Project Shellter - Oxystele

thingiverse

The latest updates on Project Shellter are as follows: Kylie Karshellian adopted a print of this shell on 2011-12-13, while Kendall Karshellian did so on 2011-12-07. You can watch the adoption process with annotations and music at http://youtu.be/LtvlLBQnEc0 (for Kylie) and http://youtu.be/QpCusZ_q0ww (for Kendall). The original oxystele.stl had spiral holes, which have been removed after running it through http://cloud.netfabb.com. If you downloaded the file earlier, please re-download it. M. B. Cortie's model of the Oxystele sinensis sea snail shell is one of his greatest hits (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/009784939390054D), and it remains to be seen if Coenobita clypeatus, or the "Purple Pincher" hermit crab, will like this shell. The model was created using Maya's shellNode plugin, based on Cortie's model, and thickened in Blender with its Solidify modifier (http://www.blender.org/development/release-logs/blender-256-beta/solidify-modifier/). The ultimate goal is a workflow using open source tools, but for this shell surface, a commercial tool was required. Thanks to a tip from http://www.thingiverse.com/mesheldrake, the conversion to a solid is now handled by an open source tool. Porting Cortie's model and many of its resultant shells to an open source tool like Sage or Blender is the final step in creating a complete open source workflow. Any Python experts willing to help with this task are encouraged to reach out. Follow Project Shellter progress at http://projectshellter.com, https://twitter.com/ProjectShellter, https://bit.ly/ProjectShellterCams, and https://bit.ly/ProjectShellterVideos. For successful printing, use support material with Matt's excellent settings (http://makerbot.com/blog/2011/06/27/makerbot-microtip-using-the-support-features-in-skeinforges-raft-tool/) or the Skeinforge 35 settings available at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/39152244/SF35-Thingomatic-HBP-Mk7-MG-Support.zip. Remember to use only the oxystele.stl file for printing, and print the shell with its aperture facing up and parallel to the printing surface for the best results. After printing, remove the minimal support material and enjoy the hollow shell. Sanding or tumbling the printed shell is optional but recommended for a smooth finish.