{"id":6133,"date":"2019-03-11T14:08:54","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T19:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/?p=6133"},"modified":"2021-10-04T12:51:40","modified_gmt":"2021-10-04T17:51:40","slug":"3d-printing-authentic-fossil-samples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/?p=6133","title":{"rendered":"3D Printing Authentic Fossil Samples"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I had some biology students developing a guest lesson on fossils, and we got to thinking about how we could put real fossil examples in the hands of students. Here are our standards:<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/68QYapv2t08BWjtF0Faklc3lpT4SzE_1OUT9xE-rIE5AH5ippp2wFHvKxhHABI2lwSYbVtZi98q7kTMwd72dMAR0Gq9V9cEjlHd3ttQ2eSn1-v6K2S0MF_h1WVDOay0T9MrxoU0P\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/rX2G_KU2D6Y_ubDMEaxNGaIpLxdU07a57kLZYQH-05lOhr9pgkm1qNpJRhhIFGD208rIdVNNud_MdSAt3y6Japj-XgoJsu554fAd_YYSjSZpbSLhuUzGyYukMrydE8Jrqc7VkMPq\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Sure we can find some fossil examples on Thingiverse, but what we can find are somewhat hard to predict, their organization does not have a scientific basis, and their origin is not always clear (not to mention <a href=\"https:\/\/hackaday.com\/2013\/10\/02\/3d-printering-the-problem-of-thingiverse\/\">concerns <\/a>about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fabbaloo.com\/blog\/2018\/9\/21\/alternatives-to-thingiverse-2018-edition-1\">company practices<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2014\/05\/28\/makerbot-responds-to-critics-who-claim-it-is-stealing-community-ip\/\">owners of the platform<\/a>). I wanted to look elsewhere for better models provided by organizations more aligned with my professional values.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I found <a href=\"http:\/\/www.3d-fossils.ac.uk\/home.html\">GB3D Type Fossils<\/a>. Here is who they are and what they do (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.3d-fossils.ac.uk\/about.html\">from their own website<\/a>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-vivid-red-color\">\u201cThe GB3D Type Fossils Online project, funded by JISC, aims to develop a single database of the type specimens, held in British collections, of macrofossil species and subspecies found in the UK, including links to photographs (including &#8216;anaglyph&#8217; stereo pairs) and a selection of 3D digital models.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can search at their home page using appropriate scientific names for the samples you want to find. Check it out:<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/Q8wWuqcVwBIrIlnj_9WKVh3OCYtLtRYoxImOpPLcNzj1XAx4WSSqsq-Aa-9anzrBI32aeKoX0G26bGUEEoaWpKmvz_O6i5mwzKJ0I4jtetHiPyez52Wd7yoNdqYxLLxEqCxuIrR4\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>From the search results you can find actual research samples, linked to their papers and researchers. It comes with high-res photos and 3D scans of the sample.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/4svb2iek_3Os7ck-9_ayyceLiFGcBHh6CVx0S55UCxzUL6_iAbeCnIFoY8PLIa7tRK8HK5RjmbxaJhU-Jeowual9b3KwwLfVffYlmODHngV1u5gjMCmHAwqoIncKj69XPybaBskk\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>3D scans are still pretty finicky, so you\u2019ll want to groom the model before you go to print it. We\u2019re going to bounce back and forth between a couple programs to get this bryozoan ready to print:<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.meshmixer.com\/download.html\">Meshmixer<\/a> &#8211; Processing software from Autodesk, for fixing model errors and generating supports.<ul><li>Free, but not open source.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/slic3r.org\/\">Slic3r <\/a>&#8211; Slicing software for converting models to 3D printer instructions.<ul><li>Free and open source<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 1: Make the scan a \u201csolid\u201d &#8211; Meshmixer<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This will take the crazy scans you get from researchers and forcibly make it something slicing software can interpret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\u201cImport\u201d the .obj that you download from GB3D and extract from the ZIP file.<\/li><li>\u201cTransform\u201d the model and drag it up and over so it\u2019s positioned in the middle of your build plate.<\/li><li>\u201cMake Solid\u201d and let the computer fix this nonsense.<\/li><li>\u201cExport\u201d the model as an .stl <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/o80mllnBMcfQfSQECUJFbkFug7kF47auleCmWs-gTAkA2dF5hYFU3WQ71wIrPzIcmYfYMj_admCZCQ9DNXK1cXRy2gNOIyhxD90_hJOS2s-D_rVKbzXAdz3YNDaGe8khBMTlGY7t\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 2: Orient the model &#8211; Slic3r<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This will take your (probably wonky) model and orient it for printing. You might be able to skip this step, if you don\u2019t need to rotate your model. This example needs it, because the flat bottom is not actually aligned with the build plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\u201cAdd\u201d your recently exported .stl of the fossil.<\/li><li>Select the fossil model, and click \u201cRotate to Face\u201d (see below)<\/li><li>Click on something that should be the bottom.<ul><li>Even apparently flat surfaces are probably not truly flat. We need to fix this, so don\u2019t be fooled.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>\u201cExport STL\u201d and you can overwrite your previous .stl with this new file.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/eDGVXlcvkciZI9swgrIKcap2v11AcCxItQbkK6Ukfn0hKe5Kis58M3sEjTTD2ZFssSsKTdv35ngx-bhbiz_iTXAxfX0iNhnlwLbA4nk6eIEbHjZ3z7uQnnzKhY9rKbbBz3uSmess\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 3: Perfect the bottom &#8211; Meshmixer<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This will smooth the rough bottom surface, so our print will actually adhere to the build plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\u201cImport\u201d the recently updated .stl file of the fossil from Slic3r.<\/li><li>Use \u201cPlane Cut\u201d to chop off the very bottom surface (see below)<\/li><li>OPTIONAL &#8211; If your fossil requires supports, now is the time to add them.<ul><li>Find Meshmixer supports under \u201cAnalyze\u201d \u2192 \u201cOverhangs\u201d<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>\u201cExport\u201d the finalized model as an .stl<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/YeGsWDJT3zA_hXW2GKZzcBQSDWzdwSvBx6cNc9xcU3dEX7AlqZ369vNTmUiegXp-MYGLBR8R-Kb1agt6GX9iBfIgJZZmg-Yyc-uYzVsJ7GtDyjsF-3nfEBVZ3I15rTi3WdqmDc6W\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 4: Print &#8211; Slic3r (or whatever)<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The model is done and you can now print using whatever your preferred printing workflow may be. Slic3r does a good job creating Gcode, and a simple extension can convert it to .x3g if your printer requires that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"970\" height=\"616\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Printing.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6134\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Printing.jpg 970w, https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Printing-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Printing-768x488.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\" \/><figcaption>Don&#8217;t forget <a href=\"https:\/\/octoprint.org\/\">OctoPrint <\/a>&#8211; an awesome Raspberry pi printing option<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From here you can go give your students fossils to analyze! I imagine asking them to paint the samples to highlight what they think they are seeing could be cool. They could also color-code homologies across multiple fossil types.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How else could you use fossils in class? Share your ideas and photos of your awesome prints!<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I had some biology students developing a guest lesson on fossils, and we got to thinking about how we could put real fossil examples in the hands of students. Here are our standards: Sure we can find some fossil examples on Thingiverse, but what we can find are somewhat hard to predict, their organization does<br \/><a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/?p=6133\">+ Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1142,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kabt-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6133"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6138,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6133\/revisions\/6138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}