You may print customized 3D snowflakes with the names of your family and friends members magically hidden inside their snowy crystals!  Comply with these straightforward steps, and your mates can be impressed. So will you!

You want the next software program in your system:

• Adobe Illustrator, or not less than some drawing program that means that you can convert textual content to outlines; a program that may flip, duplicate, rotate, and mix shapes into compound shapes, and that may save information in a format that your 3D software program can import.

• 3D software program: I’m utilizing 3DS Max as a result of it might import Illustrator 3 information as splines. (That’s proper: Illustrator 3, not CS3. Old-fashioned.)

• Your 3D printer software program. I’m utilizing a MakerBot Replicator 2 (MakerWare), printing with MatterHackers white PLA filament.  MatterControl can be a nice software program selection for RepRap customers.

Step 1. In Illustrator (or different): Kind a reputation of a buddy. I’m utilizing “MatterHackers” for instance. Select a font that’s not too loopy and that’s daring sufficient to print properly.

Step 2. Convert the textual content to outlines: Utilizing the stable arrow device, choose your textual content field, then below Kind > Create Outlines.

Step 3. In case your buddy’s title has a lower-case “i” or “j” then the dots will fall off whenever you print. Each form should join properly with each different form to provide a viable snowflake that you may proudly hold out of your tree. Preserve this in thoughts whereas continuing to Steps 4 and 5.

Step 4. Go to Impact > Distort and Remodel > Free Distort; use your mouse to create a distorted form as within the instance right here. The outcome ought to look about proper for half of 1 arm of a six-armed snowflake, then go to Object > Broaden Look. Save your work: You would possibly want to regulate this later. I do know I did! The “MatterHackers” snowflake took me two tries.

Step 5. Utilizing the Replicate device, select Horizontal and Copy. Holding the Shift key, transfer the ensuing form down, leaving some area between the right-side-up and upside-down variations of your buddy’s title.

Step 6. Draw a protracted, skinny rectangle between the 2 names that barely covers the underside of the highest one and the highest of the underside one. Align and heart it rigorously to overlap the 2 shapes equally. Utilizing your Pathfinder palette, unite all shapes into one compound form.

Step 7. Utilizing the Replicate device once more, flip and duplicate the whole form on a vertical axis, and transfer the outcome to the precise, once more utilizing your Shift key to maintain all the pieces in line.

Step 8. Choose all of your shapes, use your Rotate device at 60 levels, clicking Copy, after which do it as soon as extra. This will provide you with a snowflake form. Be certain corners overlap sufficient within the center to offer sturdy connections. Use your Illustrator Pathfinder palette to mix each form into one compound form. The ascender within the “okay” within the title “MatterHackers” occurred to overlap its mirrored offspring. This may both contribute to the power of your snowflake or completely confuse your pc, inflicting spurious outcomes. Hopefully your mates have shorter names with out too many ascenders or descenders or dots. If not, discover new buddies with names like “Ron” or “Jan.”

Step 9. Save your file as an Illustrator 3 doc. Should you attempt to put it aside as CS5 or no matter, traces of code can be too lengthy. Your file format must be importable as an editable spline on your 3D software program.

Step 10. In 3DS Max (or different), select File > Merge, and discover your file. Perhaps this received’t work. If not, again up a number of steps and check out a unique font or regulate your shapes. Perhaps your compound form wasn’t full? Strive ungrouping and utilizing the Pathfinder device once more. Once you’re assured that you’ve got an extrudable spline, then extrude it about 0.1 inches.

Step 11. Export your file into .stl format, or no matter your printer prefers.

Step 12. My MakerBot is happiest printing snowflakes between three to 5 inches in diameter. This MatterHackers snowflake is 4.75 inches from nook to nook.

At first, whenever you present these snowflakes to your mates, they received’t discover their names in any respect. This gives all types of enjoyable alternatives so that you can step by step reveal these magically hidden crystalline phrases in no matter artistic methods you’ll be able to think about!