Celtic Knots in 3D

    Andrew Crawford August 19, 2022

    I came up with a relatively simple workflow for creating 3D models of Celtic knots, used those to create depth maps and, used the depth maps to do 3D carvings on the Glowforge and the Nomad 883 desktop CNC. The modeling process goes from a pencil sketch through Inkscape to produce a reference image, then into Nomad Sculpt (which has no direct association with the Nomad 883 CNC machine, despite the name collision) on the iPad to model the knot. I exported the knot models to Blender to make the depth maps, which are, in turn, used by the Glowforge UI and MeshCAM to create appropriate jobs for their respective machines.

    If you are interested in modeling Celtic knots in 3D, I made a video walking through the workflow. It’s longer than a lot of my videos at around 16 minutes but, I try not to waste too much of your time watching software interface fumbling or machines running. There are also chapter markers in the video description if you just want a particular segment. Let me know if you find any of it useful.

    Square Celtic knot #2 render
    Square Celtic knot render
    Square Celtic knot #2 in Nomad Sculpt
    Square Celtic knot in Nomad Sculpt
    Triangular Celtic knot with default white shading in Nomad Sculpt
    Triangular Celtic knot with default white shading in Nomad Sculpt
    Glowforge 3D engrave settings
    Glowforge 3D engrave settings
    Glowforge 3D engrave pass #1
    Glowforge 3D engrave pass
    Glowforge 3D engrave pass #2
    Glowforge 3D engrave pass
    Glowforge 3D engrave pass #3
    Glowforge 3D engrave pass
    Glowforge 3D engrave pass #4 (Cut)
    Glowforge 3D engrave pass #4 (Cut)
    Circle of triangular Celtic knots carved by laser and CNC
    Circle of triangular Celtic knots carved by laser and CNC
    Square Celtic Knot #1 carved by laser and CNC
    Square Celtic Knot carved by laser and CNC
    Square Celtic Knot #2 carved by laser and CNC
    Square Celtic Knot carved by laser and CNC
    Square Celtic Knot #2 carved by laser and CNC (detail)
    Square Celtic Knot carved by laser and CNC (detail)
    Square Celtic Knot #2 carved by laser and CNC (close detail)
    Square Celtic Knot carved by laser and CNC (close detail)
    Square Celtic Knot #2 carved by laser and CNC (close detail angled)
    Square Celtic Knot carved by laser and CNC (close detail angled)
    Triangular Celtic Knot Depthmap
    Square Celtic Knot 2 Depthmap
    Square Celtic Knot 1 Depthmap
    Square Celtic Knot Single Image Stereogram
    Square Celtic Knot Single Image Stereogram
    Square Celtic Knot 2 Single Image Stereogram
    Square Celtic Knot 2 Single Image Stereogram
    Triangle Celtic Knot Single Image Stereogram
    Triangle Celtic Knot Single Image Stereogram

    Celtic Spirals Bookmarks

    Andrew Crawford July 31, 2022
    Celtic Spirals Bookmark with Gold Ribbon
    Celtic Spirals Bookmark with Blue Ribbon

    This kirigami Celtic spirals bookmark is a variant of the pattern I used for embossing the purple velvet for the last dice bag. The gold and the smoke blue ribbon both look really good with the ice gold stock.

    Slotted Dice Reliquary

    Andrew Crawford February 17, 2022

    I had an idea for a slotted tripod stand design and, thought it would be fun to work out the details. These dice reliquaries are the result.

    These are laser-cut from walnut and cherry plywood with edges colored with copper and silver metallic Sharpies, respectively. I also finished my MDF prototype with Black 3.0.

    I made a short video showing of the design and manufacturing process, along with some beauty shots.

    Update: You can now purchase one of these wooden dice reliquaries for your favorite die! They are available at the Adventuring Club website or, from Board Game Geek.

    Walnut and Gold Dice Reliquary
    Walnut and Gold Dice Reliquary
    Walnut and Gold Dice Reliquary
    Walnut and Gold Dice Reliquary
    Walnut and Gold Dice Reliquary
    Walnut and Gold Dice Reliquary
    Walnut and Gold Dice Reliquary
    Cherry and Silver Dice Reliquary
    Cherry and Silver Dice Reliquary
    Cherry and Silver Dice Reliquary
    Cherry and Silver Dice Reliquary
    Cherry and Silver Dice Reliquary
    Dice Reliquaries
    Dice Reliquaries
    Black Dice Reliquary
    Black Dice Reliquary

    Purple Velvet Embossed Celtic Spirals Dice Bag

    Andrew Crawford January 4, 2022

    I made another dice bag with a new embossed velvet design.  Some incremental improvements to the process for making the embossing plate: I switched to using 3M 468MP Adhesive Transfer Tape for the glue-up.  It seems every bit as solid as the wood glue and, was a lot less hassle.  More of the details are covered in the short update video below.

    The kumihimo drawstring for this bag was done with glow floss for one of the colors and purple for the other.  The glow from the floss is noticeable in the dark but, not especially bright.

    By comparison, the 3D resin printed glow-in-the-dark skull beads are quite bright, especially after charging up with a UV lamp for 30 seconds or so.  I used the Siraya Tech Craft resin for those.

    [Amazon Associates links benefit a local arts organization.]

    Spirals Velvet Embossing Plate
    Spirals velvet embossing plate.
    Spirals Velvet Embossing Plate
    Spirals velvet embossing plate.
    Purple Velvet Embossed with Celtic Spirals
    Purple Velvet Embossed with Celtic Spirals
    Green Velvet Embossed with Celtic Spirals
    Green Velvet Embossed with Celtic Spirals
    Purple Velvet Embossed with Celtic Spirals (Ruler and Pencil for Scale)
    Purple Velvet Embossed with Celtic Spirals (Ruler and Pencil for Scale)
    Purple Velvet Dice Bag
    Purple velvet dice bag embossed with Celtic spirals pattern, glow floss kumihimo braid and, glow-in-the-dark skull beads.
    Purple Velvet Dice Bag
    Purple velvet dice bag embossed with Celtic spirals pattern, glow floss kumihimo braid and, glow-in-the-dark skull beads.
    Purple Velvet Dice Bag
    Purple velvet dice bag embossed with Celtic spirals pattern, glow floss kumihimo braid and, glow-in-the-dark skull beads.
    Purple Velvet Dice Bag
    Purple velvet dice bag embossed with Celtic spirals pattern, glow floss kumihimo braid and, glow-in-the-dark skull beads.
    Purple Velvet Dice Bag
    Purple velvet dice bag embossed with Celtic spirals pattern, glow floss kumihimo braid and, glow-in-the-dark skull beads.
    Purple Velvet Dice Bag (Glowing in the Dark)
    Purple velvet dice bag embossed with Celtic spirals pattern, glow floss kumihimo braid and, glow-in-the-dark skull beads (low-light, glowing).
    Purple Velvet Dice Bag
    Purple velvet dice bag embossed with Celtic spirals pattern, glow floss kumihimo braid and, glow-in-the-dark skull beads.
    Purple Velvet Dice Bag (Bottom)
    Purple velvet dice bag embossed with Celtic spirals pattern, glow floss kumihimo braid and, glow-in-the-dark skull beads (bottom, showing Celtic knotwork ring and Evermore ambigram logo).
    Purple Velvet Dice Bag (Lining)
    Purple velvet dice bag embossed with Celtic spirals pattern, glow floss kumihimo braid and, glow-in-the-dark skull beads (showing yellow silk habotai lining).

    Hexagonal Box

    Andrew Crawford December 26, 2021
    Hexagonal Box (Side)
    Hexagonal Box (Side)
    Hexagonal Box (Bottom)
    Hexagonal Box (Bottom)
    Hexagonal Box (Top)
    Hexagonal Box (Top)

    This is a quick box I designed to package one of my little drawstring bags.

    You can download the plain version below to make your own hexagonal box.

    Hexagonal Box Pattern

    This file is for personal, non-commercial use only.  Note that, by referencing these, you are agreeing to release any variations you create under identical terms.

    Attribution-Creative Commons NonCommercial-ShareAlike

    Hexagonal Box Pattern (SVG)

    180-Degree-Open Pop Up Snowflakes

    Andrew Crawford December 17, 2021

    I played with several variations of this snowflake design back around 2002. There were a couple 180-degree-open card variants that I liked. They were both designed to be cut as four panels that folded together to produce a card with an integrated backing. I had some limited access to a laser cutter for a couple hours to produce the cards. I ended up going with the simpler of the two designs for the production run. That one was less sensitive to smoke deposition and, less fragile.

    I always wanted to play with the other design a little more and, in 2020, I finally did a run of those on my own laser.

    Smoke deposition was still a challenge, especially on a stock with a pearlescent finish and a little tooth. There is almost always some trade-off with that sort of thing and expedient production. I chose not to apply all of the full repertoire of techniques for these, opting to reduce wear and tear on expensive work-holding mats and, to make production faster.

    180-Degree Snowflakes Pop Up Card (2020)
    180-Degree Snowflakes Pop Up Card (2020)
    180-Degree Snowflakes Pop Up Card (2020)
    180-Degree Snowflakes Pop Up Card (2020)
    180-Degree Snowflakes Pop Up Card (2020)
    180-Degree Snowflakes Pop Up Card (2020)
    180-Degree Snowflakes Pop Up Card (2020)
    180-Degree Snowflakes Pop Up Card (2020)
    180-Degree Snowflakes Pop Up Card (2020) (back)
    180-Degree Snowflakes Pop Up Card (2020) (back)
    180-Degree Snowflakes Pop Up Card (original prototype from 2002)
    180-Degree Snowflakes Pop Up Card (original prototype from 2002)
    Snowflake Pop Up Card (2002)
    180-degree-open origamic architecture/kirigami Snowflake Pop Up Card from 2002
    Snowflake Pop Up Card (2002)
    180-degree-open origamic architecture/kirigami Snowflake Pop Up Card from 2002
     

    I made a short production video featuring the jig-in-place technique, dry transfer adhesive and removing stray glue.