Topographical Push Pin Map

thingiverse

Full tutorial available at: https://www.instructables.com/id/Topographical-Push-Pin-Map/ I recently embarked on a mission to crack the code of creating push pin maps using multi-layered cork based on topographical features, and after working through the process, I'm pretty thrilled with my first prototype! In this tutorial, I'll walk you through the process I developed to make this map, both what worked well for me and what I'd recommend doing differently. The basic process that I'll explain in this tutorial is: -How to create custom topographical contour maps from scratch -How to convert those into a laser cuttable format -How to laser cut the pieces with precision -How to assemble all the pieces together, and how to make it look great Attached here are the files that I used to make my map. The SVG file is the original I made using Inkscape, which can be easily edited. The others are the laser cutter ready DXF and PNG files I exported. Each layer DXF and PNG should be sized so that they're exactly the same (meaning you can raster and then cut the same layer without needing to re-home the laser cutter), but I'd still double-check to make sure. If you just want to make a Washington map, those files should be all you need, and you can skip down to the laser cutting step. The earlier steps will hopefully allow everyone else to replicate my work on other areas so that you can create topographical maps of wherever you want. Supplies: -Cork Board, recommend 1/8" for around a 50W laser cutter -Plywood for the base (I used 1/4", but 1/8" would work as well) -Glue (I used wood glue and quick drying super glue) -Wood Stain -Brushes -String, "Dressmaker Pins", Push Pins (anything you want to put on the board) -Optional: Neodymium magnets (helps hold down the cork board when laser cutting) Tools: -Laser Cutter Programs: -Maperitive (or other program that can turn topographical data into maps, like QGIS) -Inkscape (or other vector program like Illustrator)