20 Layers Paper

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, but I’ve been busy over the last couple of months trying to push the zoetrope stuff forward while I had some spare time. This is the first quick test of the new system that I just filmed, trying to create an overall parent shape and movement before focusing in on the individual surfaces of each layer…

So I decided a while ago that I wanted to construct some sort of base that would allow me to accurately place multiple layers of animation in the zoetrope, and after quite a few false starts with various laser cutting, CNC routing and aqua cutting companies (all of which said my plans were too delicate for their machines), I finally arrived at 3D printing as a solution.

This is the final design, in Sketchup, that was printed by 3D Creation Lab. After a couple of re-designs (mainly to get the cost down, as the price is based on the volume of the material being printed) I decided to go for this modular approach, which allows me to replace any of the 33 ‘spokes’ that plug into the central piece, should they break.

And ^ here’s ^ the actual base - I’m pretty happy with it, even though my massive hands do find it a bit tricky and fiddly to insert all the layers. I’m just trying out various designs for now to determine the best materials to use and how far I can push them with regards to height and weight etc. and I’ll be playing about with transparencies and printed animations on each of the 20 surfaces as well.