Eyes of David

White PETG - 3m x 1m x 1m (L x W x H)

SKILLS USED: Solidworks CAD, Blender, Meshmixer, FDM 3D printing

The Idea: I had noticed a skills gap at work I wanted to improve upon; the ability to integrate an imported Art Department asset directly into a design (instead of just using it for reference or dimensions). I used the expressive eyes of Michelangelo’s David as the subject of the project.

I downloaded a STL file of the statue’s head and used a combination of Meshmixer and Blender to remove the parts of the model I didn’t intend to use, lower the poly count (as an aesthetic choice [and to help with Solidworks crashing]), and shell out the model to 1.5mm thick. I wanted the whole sculpture to glow when illuminated from behind.

In Solidworks I created a 100mm x 100mm grid to print the model as a series of tiles.

In the corner of each tile I extruded 3mm x 3mm squares as part of the system to hold all of the tiles together. The other half of that system was a series of 2x1 and 2x2 connectors to clip over groups of 2 or 4 pegs and hold them together.

Lastly I designed the goalpost mounting frame to support the finished piece. I used cheap extendable curtain rails as the major supports, modeling the terminal blocks directly to interior contours of the face.

And a few work in progress shots from the build.