Building Physical 3D Models

Abstract

Tangible Landscape works with many types of physical 3D models. When used to sculpt topography the physical model should be built of a malleable material such as sand or clay so that users can easily deform the surface. When used for object recognition the physical model can be built of a rigid material such as a wood product, foam, plastic, or resin. When both modes of interaction are combined the physical model should use malleable materials for the base and rigid materials for the objects. These models can be built by hand or digitally fabricated using 3D printing or computer numerically controlled (CNC) manufacturing. Tangible Landscape’s difference analytic can be used as an aid for hand-making models. The final model should be opaque, have a light color, and have a matte finish so that the projected image is crisp and vivid, since transparent materials such as acrylic cannot be 3D scanned. Some 3D printing and casting materials like resin may appear opaque, but have translucent properties—this will diffuse the projection. If we desire a very crisp and vivid image on a rigid model made of wood products or resins we recommend painting the model white. In this chapter we discuss different types of physical models and explain how to fabricate them.