HipNerd Origins 2
Here are some of my early projects and videos.
Molecule Sculpture
I knew that dodecahedrons do not pack 3D space, but I wondered what it would look like if I stuck them together, and it turns out it looks like this shape that is reminiscent of a model of a molecule. I was partially inspired by a "pentaflake" which is a fractal built up by connecting pentagons on their sides. I thought that connecting dodecahedrons (which have pentagons for their faces), would maybe make a 3D fractal shape. Still not sure about that.
Golden Icosahedron
I read somewhere that the corners of three intersecting golden rectangles form an icosahedron when connected, so I had to see what that would actually look like. In later versions I put notches in the corners so you could connect them with rubber bands. At the time I made this the slicer tools were not sophisticated enough to let me easily position this model on the corners to allow it to print without supports, and my only modeling software was Blender, and it was quite tricky to get it into that orientation. Yes, I know my paint job is crap. I tried my hand at painting a few 3D prints, and never felt that they came out good. Golden Icosahedron video: https://youtu.be/kSbfuFz1KvM
Pentaflake Tabletop 1
I used to have a job working nights at a little company where I learned how to use a very early (running on MS DOS) version of AutoCad. One evening while playing around in the program, I stumbled on this pentaflake pattern. I had never seen this fractal pattern before, and it wasn't until many years later when I found it on the internet, that I learned that it was discovered by Albrecht Dürer (a mathematician who lived in the 1500's). I've always had a fondness for this pattern because I discovered it for myself.
One morning I found that the glass tabletop on our outdoor table had shattered into a million bits. I took this as an opportunity to try making my own tabletop, and I landed on the idea of make a big pentaflake fractal pattern on it. I created the base pattern in Blender, printed them, and glued them together in groups of 6. Then, I printed little clips to clip those pieces into the finished stencil that covered the whole tabletop. The initial result was very nice, and I should have stopped there, but I decided I wanted it to have a glossy look, so I put clear polyurethane over the top, and ruined the whole thing. I still use it, albeit just as a work table now. This is Pentaflake Tabletop 1, because I would go on later and make a new version with my Maslow CNC.
Drawstring Fixer
Drawstring fixer video: https://youtu.be/RofTnxtM9YY
I had a pair of sweatpants where one end of the drawstring got pulled into the hem. I tried tying a big knot in the end of the drawstring, and pushing that through the hem, and I tried tying it onto a big safety pin. I wanted something that would slide through the hem easier, and came up with the idea of this little bullet shaped gadget. It works at least twice as good as the knot or safety pin, and doesn't snag on the cloth. I printed out dozens of them and give them out as a calling card of sorts.
3D Printed Halftone
On a whim I decided to see if I could 3D print a halftone image. And, what do you know, I could. 3D printed halftone video; https://youtu.be/nZjWRdhAgyY
Mobiüs Rollers
One of my favorite mathematical curiosities is a Mobiüs strip. This isn't exactly a Mobiüs strip, instead of a ribbon with a 180º twist, it's a long rectangular prism given a 90º twist and joined at the ends. There's a famous picture of a Mobiüs strip with ants crawling on it by M.C. Escher. Instead of an ant crawling around the sides of this shape, I made channels that run down the sides and put ball bearings in them. The result is the balls can roll all around the shape and come back to the beginning.
Mobiüs Zipper Fidget Toy
I got a sewing machine and taught myself to sew just to make this version of a Mobiüs strip.
Also, here's a video of it in action: https://youtu.be/MNkhj7CLckw