Introduction: CUSTOM 3D TERRAIN KEYCHAIN

Custom makes everything better, even as simple equally a keychain! Say your friend or family member comes visit you and you want to give them a nice souvenir. But Army of the Pure's be honest, all memento shop sells the like taxonomic category thing that will probably land up in the garbage. So wherefore not cook something more meaty?

Living in Alberta, Canada, I am enclosed by some of the most beautiful lakes and mountains in the world and every metre someone comes for a visit, I try to make a meaningful gift that represents the lakes and mountains. In this instructables, I testament share how you can make a custom keychain that represents a landscape (lake/mountain/terrain)! Not only wish it be a meaningful endow but will likewise be an useful incomparable!

The way I have finished it requires quite a few things but you don't need all of IT to earn your own custom keychain. Always remember: there are many ways you can squeeze a lemon and it's up to you to do IT the way you can :)

During the process, I will test to propose a different way to do it.

Supplies

Keyring (you give the sack suffer these from Amazon/Aliexpress/Craftstore)
Woodwind instrument (I bear used walnut here but you can employment any hardwood you have or like-minded)
3D pressman (Ideally, you want this to embody printed in resin so that the little details are there but FDM printing machine will work too)
CNC (OR you can use up handtools to cut out the wood)
Adherent (I have used buck store 2 part epoxy but anything that can form a secure bond will work)
Wood finishes (I have used boiled flaxseed oil but you buns use whatever finish you like)
Sandpapers (for sanding the Mrs. Henry Wood)
Paints &adenosine monophosphate; brushes (for picture the terrain)
Meshmixer (to resize terrain STL for impression)

Step 1: GENERATING THE IDEA AND DESIGN

I always like to start with an empty page in a notepad and few colourful pens. I drew an initial size of the whole keychain (that posterior change in the death), laid come out of the closet a rough estimate of all the steps to create the keychain and go from there.

Over the years, this method has helped me perplex projects done with very little hiccups. Generally, when you layout out a drawing Oregon a plan on a piece of paper, you will get a line potency problems before you even get started on the project and fixing the plan is ever easier than fixing a trouble.

Step 2: GENERATING STL AND Victimisation MESHMIXER TO RESIZE IT

First base of all, we need to offse by decisive on the locating that we want to capture in the keyring. Ideally, the location should have a nice range of mountains operating theatre valleys then there is a 3D aspect to capture.

Once you know the localisation, economic consumption a map app (wish google maps) to witness the coordinates of the localization. Once you sustain that, straits all over to http://jthatch.com/Terrain2STL/. This is where you bequeath be competent to generate any STL based off of the world map and it is all free!

In the location tab, I put in the coordinates I picked for this design and clicked "Center to View":

Next, go over to "Model Inside information" and tweak the settings to your trust and click "General Mould":

Formerly you have the model downloaded, open the STL file using anything that can open the STL file and make sure you have estimable details in the posture (and make a point you are happy with the model too).

Afterwards, open the STL in MeshMixer and resize it for the keyring. Settled on my design, the STL should constitute ~56mm x 29mm. And I am passing to atomic number 4 using a 9mm thick piece of wood so the STL needs to be to a lesser degree that too (I want the whole model to sit within the wood itself). So based on these projected sizes, I resized the mannequin in MeshMixer and ended up with a 56mm x 28.95mm x 7.74mm STL Indian file without destroying the proportion. I am non going to include any steps for doing this in MeshMixer since there are good tutorials finished the internet on how to do information technology, better than what I stool do.

Formerly you are through with, advance to the next step.

Step 3: 3D PRINTING THE STL

I am victimization a resin based 3D printer (Anycubic Photon) to impress the terrain. Resin printers can produce insane details so I patterned this will make up the perfect fable method. So I cut it using a slicer (Chitubox), printed it, cured it in the sun and removed the supports.

WARNING: Resin printers are peachy and there is no doubt in that. But the resin itself is toxic and more or less people tend to react to that (chemical Burns) very badly. So DO non sample to get word if you can react to that and E'er follow safety protocols. Wear nitrile (not latex) gloves (and eye auspices too) and bring i sure you don't spill any along your dress either (maybe wear an proscenium too). Comprise extra scrupulous with the resin and always operate in a well ventilated area.

ALTERNATE Room: If you don't have a 3D printer and get into't want to splurge yourself with one, you can try to make the terrain with modelling clay. They are cheap and with patience, you can create a very good representation of a terrain.

Step 4: PRIMING, PAINTING & SEALING THE MODEL

Now that you have the 3D printed (or if you birth made it out of clay) pattern, it's time to prime it. Priming always helps the discolour to adhere to the poser better. For the send off, I in use rustoleum painter's touch grey primer but any primer will work.

Once set, time to paint the model! Since this is a bantam model, solitaire is the paint. Grab a satellite snap of the terrain you own picked and start painting the model. I volition not move done the techniques of how to paint the terrain since there are great tutorials out on that point to teach yourself or you lavatory always take assistant from someone else to paint it. In my case, my amazing married woman took care of the painting and it turned out great!

Aft the rouge, you can leave it as is and move to the following stride or you can add an extra layer of protection to the paint job and add a top coat to it. I used an acrylic paint based top coat spray on the painted role model. This is not an absolute requisite step but top coat always supporte the paint to keep looking at like new for a long sentence and aid protect the rouge from scratches too (after all, this is sledding to be secondhand an a keychain!).

Step 5: DESIGNING & Edged THE KEYCHAIN

Once the model is ready, take some measurements to make sure you have the final dimensions before cutting the wood.

Since I am exploitation a CNC for cutting the wood, I used a CAD software to create the delineate for the CNC to cut.

Afterwards, I feed the DXF file to the River Cam software (I in use ESTLCAM) to program the hand-hewn. Once programmed, I secondhand pronterface to feed the gcode to the CNC and it did it's magic.

Erst the opus is cut off, use your model to make sure that it fits. In my case, I had to guts the sides of the models to pull round fit and also had to cut off the round inside edges that were left-hand past the CNC (CNC routers cannot cut square corners for pockets). Erst the fit is checked, it's time to outset making the wood look good!

Step 6: SANDING & FINISHING THE Mrs. Henry Wood

Sand the wood piece using 100, 120, 240, 320 and 400 grit sand document (making trusty that you are eating away mask spell doing it) to give it a nice smooth surface.

Erstwhile the sanding is done, go on to finishing the wood to bring out its beauty. You can use whatever wood stop you prefer Oregon rich person on hand. I used boiled linseed oil because it is very slow to apply and brings out the richness of walnut. Once the finishing is done, take a moment to appreciate how esthetical the Sir Henry Wood looks (and what an grand job you accept done until now).

WARNING: If you are using any screen out of embrocate to finish the wood, you will probably be using tissue/rag/sponge/brush. Finishing oils are ill-famed for spontaneous combustion if you don't properly dispose off the rag (oil generates heat when curing and that causes the combustion). In that respect are 2 primary ways to extenuate this. Same way is to put the rag in a water occupied metal container (like a paint container), put the lid on the container and take IT to your nighest fire station on your way to work or grocery (doesn't take up to make up the same day since the rag is in metal container filled with body of water). The other way is to lay the remonstrate flat on a factual or metal surface (not crumbled) and let the oil color cure. One time the oil is cured (the rag wish be hard), the rag can be safely thrown and twisted away (make sure it is fully well/dry).

Now that completely the pieces are ready, information technology's time to assemble the keyring!

Step 7: ASSEMBLING THE KEYRING

For attaching the 3D model with the wood, I ill-used a dollar store 5 minute epoxy (tuppeny and works nifty although smells terrible!). Stuff some of it into the plantation of the wood and mix IT using a toothpick or something disposable. Once sundry thoroughly, spread head it every last over the woodlet and tardily push the pose into the grove. Press it in for a flake and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba the epoxy glue cure for 5 proceedings.

The keyring that I used is available in Amazon/Aliexpress/Craftstores and are identical tawdry overly:

Put the important chain through the hole at the topmost and you are cooked!

Call for a moment to appreciate IT and start victimisation it or assign it in a nice box to gift it to soul!

And give thanks you for following my instructables :) Blissful MAKING!!!!!!!!

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