Rockin' Out Geocache - Type 1

thingiverse

As a geocacher and cache creator, I understand how useful having some variation in your hides can be to keep things interesting. In that spirit I decided to put one of my 3D scanners to good use, and start.. Rockin' out! ;) (okay bad pun). This is the first of a series, and I plan to scan rocks of various types in the hope that no matter the geography, a good fit can be found. I am also trying to pick interesting subjects, because, why not? This first rock was found in the state that it is meant to be deployed, standing with a mildly awkward but stable center of gravity. The scanned and printed replica maintains this same balance even without the true weight of the original. The rock is extremely accurate to the original, though I did flatten a small section of the bottom to model in a threaded cavity. I used trapezoidal threads due to their strength. They only require threading in and out a few times to loosen them up a tiny bit for easy use. In the pictures below I show several test prints, of various sizes, and all of them were printed without supports (including the threaded cap). There are definitely a few overhangs, but if your tolerances are reasonable they print in place fine as they are. If your tolerances are questionable, then I would recommend minor support from the bed to the start of the recessed threads, and a few more on the rear-bottom overhang, you should not need much. Most of these test prints were printed at .28 to speed up the process, but I have tried .20 and .16 as well if you want a bit more detail. And.. for you non-Geocachers out there, these work pretty well for hiding a house key and similar small objects. If you are a lonely non-Geocacher, you can name it Rocky and let your new buddy chill out on the desk with you. I hear they like music.. I forget what kind though... (okay, wait.. if you REALLY do end up naming your rock, PLEASE don't name it "Rocky"; I'm all for a good pun, but let's be civilized people, it's not like we are primitives from the Stone age! Use freely, have fun, and above all keep being creative beautiful people like you already are! Look out for Type-2 and my next scan soon!