Thing-O-Saurus Claw by gavinmurphy

Thingiverse citizen gavinmurphy scanned the cast from a fossilized claw of an Allosaurus from the Peabody Museum with Autodesk’s 123D Catch.

It’s interesting to think about how many generations this plastic replica is removed from the original claw itself.  The first generation would be the original claw from the Allosaurus.  Depending upon the type of fossilization, the original claw would be replaced over time by mineral deposits in the shape of the original claw left in the surrounding material.  This would make the fossil itself either a second or third generation copy. ¹  The fossil was then cast into a mold once it was dug up, making that the third or fourth generation copy.  The mold was used to cast a replica, which would be a fourth or fifth generation copy.  That replica was photographed by gavinmurphy, making the fifth or sixth generation copy.  Those photos were converted into a 3D image by 123D catch, making the sixth or seventh generation copy.  The DWG or OBJ file created by 123D would have to be converted to an STL for printing, making the STL the seventh or eighth generation copy.  The STL was then printed as you’ve seen above, making the eighth or ninth generation copy.  The photo above would then be a ninth or tenth generation copy.

Whether nine or ten generations, this awesome claw is pretty much a must-print item if you’re looking to show off what a 3D printer can do.  (Oh, you want a dinosaur?  How about a life-sized dinosaur claw?!) ²

Untitled by gavinmurphy

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1. Second generation if the original claw became a fossil directly.  Third generation if the fossil was created as minerals took the shape of the claw from the surrounding material.  Also a third generation copy if the original claw disintegrated leaving a claw-shaped depression in the material around where it used to be. [↩]
2. Do you remember that bit from Jurassic Park where the kid calls the veloceraptor a six foot turkey?  I now finally have a good reason to memorize Sam Neill’s awesome response. [↩]

NOTHING says Christmas more than an animatronic 3D printed dinosaur skull singing “Jingle Bells.”  In the creator, rweaving‘s, own words:

It was my son’s idea to create a dinosaur skull that would sing jingle bells. This is the result of that project. The skull is controlled via servo motor triggered by the music. The skull, stand and mechanics were printed using a Makerbot Thingomatic. You can make your own by going to http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:14248

But, perhaps the best part of all was rweaving’s comment afterwards:

I love being able to take my 4 year old’s crazy idea and making it into reality.

Can you imagine if your parents had a Thing-O-Matic?  Just look back at some of the wacky things your parents put up on their fridge or office wall, the wacky amazing things that were only possible in your 4-year-old mind… and now think about how insanely cool the world would have been if your parents had said, “Sure thing kiddo, we can print that.”

Untitled by rweaving

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Protoceratops at the ROM by clothbot

As I was typing up the last post I recalled Clothbot’s recent submission to Thingiverse.  While at the Royal Ontario Museum he took about 15 photos of a protoceratops fossilized skeleton on display.  Once home he passed the photos through My3DScanner.com and ended up with a 3D model of the dinosaur.  Clothbot pointed out to me that proper lighting is key – only 12 of the 15 photos were acceptable.  Avoiding too many shadows or a washed out background is important to getting a final model that won’t have holes in it.

So, it would seem anyone with a camera phone and an internet connection might just be carrying around their own bionic eyes.  What I’m dying to see is a model uploaded to Thingiverse that was created by mounting a camera on a quadrocopter, taking a photo or video, and turning a large landmark into a 3D model.

Untitled by clothbot

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Dino by foxdewayne

If you want something that it doesn’t yet exist, there’s only one sure-fire way to get it.  That’s to become a Maker.  Thingiverse citizen said:

Well I’ve been hoping that someone would make one of these. Seeing that no one did, I decided to get off my butt and make one myself. I hope others will have some fun with it as well.

I agree that Thingiverse was a poorer place just three hours ago before it had a printable dinosaur skeleton.  Thanks to Foxdewayne my daughter will never have to live in a printable-dinosaur-skeleton-less world.

Untitled by foxdewayne

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