Mark's Adventures
Life's exciting.....get on board
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"Bringing the Imagination Alive"®
3D Printing & Woodworking
I just got started with 3D Printing the last 10 years - and have been using "RHINO" and "GRASSHOPPER" programs. All the designs are designed and programmed from scratch. For 3D printing, I send the files out to be printed. The woodworking is done in my shop in my home. A recent addition to my woodshop is the Axiom CNC (computer-numerically-controlled) milling machine for carving wood. All designs for the CNC work are also from scratch often importing 3D files from my CAD programs into VCarvPro for use with the CNC milling machine.
I carved this candleholder for our dining room table out of bloodwood using my CNC machine to simulate ripples on water coming from each of the candle areas.
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Just a very cool shape carved out of walnut on my CNC milling machine. Programmed in Rhino.
Made a few jewelry boxes on my CNC Milling machine. Made from laminated man-made materials.
And a second one with a different top pattern.
And this one is a slight variation with a brass piece in the center top.
Walnut cigar ashtray for a friend of mine. Inlay is with brass rods.
Walnut cube with brass inserts
Carved on my CNC machine. 3 inches across.
Blue Heron Alarm
For years Blue Heron would come early in the morning and snatch my Koi from the Koi pond. I've tried everything imaginable from blue Heron decoys to paintball guns. A few years ago I made this myself. It's an infrared motion detector and a super loud siren and flashing strobe light. If the Blue Heron start coming back, I put this out for a day or 2 and they are gone for the next 6 months. It is quite effective . Enjoy this 15 second video of this massive bird trying to steal my Koi at 6:30 AM.
I was playing around on my computer CAD system this last week and made a layout using odd block shapes. But put them exactly in the right place so that when you shine a light from one side at a specific point the shadow creates an image. So out of seemingly random blocks - one creates a profile of a beautiful woman. Then I carved this on my CNC milling machine out of wood. It actually works!
A 12 inch salad bowl. Bloodwood, Maple and Walnut. The bottom has a verse from the book of Ecclesiastes that is inscribed using my CNC milling machine, and then covered with clear epoxy
A 12 sided figure - Dodecahedron - with repeating pentagons on each side changing color as they spiral down. 3D printed in plastic. 3 inches in diameter.
Programmed in Rhino / Grasshopper
Last week I celebrated my 35th anniversary with my beautiful wife Sharon. We have traveled much of the world together over the years. So I made her a serving tray signifying our travels around the world. I started with laminated woods alternating dark blue and light colored. Then, using my CNC milling machine I carved the shapes to different depths to reveal the different colors, then covered the whole thing with a clear epoxy and finally sanded and polished it all down. The center piece of the compass is brass.
I just designed this beer bottle opener. It is designed to have a woven pattern that would be virtually impossible in the real world to fabricate with metal. But with 3D printing it is possible. Prnted in stainless steel. And of course a beer bottle opener this eloquent needs a nice resting place - CNC milled out of bloodwood. And I don't even like beer. Maybe it's time to acquire the taste.
Programmed in Rhino.
I took one of my original computer designs from a few years ago and had it 3D printed in brass. They first 3D print the object in wax, and then they do a lost wax process to form it in brass. The shape is a dodecahedron (12 sides and 20 vertices) with patterns on the faces and vertices that all wrap around to connect to each other and made to look like a bridge truss system from the 1850s. 3 inches in diameter. $600 printing cost - oouch! But it looks nice.
Programmed in Rhino/Grasshopper.
Two small turned bowls - Birdseye Maple and Walnut - with clear epoxy resin in cutout areas. 7 inch diameter.
The backside
A second one with a rectangular pattern
Copyright Mark Gottlieb 2022
Walnut serving board with maple and bloodwood strips. Inlaid with brass rods, tubes, and strips.
Bamboo serving tray. Black laminate on top. CNC milled the pattern on the rim - then filled the cut-outs with a clear epoxy resin. Then turned the final piece on the lathe to smooth it all out. 15" in diameter.
Copyright Mark Gottlieb 2022
Trinity 3 in 1. In Christianity, there is only one God, yet He manifests himself in three unique ways. I set out to design a single object that could represent this. I started at noon and was finished by dinnertime. This physical representation is one object, but when viewed from the three main orthographic views - top, front and right sides, you only see either the Father (triangle), Son (cross) and Holy Spirit (dove). Pretty cool. I have applied for a design patent on this shape.
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And here is a 3D printed sample. Printed in stainless steel.
Made this with a friend who wanted this for an upcoming Christmas gift for a family member. CNC milled from a man-made laminate mataerial with alternating colors. 18" wide.
Walnut bowl turned on my lathe. Accents in Bloodwood and Maple. Compass is 3D printed in Brass - with clear epoxy.
12 inches in diameter.
Walnut & Birdseye maple. Compass is 3D printed in brass. Clear epoxy coating. 9 inches in diameter.
Bowl turned on my lathe. Used some special man-made materials known as Richlite Cascade. Using their Black Diamond & Natural materials. I used carbide cutting tools (shown in the left photo on the wall) and it still felt like I was cutting stone. 11 inches in diameter.
This project has a story: I started this piece two days before my mountain biking accident (which left me partially paralized on my left side). I got halfway done. And this piece sat on my lathe for the last two years. I was afraid to finish it up because the lathe has a very powerful motor spinning 5 pounds of wood around at over a thousand RPM, and the carving is done by tools you have to hold with your hands. But I bit the bullet last weekend and gave it a go - finished it up on the two-year anniversary from my mountain biking accident. The center portion is carved on my CNC milling machine. Teak and aluminum – 16 inch diameter.
A Fruit plate.
Made on my CNC milling
machine out of walnut.
"Remote camera trigger". I was in a mountain biking accident in early 2020. My left side is partially paralyzed today and I am unable to lift my left hand up above chest height to help control the camera. So I 3D designed and printed a plastic holder into which I can stick a shutter release button. Now I can control all the camera settings with my right hand, and my left hand can rest on this remote button trigger on the tripod and control the shutter. This allows me to take photographs again. I also made a second one for a monopod with a slightly different mounting arrangement.
Copyright Mark Gottlieb 2021
"Lissajous curve" - just a pretty mathematical formula. 3D printed in plastic.
Programmed in Grasshopper/Rhino. 9 inches across.
"Mathematical Shell" is 3D printed in white plastic. Display base is walnut.
Programmed in Rhino-Grasshopper / VCarvePro.
'This cheese serving board is carved on my CNC milling machine out of Bamboo with the top and bottom layer consisting of compressed paper. Programmed in Rhino/VCarvePro.
The interlocking chain (2.5" diameter) was 3D printed in stainless steel. The display base is designed to carry over the chain theme. It was carved out of bamboo on my CNC milling machine.
Programmed in Rhino/VCarvePro.
'The Hidden Names of God'. The 3D printed (gold-plated steel) sphere has the top 21 names of God in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic used in the Bible embossed on the inside of the spiral sphere. Its up to the viewer to use the magnifying glass to search out the names printed on the inside of the spiral. The base is CNC milled out of Bloodwood. On the bottom side of the base is engraved the scripture from Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart."
Programmed in Rhino/Grasshopper/VCarvePro.
El Shaddai El Elyon El Olam (YHWH) Jireh Nissi Shalom Sabbaoth Maccaddesheem Ro’I Tsidkenu Shammah Elohim Israel Adonai Theos Kyrios Patēr Abba Iēsous Yeshua Pneuma
Copyright Mark Gottlieb 2020
A 12 sided 'Dodecahedron' CNC milled out of special bamboo wood with a thin laminate of black material on the top and bottom sides. Each side is cut separately and later glued together. 8 inches high.
Programmed in Rhino/Grasshopper/VCarvePro.
A ruler to help the grand-kids keep track of their height as they grow.
Photo taken just before I removed it from the CNC milling machine.
Water drop ripples in walnut. CNC milled. 20 inches long. Programmed in Grasshopper/Rhino.
A beautiful undulating surface of hexagons. CNC milled out of bloodwood. 12" wide.
Programmed in Grasshopper/Rhino.
A beautiful undulating surface of squares. CNC milled out of walnut. 12" square. Programmed in Grasshopper/Rhino.
Rotating squares. CNC milled out of bamboo. 24" square. Programmed in Grasshopper/Rhino.
Just a beautiful pattern. CNC milled out of Padduck. 12" square. Programmed in Grasshopper/Rhino.
Here is a short video showing the making of one of these patterns on my CNC milling machine. The rough pass is run first - and the fine pass - in this video - runs next.
A stepped beautiful geometric pattern. CNC milled out of particleboard (left) and out of a two color laminated plywood (right). 12" square and 9" x 11". Programmed in Grasshopper/Rhino.
A serving board for my wife. CNC milled out of walnut. Programmed in Vectric Pro.
I programmed two intersecting waves in Grasshopper. Then imported the file to my CNC (computer controlled) milling machine which then spent 15 hours carving away the wood from a sheet of plywood to reveal the wave pattern. The plywood is a perfect wood for this as it ends up looking like a topographical map. The wood used is a very special and expensive plywood with alternating blue and black layers. 10 "x 20"
The 13 second video to the right shows the CNC milling machine making the final smooth finish path after the rough path was complete.
CNC_waves
A wooden bowl. Turned on a lathe. The brown wood is Walnut. The reddish colored wood is a rare hardwood called Bloodwood. And two fine stripes of maple separate the two layers.
Desk Art. The center part is 3D printed stainless steel simulating woven rods. They are held by turned brass posts. Then the wood is CNC (computer) milled to reveal the same shape as the woven pattern.
As Hanukkah starts in a few days (Dec 22, 2019) - I thought I'd create a few Dreidels for the occasion. An old Jewish game commonly played at this time of year.
A Walnut and Maple cheese serving board with a Piano Keyboard theme. Just for fun.
My iPhone case broke - so, of course I designed a new one. Here it is:
The CAD file: And, the real thing 3D printed in plastic:
I just finished up this 10-inch high 3D Printed sculpture. Just an interesting shape. (Note - its actually one continuous loop - not 2 loops like it appears). Really. Printed in plastic. Base is Bloodwood with black epoxy and rubber o-ring material. Shape inspired by the work of Nikolaus Weiler. Programmed in Rhino.
Two bowls turned on a lathe. Both have a pattern in the center that was 3D printed in brass. Then black epoxy put in the pattern between the lines. All sanded smooth on the lathe. Walnut, Mahogany and Birds-eye Maple. The smaller bowl is my personal cereal bowl for my nightly ritual of a small bowl of cereal before bedtime.
3D Twisty Triangles. This 3D printed object comes out of the printer exactly like this ready to go. Zero assembly required. Click on the image to see the 20 second video of it's moves through 4 stages and back to the original. Programmed in Rhino as one piece - hinges and all.
4-Sided Mobius with lattice pattern. 3D Designed in Grasshopper / Rhino. Printed in White plastic - 4 inches across.
A silver bracelet for my wife. Designed in Grasshopper. 3D printed in Rhodium plated brass.
A fruit bowl. Designed in Grasshopper. Printed in white plastic. 10-inches on a side.
Just a fun repeating pattern I programmed in Grasshopper.
A walnut serving tray with brass and aluminum inserts. The center compass is 3D printed aluminum with black epoxy.
Retro-Sphere. This is just a made up structure to look like it was made out of the bridge construction techniques from the early 1900s. The patterns repeat and all connect as they twist and bend on the 12 sides and 20 vertices of the dodecahedron. Nothing touches another element as it twists and bends around. The 4-inch 3D printed model is printed out of stainless steel. Programmed in Grasshopper.
Copyright Mark Gottlieb 2019
Pentagons on each side of
a dedecahedron.
3D printed (in steel).
A wood tray and bowl with 3D printed details - gold plated steel. Programmed in Grasshopper. I turned the wood on my lathe. The tray wood is bloodwood and bowl is stained maple.
Pencil Holder.
3D printed in plastic.
Woven pattern created in Rhino.
Ornamental Bowl. Walnut, Bloodwood and Purpleheart woods turned on my lathe with 3D printed (in steel) ornementation.
Serving Tray. Bloodwood with maple & brass inlay. 3D printed brass compass designs - inlaid along with black epoxy. 3D printed nickel steel handles. Programmed in Rhino. 10" x 20". This design made it into the finals at the Purmundus-Challenge International 3D Printing Design Competion in Germany in 2018.
Nikon Coolpix Accessory. 3D printed in White Plastic. This accessory is perfect for close-up work with the Coolpix. A small camera has a smaller sensor - which means more depth of field. So, these little cameras are really good for close-up. Unfortunately - their strobes are so close to the subject that they burn out parts of the image and cause lots of unwanted shadows. This one-of-a-kind accessory I designed and printed fixes all that. Both above water and underwater.
The without and with examples. Note the harsh shadows and lighting without my accessory on the left. And the beautifully soft lighting with my accessory on the right. I love things when they work. Sweet.
Spiral Artwork. 3D printed in White Plastic then stained dark. Fully programmed in Grasshopper. Stained turned teak wood with leather trim. About 15 inches in diameter. This project was recognized as one of the finalists in the European Purmundus-Challenge annual International 3D printing show in November 2017.
Vase. 3D printed in White Plastic. Fully programmed in Grasshopper. About 5 inches high.
Sphericon. This shape and execution was inspired by Asher Nahmais' work. 3D printed in stainless steel. Fully programmed in Rhino & Grasshopper.
Magical Pyramid. The outside becomes the inside - becomes the outside. Fully programmed in Rhino.
3D printed in Metallic plastic - 7 inches tall.
Interlocking Rods. Four rods form a beautiful pattern as they weave together. 6-inch in length and 3D printed out of steel. Fully programmed in Rhino & Grasshopper.
Super Dodecahedron. Patterns repeat and all connect as they twist and bend on the 12 sides and 20 vertices of the dodecahedron. Nothing touches another element as it twists and bends around. The 3-inch 3D printed model was printed in stainless steel. Fully programmed in Rhino & Grasshopper.
Hidden Names of God. This spiral wraps around creating the spherical shape. Inside are hidden the names of God in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. 3D printed in nickel steel.
El Shaddai El Elyon El Olam (YHWH) Jireh Nissi Shalom Sabbaoth Maccaddesheem Ro’I Tsidkenu Shammah Elohim Israel Adonai Theos Kyrios Patēr Abba Iēsous Yeshua Pneuma
Copyright Mark Gottlieb 2018
Here is the program that creates the spiral band. It took me two days and countless hours to get this right.
This is a Dodecahedron (12 sided polygon) with spirals on it. Each spiral arm connects to another spiral arm on adjacent or opposite faces - yet never touches any other one along the way. (That was the hard part). Fully programmed in Grasshopper. One 3 inch and two 1.25 inch sizes. Printed in steel. One gold plated. The second image is an artistic rendering.
A vase (5 inches tall) printed in plastic. Fully programmed in Grasshopper.
Here is some chainmaille fabric I designed and printed in plastic.
Here are three variations of chainmaille
This optical illusion was 3D printed. It is about 1 ft tall. As it slowly spins, the ball slowly falls. Yet - it never gets there. Mmmmm?
A 3D printed Belt buckle. Stainless steel
3D printed Scotch Tape Holder. Stainless Steel.
3D printed sculpture - printed in metallic plastic - 6 inches
A new bracelet for my wife - polished silver
3D printed sea-shell in white plastic - 6 inches
A vase for dried flowers - 3D printed in black plastic.
3D printed Steel sphere. Printed with a woven pattern.
Rhodium plated brass bracelet. Cross-section is heart shapped. The heart twists a full 360'. On one end is an "S" for Sharon - and the other end has a "M" for Mark. This was a valentines gift for my wife.
Copyright Mark Gottlieb 2016
Just an artistic pattern. 3D printed in white plastic.
Candle. 3D printed black plastic shape which I poured candle wax into.
Lamp - 10 inches tall. 3D printed in plastic. Wooden base is Bloodwood, Maple and Walnut - with braided leather trim.
Copyright Mark Gottlieb 2016
Cross Pendant - Polished Silver over plastic structure
3D printed Pen. Plastic body, gold-plated brass details. Shake once and the pen tip comes out. Shake again and it retracts. Very cool. And the perfect size for a man's pocket.
Copyright Mark Gottlieb 2016
The exploded view of the pen. The inside cartridge is a purchased part.
Light Gray plastic with gold-plated brass
Dark Gray plastic with gold-plated brass
A Klein Bottle - beer bottle opener.
With a Klein bottle, the inside becomes the outside.
3D printed in stainless steel.
Concept copied from Bathesheba.
TRINITY CIRCLE: A 3 sided mobius. All 3 sides are actullay one long side. And, the 3 edges are actually one long ege. Yet they create 3 sides and 3 edges as it spins around. Sort of like.... Father, Son, Holy Spirit.... 3 unique - yet really only ONE.
3D printed in Nickel Stainless Steel. 1" diameter.
Some jewelry for my wife and the girls. A few gold-plated brass pieces - and some plastic pieces.
Copyright Mark Gottlieb 2016
Patents Pending
A 3D printed tie clip. Plastic and gold plated brass.
Gold plated Arabic name jewelry for my daughter
A Trivet and glass coasters.
3D printed in steel - gold plated.
Wood and plastic printed bases.
Copyright Mark Gottlieb 2016
3D Printed Letter Openers made of printed Stainless Steel - the top one is gold plated.
Copyright Mark Gottlieb 2016
Here is a video of a visual effect that shows up when you spin some 3D printed torus shapes at high speed with a high speed strobe.
Osprey Nest
We have Osprey (big eagle like birds) come in daily to our backyard to fish in the lake. Osprey like to build very large nests (100+ lbs) in March for their chicks. So, I built this platform which supposedly meets all the criteria for what Osprey like.
Click on the photo at the right to see the whole project.
Wood working
Above is a rolling pin with brass and rubber detail.
To the left is a coffee Pour-Over for an upcoming tradeshow a friend and I are attending. Birds-eye maple and Purple Heart wood.
Here are a few bowls shown while still in process and some shown fully complete.
Some bowls with aluminum inlay.
Copyright Mark Gottlieb 2016
Copyright Mark Gottlieb 2016
Copyright Mark Gottlieb 2016
BOXES: Jewelry boxes. With brass inlay below and with aluminum inlay and aluminum handle at right.
Copyright Mark Gottlieb 2016
Wood Jewelry Box with 3D printed metal hardware.
Some wood bowl projects with 3D printed accents of Stainless Steel
A 3D designed and printed (stainless steel) doorbell cover - also to match the stained glass front door.