Nautilus Gears Acrylic laser cut + 3d print

thingiverse

I envisioned a fresh take on the Nautilus Gears that would add some vibrancy to the overall design. To accomplish this, I turned to acrylic, as I already have access to a precision laser cutter at my disposal. When handling the edges of any acrylic component, I highly recommend employing fine-grain sandpaper for safety purposes. By smoothing out the sharp edges, you'll significantly reduce the risk of cuts and injuries. Let's dive into how this project unfolded: Firstly, I initiated the process by importing the original Nautilus_Gear.STL file into PyCam, where it alerted me to the presence of numerous invalid triangles within the design. To rectify this issue, I took the liberty of importing the file into Blender and applying the decimate modifier. This resulted in a significantly optimized design, culminating in an astonishing 85% reduction in file size – from a formidable 1.7 MB down to a mere 173.8 kB. In doing so, it became abundantly clear that simplicity reigns supreme when it comes to 3D printing or laser cutting: the less complex your project, the fewer hurdles you'll encounter. My tinkering eventually yielded Nautilus_Gear_decimatedHALF.STL – a streamlined masterpiece that's easier on your tools. Now, when it came time to fabricate the acrylic components, I chose to rely on my trusty laser cutter and employed the original Nautilus_Gear.svg file as the guiding blueprint. In generating this svg, I utilised slic3r's innovative Slice to SVG function in tandem with the original Nautilus_Gear.STL file. As you'll quickly discover, it's often significantly more efficient to cut intricate 2D components on a laser printer than attempting to use a 3D printer – trust me on this one.