DNA Ring

thingiverse

A DNA model, shaped like a ring with 5 helical turns in an earring, 12 in a bracelet and 6 in a spinning top, was created based on an extruded double helix generated using this script: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:186660. The model printed well even without support, but a circular raft was used underneath. A customization script is provided, utilizing the path extrusion script from a previous work. Inspiration came from here: http://www.shapeways.com/model/895917/dna-bracelet.html?li=related-items-int&materialId=23 but with modifications to make it more accurate to "true" DNA, including 10 bases per helix turn, major/minor groove, helical radius of 1/3.3 * helix turn arc length, pentagonal extrusion for ribose sugar backbone, and base pair joins perpendicular to the helix direction. The other model also had some correct features, such as a right-handed turn. For more details on DNA double helix geometries, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleic_acid_double_helix#Helix_geometries