to match the curve and to compensate for the distortion.

Bending PVC

  • I used PVC because it is light and easily obtained at a low price.

  • I also, discovered that it has the added benefit of being able to be bent using boiling water, hot sand, or steam.

  • By partially closing one end of the pipe to slow the boiling water from leaving the pipe too quickly the pipe was able to heat up and become fairly flexible.

 

  • After the pipe cooled it stayed in the curved shape.

 

  • With this narrow PVC one pot of boiling water was more than enough for each pipe.

  • To make adjustments to the curves I just added boiling water again.

Portable Cyanotype Exposure Gizmo

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After attending a workshop on cyanotype, I built this gizmo to streamline the use of film positives and random materials. It is portable and helps hold the materials under glass between the placement of the material in a room without sunlight to the sun outside.

Necessary? No

Handy and helpful? Yes