BenchoffHey, I made a bunch of weird, quarter-scale retrocomputers. This is a thread, so feel free to share.
Or check out the documentation in non-mastodon form:
Ricardo B�nffy@violenceworks Someone (I'd suggest someone in a reputable museum) should 3D scan classic computers and their parts so that we could 3D print part replacements (and little adorable computers as well).
@rbanffy Okay, first thing you need to realize is that these *are not scale models*. They _look like_ scale models. Directly scaling them down would mean the details are too fine; take a look at the BeBox -- there should be three 5.25" drive bays instead of the logo, but instead I made the logo huge.
It's more impressionistic than a 'scale model'. This is due to simply not being able to get the detail from a 3D printer, or the scaled-down features that would be too small to see.
@violenceworks Oh I know. A scale model wouldn't work well - details would be too small to implement (mostly). And they look better as "kawai" versions of the desktops of yore.
Still, having those 3D scans would, besides the preservation aspect, be a nice starting point for any such work with cartoonish adorable little machines.
@rbanffy I've done something like this -- the CDROM bezel on a Mac Quadra 950, specifically.
The resolution / precision / accuracy of 3D scanning just wasn't there. When I recreated that part, I had to go in with calipers and whatnot. An optical comparator would be even better.
If you want to preserve something, you need multiple museums each having a few copies of the machines you want to preserve. That's the best option right now, until we get Star Trek-level scanning abilities.
@violenceworks I was thinking of industrial-grade scanners for that kind of job. Artec has a couple that can do up to .1mm scans. Of course, these things only get better (if not cheaper - the Artecs have been in the $10-20K range for a couple years now). It is something that museums could get with good museum budgets.