! 2018 - 3D Printed Lithophane Box

http://mvhs.nbed.nb.ca/mvhs-make/document/graces-project-proposal-2

 

Online Journal #1

So far, Id' call this project a success just because of how smoothly things have gone so far and how the few issues that I had, have been solved. The first part of the project was to 3D print the 4 parts of the box I needed. I downloaded these STL's from the Instructable and then put them in Meshmixer, and then Makerbot Print. Once the first one was printed successfully, it just became repitition after that. The first one was the circular bottom, then the base, then the frame of the box, then the white inner part. The only part that I had to watch with the box was to make certain that the top of the box didn't break or get stuck once it was fitted in. After the box was done, the next part was to make the 4 actual 3D printed lithophanes. The first and second one that I made didn't have the look I wanted so I changed the image from a positive to a negative, and I used white filament instead of translucent. The sizing was fine for the first but the second was off slightly. The first one that I had real success with was the Chuck Berry one, and after that I did one of Frank Sinatra. The sizing for Sinatra was off so we had to cut it down a bit so that it fit, since it was a bit thick on the sides.  I did the last 2 together, the Elvis and Buddy Holly one together on the same plate to save time. I was concerned that the sizing would be off for these ones would be off again, but they came out great without problems. Everything worked fine until I used thte LED's for long period of time. This melted the inside of the box and ruined the white tube part. Now, the next part of the project is to find a alternate material to use instead of plastic.