Gems - Embedding Acrylic Gems in Resin Inside a 3D Printed Frame
by adkeswani in Workshop > 3D Printing
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Gems - Embedding Acrylic Gems in Resin Inside a 3D Printed Frame
- Wanted to see if it was possible to put clear acrylic gems into a 3D printed frame to get a pixel-art-like result
- Answer: Yes, but it's tedious and requires further work
Supplies
- Gems (e.g. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CSSCJPWV)
- Resin (e.g. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09G359RYJ)
- Silicone mold (e.g. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DZFLQ177 fits the frame below nicely)
- Pipette (I am not sure which brand I used, but it was the disposable kind like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D127WV43/)
- 3D printer
- Tweezers
3D Printed Frame
- Used Fusion to create a frame and make an array of holes. Use the Compute Option > Optimized in the array dialog box.
- When 3D printing, increase the Line Width > Initial Layer as much as possible, or else the hole perimeters may fail to adhere to the print bed (e.g. I used 0.7mm width on a 0.4mm nozzle with my Bambu A1 Mini)
Downloads
Drop in the Gems
- I used tweezers to individually drop in each gem. Tedium.
- The side of the frame with the raised lip should be facing upwards. This way your resin will be contained by that lip and the flat side will be sitting flat against the mold when you apply the resin.
- Initially, I tried to ensure all the gems were pointing in the same direction (pointy end of gem facing up instead of flat top face), but it turns out this doesn't matter too much once the resin is applied.
Apply Resin
- (Carefully) Place the frame and gems into the center of the silicone mold, using tweezers to adjust any gems that accidentally get shifted out of place.
- Prepare the resin (I think I only needed about 60mL for the frame above, but YMMV. My resin came with 100mL mixing cups, so I would just prepare that much.)
- Use a pipette to only apply a small layer of resin to the entire surface. You want to avoid flooding the frame with too much resin because it will flow under the frame and then cause the gems to float up out of the frame, as shown in the edges of the attached example.
- Note: After curing, there will probably be some gaps/bubbles on the underside of the frame. Those familiar with resin will know how to fix or prevent this. I may attempt this again someday and try to solve it.