Japanese Manhole Covers v.2 with Frame

prusaprinters

<h3>A national phenomenon</h3><p>Believe it or not, but <strong>drainspotting</strong> is a thing in Japan, and for good reason !</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/manhole-1.jpg"></figure><p>Photo by John Daub from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVmz3n15U7S52xShN8NCzsw">ONLY in Japan</a>.</p><h3>We are manholers</h3><p>As you'd expect from Japan though, collectible cards are published by the official <i>Sewer Public Relations Platform</i> regularly and handed in person by each municipalities' services.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://media.printables.com/media/prints/230397/rich_content/b5baa7f5-5e9e-4dd0-87a3-e843a76ea97a/13-100-a-01.jpg#%7B%22uuid%22%3A%22255acdf8-fdda-4796-8535-c055c60f7dc9%22%2C%22w%22%3A516%2C%22h%22%3A720%7D"></figure><p>&nbsp;</p><p>In this series, I'm taking inspiration from the beautiful manhole cover designs I come across on my daily journeys or vacations. The June 2022 Flash Contest was a perfect occasion to fuel my passion and turn my photos into printable 3D models to be used as drink coasters !</p><h3>The 3D models</h3><p>For the first models I chose to investigate different methods of reproduction. For the Fuji City model, I used a photograph and touched up every original color to give it a specific depth and texture that would be reproduced through a height map.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://media.printables.com/media/prints/230397/rich_content/fa2336d5-59bc-41d5-a962-9a94ed42eea4/jan2022.png#%7B%22uuid%22%3A%22783e1e2c-0ecf-4066-98f4-c4ea0fbc581d%22%2C%22w%22%3A904%2C%22h%22%3A907%7D"></figure><p>For this reason, this model should be printed as presented in the STL file (standing up, along the Y axis).</p><p>I'm pretty happy with the way the textures are rendered using a 0.15 layer height. It is however a long print.</p><p>For the second model, I decided to use OpenSCAD in order to have more control on the mechanical features and to achieve a greater detail definition as well as a shorter print time.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://media.printables.com/media/prints/230397/rich_content/b1608a80-5ac5-4866-a2d2-11e79d26afb6/image.png#%7B%22uuid%22%3A%22c3a8e359-254f-4313-93b8-4e6c07e8644a%22%2C%22w%22%3A1892%2C%22h%22%3A1611%7D"></figure><h3>OpenSCAD Customization</h3><h5>Prerequisites</h5><p>I use the <a href="https://github.com/revarbat/BOSL">Belfry OpenScad Library (BOSL)</a> to model the objects, you'll have to install it in order to load my <code>scad</code> file.</p><h5>Customizations</h5><p>The logotype at the center is modifiable. You can specify the text, the font, the size and the position.</p><p>The syntax to specify the font must follow <a href="https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/OpenSCAD_User_Manual/Text">OpenSCAD's rules</a>.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://media.printables.com/media/prints/230397/rich_content/7f0ad84e-c82f-467b-99e3-6c52bf6d1746/customizer.png#%7B%22uuid%22%3A%223ae3391a-6233-4dd4-b967-b676fef805c5%22%2C%22w%22%3A1280%2C%22h%22%3A960%7D"></figure><h3>The frame</h3><p>The frame is a simple design of my own creation. Its main purpose is to enhance the liquid protection when the manhole serves as a drink coaster.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://media.printables.com/media/prints/230397/rich_content/eb4ccdde-3848-41b1-b47a-d9ee842a5b7e/image.png#%7B%22uuid%22%3A%225b4ea6d1-56c0-4ad9-ac0b-666603c4df75%22%2C%22w%22%3A1892%2C%22h%22%3A1611%7D"></figure><h3>Coming up</h3><p>I am currently in the process of manually vectorizing the original Tokyo 23 manhole cover. I chose this one for the next iteration of my production process because it is of historical importance and features a simple and iconic design.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://media.printables.com/media/prints/230397/rich_content/12046857-2fcd-4cf4-9d97-9ab8d4787c27/image.png#%7B%22uuid%22%3A%2243269dd0-e3b7-4df8-8887-255027aca037%22%2C%22w%22%3A415%2C%22h%22%3A416%7D"></figure>