SWORD IN THE STONE

In early 2024 I began working with the free version of the SketchUp CAD program to explore its features and utility. I previously had done some AutoCAD designs in high school as part of my hardware team involvement with FIRST Robotics competitions. SketchUp has many similarities to AutoCAD, but with a very user-friendly interface to quickly start drafting models.

For an example SketchUp project I chose to model a sword stuck into stone as idealized in ancient mythos. Additionally, I decided that the final design would also become a 3D printed physical model since export of STL files are easily done in SketchUp. Having a 3D printed version as a project objective, I was careful in my design approach as to not create excessive overhangs or angles that would require extra 3D printing supports that either waste filament material or complicate its manufacture.  The final SketchUp digital model and render turned out very nice in addition to a scaled-down paperweight sized model created with an Ender 3D printer device. As a final detailing exercise, I hand-painted the 3D print to be similar to the digital design concept.