3D Printed Earrings (Genesis Thomassin)

Review:

When I first decided to make these, I was excited and easily engaged when designing them on Tinkercad. The design process was time-consuming but also very fun to me. Throughout the entire process, I was just excited to see the final product that was going to come out of the printer. The design process was surprisingly easy compared to the printing and painting process. I hit a couple bumps in the road when printing and painting which is why this project took a lot longer than expected. When printing, I realized I had made them way too big so I had to resize and print them again. When painting, I only had access to paint one time during the day so that limited the amount of time I could work on them. I also had to repaint them a number of times because I kept messing up the lines. You do not need any prior knowledge when wearing these. (It's suggested that you watch the show to learn the meaning behind them though.) I would recommend using this item if you want a subtle way to show your interest in this show while also saving money.

Instructions:

I created this project using Tinkercad and the Makerbot 3D printer located in the makerspace located in the library.

If you would like to recreate these earrings on your own, you first need to have an account with Tinkercad as it is the place you will be designing the earrings on. Once you have an account, open a empty template to start designing on.

You need to first start with a thin, rectangular base. You can do this by clicking on the red cube located in the Basic Shapes tool section, resize it, and color it white. Once you have your base, you can start the design process. Click on the blue circular shaped tool and resize it to go on the top of your base. It also helps to have a picture of the earrings pulled up as a reference as well.

Click on the blue semi-circle located in the Basic Shapes tool section, resize it, and add it to the bottom of base. Now it's time for the lines in the middle. Click on the red cube located in the Basic Shapes tool section, size it down to a thin, long, black line. Have the first three lines in the center connect from the red circle down to the blue semi circle. Resize the next six lines to a just as thin but not as long shape. Place and connect them to the sides of the red circle and have them go to the edge of the white base. Group these together using the grouping tool located at the top of the toolbar.

To create the border, click on the red cube located in the Basic Shapes tool section, resize it so that it replicates while also being a little bigger than the original white base, and color it black. Make the black base 1-2 inches thick. Place it underneath the white base and make sure the white base is as close as possible to the black base while also still being able to see the original design. Group the design and the black base together.

To create the hole, click on the grey transparent cylinder located in the Basic Shapes tool section, resize it, and it to the top of the black border, and center it.

Once you are done with the design, duplicate it, and place them as close as possible to the grid. Click on both of the earrings by holding SHIFT and then export them both to an .STL file on your computer.

To 3D print, bring your computer to the makerspace and have Ms. Williams import the file onto the 3D printer program on her laptop. Once the file is imported, make sure the 3D printer is loaded with white filament. If not, unload the filament currently inside, and replace it with white filament. Once you have loaded the white filament, import the earrings onto the 3D printer, and start it.

After the printer has finished, paint your design with the proper colors.

What to do next?

The next step in this project for me would be to find and purchase the wires to make these earrings wearable in the future.