3D Print Your Data

Got multidimensional data? Print it out! Learn how to 3D print numerical data with the open-source tools, Tangible, OpenSCAD and Slic3r. This poster presents a case study and model demonstrating the necessary steps to transform your data from CSV to cylinder, spreadsheet to spheroid, text to torus (or to any number of other fun representative shapes). Our model “clock” translates output from a continuous glucose monitor into a display of blood glucose fluctuations throughout a typical day. With a simple Python script, we import the Tangible library to convert those data into OpenSCAD code. OpenSCAD then renders the shape, allowing us to export an STL file that we can take to the friendly students in our makerspace lab for extrusion on one of our Prusa i3 MK3 3D printers. There, we put the final touches on our model – scaling and smoothing it with Slic3r and choosing our color – and print.

Presenter(s): Thomas San Filippo


3:20 PM