Huge Yosemite Model

myminifactory

This is a 22-piece, 3D topo map of Yosemite Valley that I showcased at the San Mateo MakerFaire. Each piece is a 2-kilometer square chunk. The STL files are scaled to 100mm square, resulting in an overall scale of 1:20,000. The individual models are detailed enough to be printed at least double their size without suffering from "voxelation." I prefer printing small sections to avoid distortion that often occurs with larger prints. A diagram is provided to show where each piece fits, allowing you to print only your favorite landmarks or start with Half Dome and work your way down the valley like I did. The final model measures more than 2 feet long (0.7 meters exactly). There's no real reason to stop here except that the high-resolution Lidar survey data doesn't extend any further. The data is sourced from http://opentopo.sdsc.edu/, where you can freely download incredibly detailed datasets from around the world. We discussed this project and much more on the 3D Printing Today podcast, available on iTunes, Stitcher radio, or directly from the source at http://threedprintingtoday.libsyn.com/. The technique used to create these models is outlined in my YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4-ICkvyJv0.