So my Wife is very much into crafting with resin at the moment , and she has learned a lot about the art of it and the processes involved. I wanted to have a go at it too, so with her help on the resin side , I have decided to combine my Blender skills and job as an Engineer to try and create a few unique objects in real life and maybe even sell a few along the way.
My first project I have named "Sunk" . The idea was to create some sort of lamp , that mimics looking through the porthole of a sunken ship , and seeing something swim past. My first version will feature a mechanical style fish which will be cast in resin. A strip of hidden LED lights will illuminate the fish (hopefully)
So , I threw together a fairly quick visualisation of my idea in Blender and this is what I came up with :
So this project is finally back on track!
The silicone mold is now complete and works , and I have found a suitable resin (After a lot of trial and error) that will work well. I also purchased a set of transparent tints to colour the resin and did some tests to see what colour would work best :
Hoping to pour the resin with the fish in it , over the coming weekend and start getting this thing working :)
That's good news, Matthew frikkr 😀! I can barely wait to see your finished artwork 😀!
PS: Today, when working on a 3D model of Omar's 
dostovel "Crazy Concrete Umbrella Owl on a Monocycle" here using a drawing by Vincent 
vincav81 , I thought that you could be somebody manufacturing this in real world (as a lamp?) 😉.
Oh man. I knew you wouldn't disappoint me frikkr.
I'm really liking this progress report.
Don't worry blanchsb , I plan to see this through to the end and then I have many more ideas :)
On another note , I have just purchased a Onefinity CNC router to help me bring even more of my crazy ideas to life. It isn't arriving until August though :( . I can't wait to get using it!
Can't wait to see what's next in your project frikkr - keep up the good work!!! 👍
Of course duerer . In total it was $3175 , although that included a lot of extras and also a hefty shipping fee of $225 to the UK.
I think the base price for the machine only is around $2000 but it depends on the size you pick and the type of touch screen you want.
The website for the one I bought is here : https://www.onefinitycnc.com/
Thanks beefkeef , hopefully pouring the resin tomorrow if all goes well!
For that price it's for sure high quality with an excellent support and a machine that allows you to cut bigger and thicker parts. I'm looking forward to the creations that you'll bring to live with it 😀!
Tonight I poured the first layer of resin. After messing around trying to suspend the fish in mid-air with string and fishing line , I settled on a much simpler , more efficient solution. Sometimes the simple ways are the best!
Anyway , after mixing 750ml of blue tinted resin , I poured it and it looked great. I've just checked on it and it is setting nicely although there are a lot of annoying bubbles in some places around the edge of the mold and on the fish that weren't there when I left it. Although this is frustrating , i am not hugely bothered as this first one is merely a prototype lamp that I won't be selling. All the trials and errors , and learning from this one will be used to create a batch of sellable ones over the summer.
So assuming the resin cures as planned , I will remove the clamps on Sunday and pour the second layer to seal in the fish. All going well, de-molding will take place on Wednesday and next weekend I can start assembly of the full lamp :)
This is cool stuff! It instantly reminded me of the stuff Minibricks (on YouTube) made. Be sure to check them out if you're not familiar, absolutely incredible creations! Hope yours turns out great. Looking forward to seeing the final result!
Sorry for the silence on the project everyone - I've had a lot of interest in the fish lamp , so much so that I am keeping things under wrap at the moment until I can perfect the design and start rolling some sellable ones out.
The latest update is that the prototype lamp is assembled and works. There were a lot of resin related issues but I have it all figured out now.
I am currently starting to build a 7m x 4m workshop in my garden that will be used to make these and other ideas, so for the next few months I will be focussing on that and once finished it will be full steam ahead with production of the fish lamps!
I promise I will post photographs as soon as things start moving again.
Don't hold out on us now. I am still excited to see these fish lamps frikkr
Fish lamps are still on hold unfortunately blanchsb - but only due to the addition of an awesome new workshop in our front garden..... My wife and I started this build back in September last year with no experience in construction other than DIY. The whole thing was designed in Blender and it is finally coming together. The workshop is fully soundproofed (as it is close to our kids and the neighbours kids bedrooms) and will feature a CNC router , welder , mini lathe , sand blasting cabinet , airbrushing station , a sublimation setup , 3d printer, resin pouring and casting station , and all manner of hand tools for woodworking and metalwork. Its going to be damn cool when its done , and I am so proud of what we have achieved , and as soon as it is finished , the fish lamp production will resume :)
Here are some WIP shots of the workshop build so far :
Thanks wendy10698 , hopefully it will actually get finished at some point.....
That looks amazing. It may be improper to ask but how much are you thinking that costs you? I would love a workspace like that!