Small colour objects

#1

Greetings from Perth.

I am quoting to a local museum for the 3D scanning and printing of some very small objects, culturally significant shell beads from a ancient necklace, estimated at 32,000 years old.

For the beads in the necklace, the largest is only 2.5cm long. I will be creating the textured 3D models using photogrammetry, I’ve already created a couple. Please note that I understand the requirements of 3D printing having done quite a lot of that in the past but for much larger objects.

So, I’m seeking feedback/advice on whether you can do this? How one might achieve colour … for example, is manual painting the only option?

#2

The new Multicolor+ material (Mimaki printer) may work for this, depending on the complexity of the texture. (Cannot say for sure as my prints only use simple solid-color schemes, but you can see some computer-generated shell patterns in the works of F. De Comite https://i.materialise.com/en/shop/designer/fdecomite)
A test print may be in order, and for very small items it may be advisable to sprue them together

#3

Hello, I’m happy to tell you that we even improved on the already great performances of the Mimaki. You can read more about this on our website via https://i.materialise.com/blog/en/multicolor-3dprinting-improved/. I can also confirm that objects of 2,5 cm or even smaller, will be no problem for this printer. Kind regards Lizy

#4

Sorry for the slow reply and thanks for your suggestion.
At some point I will creating some example models of the necklace
items and I will get back to you to do some tests. Regarding the works
of F. De Comite, the shells seem to be somewhat bigger than mine will
be.

#5

Hello Paul, we’re looking forward to work with you. have a nice weekend Lizy

#6

OK, I have scanned the first of the 22 beads. It can be found here
http://paulbourke.net/transient/Mandu/

How do I proceed? Is the printer you suggested generally available?

ps: If you are interested on the origin, these are a circa 30,000 years of beads of a necklace, I have put the original paper online also.

#7

Hello Paul,
you can upload the beads on our website to calculate a price. The quantity should not pose a problem and if there would be a delay in production, we always inform our customers about it. Please keep in mind that our multicolor+ has changed in the meantime. You can find more informaton on our website.

#8

OK, I’ve ordered multicolor+, assuming this will be the “Mimaki” printer mentioned earlier.

#9

Hello,
As I mentioned in my previous message, multicolor+ has changed and will not be printed on the Mimaki printer anymore. The new printer is similar, but the colors will be less bright. Please find here more information : https://i.materialise.com/en/3d-printing-materials/multicolor-plus

#10

A more matte finish should benefit these models.

#11

Certainly the colour is disappointing, see attached, uploaded on left, 3D print on right.

model%20print
model%20print1268×1500 249 KB

What is the source of the blue/green tinge?
Do your staff do a colour balance/calibration?
Is this as good as it gets?

#12

Hi Paul,

thank you for your feedback.
I’ve asked our production team to look into your questions.
I’ll get back to you asap.

#13

Any feedback?
I meet the museum client tomorrow and I’m sure their question will be the same as mine “Is this as good as it gets?”.

#14

Hi Paul,

Sorry, we don’t have an immediate answer what the issue could be.

We have contacted our machine supplier and they are printing the item themselves to figure out whether it is a software or hardware issue. Tomorrow we should get feedback from them.

An explanation could be that the part is so thin at the ends that the darker color from the inside of the model shines through. But we can’t confirm this yet.

#15

Unfortunately I did not get any reply for our machine supplier.

#16

Hi Paul,
a quick update : the supplier was able to print it without blue/green tinge.
We are waiting for more info now .

Regards,
Wim

#17

Sounds promising.
Any comments on the other colour differences between the model. Colour saturation and colour resolution.

#18

For the time being, this is all I know.
Bert will provide more info as soon was he gets it.

#19

Hi Paul,

Sorry for the delay in reply. It took more time than expect to get to the root of this problem.

We can now confirm that the problem of the blue/green tinge originates from the fact that the walls of your model are very thin and the material is not fully opaque. This makes that the darker color of the inside of the model is shown on the outside of the model causing a blue/green tinge to appear. That the supplier was able to print without tinge (stated earlier) was due to the part being printed in a much larger scale than you intended.

Some improvement can be made by closing the inside so there is no color on the inside of the model or making the color of the surface on the inside lighter or increasing the overall size of the model.

As regards the color difference between the model and the actual 3D print.The difference will be due to fact that color on screens are RGB and in 3D print colors are CYMK. You can find information on this topic under the section of Improving Colors in the design guide

#20

hey guys, i am looking for a peloton bike but it’s very expensive. … </snipped by Wim>