Art/Design Look Input Please

[JudgeRob]

I'm in the process of making some custom tokens and my lack of design aptitude is rearing its ugly head.  I've cranked out a few prototypes and am trying to decide which is more visually appealing before I make more final versions.  These were 3D printed, so the final one's won't look as sloppy or have all the lines in them.  At this point, I am mostly concerned with the color scheme.

Here is a set of three.  The left is bronze, the right is copper (more shiny) and the middle is a blend of the two together.  So this option would just be a straight metallic color like an actual metal token.


Here are a couple I tried to age a bit.


With this set, the one on the left has no metallic paint, just my sad paint skills.  The other two have a combination of metallic for the base with color for the raised graphics.


And here is another weathered bronze with painted center:


Any input is welcome. Or any new ideas too... 

[javeryh]

This is such a neat idea!  I think you are on the right track.

[JudgeRob]

Thanks.  Truth be told, I'm getting kind of frustrated.  It's so hard to try and get decent looking results with printing and painting everything so friggin small!  I'm going to update my build thread pretty soon with some more prototypes.  The good news is, I am learning some Tinkercad by jumping right in. 

So, which look do you like better, all metal, no metal or metal with color?

[bperkins01]

I like the first all bronze token myself... 
No color
like a coin.

Maybe a bit boring - but it rings a bit authentic to me.

[barrymossel]

Don't paint them. I looks really bad in my opinion...

How will you make the final ones? Also by printing them? Will you be able to get great results with that? And add far more detail? I sorry to say. but atm they don't come even close to something like this honestly:

[PL1]

You might want to consider using Inkscape and OpenSCAD like I did for the numbers and outer circle on the Ikari Warriors dust washer.

- https://makezine.com/projects/3d-print-custom-stamps-using-inkscape-and-openscad/

- https://www.instructables.com/id/Convert-any-2D-image-to-a-3D-object-using-OpenSCAD/

With the right combination of art, vector stroke width, layer thickness, and slicer settings, you should be able to make some great tokens.   


Scott
P.S. Hand-painting the tokens doesn't look promising, but you might consider spray painting or a print-coating epoxy like this.

[JudgeRob]

How will you make the final ones? Also by printing them?

Not entirely.  Not unless I come up with a totally different method (which I might if this doesn't pan out).  I already have the PVC coins which are nice and smooth, so I only need to print whatever details I want on them. 

Obviously, because they are going through a coin door, there are big restrictions on the size.  And by size, that means thickness too, which severely limits things.  The tokens are already about 1mm thick, which does not leave a lot of room to work with, especially if I have details on the front and back.  I actually widened my coin slot a bit so I have some more breathing room (about 3.5mm thickness).

And add far more detail? I sorry to say. but atm they don't come even close to something like this honestly

Yeah, let me just dispel any notion that my 3d printer is going to make something anywhere close to the detail of a coin.  I came to that sad conclusion a while ago.  The nozzle is .4mm so that gives you a sense of the level of detail.  I might abandon the 3d printing idea altogether...

This size/detail of lettering and objects (bats) is the best I can get so far.  If I go smaller with the letters they start to get garbled or don't print completely.

With the right combination of art, vector stroke width, layer thickness, and slicer settings, you should be able to make some great tokens.   

I wish!  My 3d print skills are pretty poor.  Tinkercad is all I've dove into thus far.  And I have a $150 printer, so I don't know how much I can fairly expect out of it.  A token is 25mm across, so it's a pretty small print space.

P.S. Hand-painting the tokens doesn't look promising, but you might consider spray painting or a print-coating epoxy like this.

That's an interesting product.  I was thinking about using bondo or something sand-able to smooth out surfaces.  I was actually playing around with bondo and etching/stamping letters into it, but then it would have an "inverted" look, since coins have raised images, not depressed/stamped. 

Anyway, I'm pretty frustrated, but thanks for the replys.

[PL1]

This size/detail of lettering and objects (bats) is the best I can get so far.  If I go smaller with the letters they start to get garbled or don't print completely.

How do the smaller letters look in Cura's "layers" view?

That's how I figured out that the missing fine lines (0.41mm in this example) on the Ikari Warriors dust washer were the result of the slicer program overlooking them, not a printing problem.


Scott

[JudgeRob]

The letters start breaking up.  I can see it in Cura, but I don't know what to do about it... 

[PL1]

The letters start breaking up.  I can see it in Cura, but I don't know what to do about it...

You need to make sure the details are thick enough so Cura will always recognize them.

On the dust washer above, 0.41mm and 0.45mm lines were sometimes too fine for Cura, but 0.6mm lines worked perfectly for a 0.4mm nozzle.

Easy way:
- Try using a different font -- bold or thicker.

Not-as-easy way:
- Generate the logo and text.
- Use Inkscape to vectorize the logo and text.
- Export to DXF file
- Import into OpenSCAD
- Render and generate STL file

Here's a fairly detailed procedure based on the tutorials linked above and several other sources.

Convert an image to DXF for OpenSCAD

1. Prep the image in MSPaint.

2. Open Inkscape.

3. File -- Document Properties (Shift+Ctrl+D)
==> Set document size, units = mm

4. View -- Zoom -- Page

5. File -- Import
==> Import image into inkscape

6. Select image (resizing arrows visible)

7. Path -- Trace Bitmap (Shift+Alt+B)
Adjust settings.  When preview looks good, click OK then close the "Trace Bitmap" window.

8. Select then delete the original image, leaving the traced path.

9. Clean up the path as desired.

10. Position and scale image
(Ctrl+Click+Drag Corner to maintain ratio _or_ enter the position/size info via the Inkscape toolbar)

11. Select everything (Ctrl+A) and ungroup all groups. (Ctrl+Shift+G)

12. Path -- Object to path (Ctrl+Shift+C)
==> Converts everything into paths.

13. Ungroup all groups again. (Ctrl+Shift+G)

14. Path -- Union

15. Open the layer window (Ctrl+Shift+L), create new layer, name the new layer. i.e. Layername

16. Cut/paste the paths onto the new layer.

17. Delete the old layer.

18. File -- Save

19. File -- Save as and select “OpenSCAD DXF Output” as the file type.

20. SCAD code
translate([X, Y, Z])
linear_extrude(height = 2, convexity = 10)
import(file = "Filename.dxf", layer="Layername");

The .zip file contains the clipart, logo, SVG (Inkscape), DXF, SCAD, and STL files.
- Logo made in the OpenOffice version of PowerPoint. (didn't save the file)
- Font is Arial Black.
- Token is 20mm diameter


Scott

[05SRT4]

I have a roll of Stainless Steel or Copper filament id like to test and see how these coins turn out.

I am at work now but will print some when I get home.

I've been messing with Fusion360 for the last couple years and might be able to help with redesigning the tokens, specifically the ones with text. Thin Lines can be a pain when messing with slicing and printing.

Have you thought of printing just the base coins, then print the art on sticker paper? Depending on the paper and print quality you may get some good results. Just another option to consider.

[keilmillerjr]

I have a roll of quarters I’ll sell you for $10 + shipping.

[yotsuya]

I have a roll of quarters I’ll sell you for $10 + shipping.

Best idea yet!

[Mike A]

I think you are going to have to try something else. It doesn't look like your 3D printer is up to the task.

[JudgeRob]

I'm thinking a laser cutter is needed for the kind of detail a coin would have. 

Have you thought of printing just the base coins, then print the art on sticker paper? Depending on the paper and print quality you may get some good results. Just another option to consider.

Actually, I already have perfect base coins and some great sticker sets from Slammedniss  I'm just trying to have some fun with the 3d printer and see if I could print a thin layer of graphic/letters to glue on top and make custom ones with some depth to them.  In fact, I need to use these as a base b/c they have the RFID chip embedded.  (Side note: I have ordered some RFID stickers, so I might have some other options, but that's for another day!)
 

I would love to see what you can do with metal filament! 

Thanks for all the suggestions PL1.  I've been wondering how to fine tune the pathing of the layers.   

Although I might still paint them with copper or bronze...  I'm going to go in a slightly different direction.  I'm not going to try an mimic what an actual coin would look like with really fine details and small print.  I'm not looking to make a whole set of identical tokens.  In fact, that's not really what I need.  All of my tokens are the same size and I need these special ones to be obviously distinguishable.  There's only going to be one of each.  I want to be able to look at them from a distance and be able to pick out the one I want.  I might still try having both a graphic and text together, but I'll probably opt for either one big symbol (like the galaga ship) or big, bold text across the center (like "SPORTS").