Pin Screen Toy - Pixel Edition

A 3D printed take on the classic pin screen toy.

Place an item below the pins and they'll move to mimic the contours of the object!

https://youtu.be/ewmXIO9IlzE

https://youtu.be/OHlQux6WmxQ

Printing

• Print spacers and caps so that the hexagonal nut shaped hole is facing up to avoid overhangs. • Test printing only 4 pins at a time to make sure your they'll stick well to your print bed. If they do, slowly increase the quantity per print. • If pins are curling of the bed, add a sacrificial 1 layer high rectangle to the end of the pin, as shown in the video above.

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Required Parts

• 576 pins • 1 Grid Top • 1 Grid Bottom • 4 Spacers (use 6mm for a compact design or 12mm for more stability) • 8 M3 nuts. • 4 M3 bolts that are long enough to pass through the nuts, grids, and the spacers you chose.

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Optional parts

• 4 Spacers to act as feet. Chose a length that looks good. • 4 Caps to hide the head of each bolt. • Thin sheet of plexiglass with holes for 4 bolts to act as a lid. If adding a plexiglass lid, you'll also need 4 more spacers to hold the lid above the pins. • Plexiglass Frame (Not necessary for plexiglass, but provides a visual edge and support)

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Assembly

• Align both grid pieces so their holes match up. There is a tiny circular intend on one side to help orient these pieces. • Insert an M3 nut into each of the 4 spacers. • Place 4 spacers between both grid pieces and secure with the 4 M3 bolts. It does not matter if the bolt head faces up or down, so choose the direction that looks good to you. • If no optional parts are being added, secure the bolt with the remaining 4 M3 nuts.

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How I Designed This

This was a lesson in getting around the limits of 3D printing! Printing tall and thin items (like a pin) vertically is normally torture on a printer.

This required a new pin design - one which could be printed sideways, and still have no overhangs. By placing the long neck of the pin on one side, and changing the head to a hexagon, each pin is now much easier to print!

Can I sell copies of this?

Yes! This project was shared under the Creative Commons - Attribution license.

This license allows selling copies, but you must provide proper attribution, as detailed in the license itself.

Please note that any other projects linked here (remixes or related projects) may have a different license. Please respect those licenses.

Click here for attribution examples

Design and description by 3D Printy , licensed CC-BY.