3D Printing For Saya And Habaki Work

[Brian]

We discussed this a while ago, now Andrew Ickeringill has gone and done it
To quote from FB today:
 

 

This is something I've been working on for a while now, as far as I know I'm the first to have a habaki and shirasaya made in Japan from a 3d printed sword.

This is just a test run, the habaki and saya were made as favors, hence they're no frills, just the basic foundation, no real finishing.

There are still some kinks to work out before I'm ready to start using this process on clients swords... but it's certainly exciting to think about the possibilities that this technology can bring.

The goal is that when a sword comes to me for restoration, it can have the habaki and saya made in Japan while the actual blade itself never leaves my possession, in fact I can continue working on the polish while the other parts are being made. Also if the blade originally had koshirae then the 3d print can be used as tsunagi... so many upsides!

Awesome stuff. Look forward to following the progress.
Well done Andrew. This is the way forward, no doubt at all.

[Bugyotsuji]

Yes, great. I had idly thought about it but good to see someone go ahead like this. What is the middle blade in the shot above?

[John A Stuart]

The idea of having copies printed to facilitate fitting with no transport, as that is increasingly difficult and perilous, is a marvelous safety feature. Less grey hair from the worry. John

[Hoshi]

Fantastic innovation. 

[Vermithrax16]

I looked into this quite a bit. From what I was told by a good Boston based firm was the scan of the sword has to be high quality, then converted to print file. I think estimate was around 2k for all. They are a big shop so maybe inflated. If it could be had for 1k would be great idea to avoid risks shipping swords out for fittings.

[John A Stuart]

All you need is a good scanner, the software and the printer. Bitmap, Inkscape svg. or dxf (file), Fusion 360, Black Widow stl. extrude print. Voila. These are shareware and seem pretty straight forward. John

[b.hennick]

I investigated this as I have two yari in need of saya. I thought to get the scan here and get the printing done in Japan. The scan cost was $500. I never go to the printing cost. A saya would be about the same cost if made in the USA.

[Vermithrax16]

I was mistaken on price, just checked my email with the firm. Scan was $500 for a 0.1mm tolerance file in STL or CAD then printing depended on marerial used.

[John A Stuart]

Why do you need so fine a scan? It is just for a Tsunagi, a basic shape of correct dimension. John

[Ken-Hawaii]

STL is the gold standard for 3D printing file formats, & most CAD files (DWG, DXF, etc.) are easily converted.

 

There are relatively inexpensive 3D scanners available on Amazon, both optical & metrology, that can create a 3D model with an accuracy of 0.1 mm or better. For larger models, segments can be readily "stitched" together to create a larger, final model.

 

The price of 3D printers is dropping fast, but size is the limiting factor. For a habaki or menuki, a sub-$100 printer will work fine, but for something the length of a blade, it's still more cost-effective to sub out the 3D printing to a service bureau.

 

My hat's off to Andrew for actually going out & doing it!

 

Ken

 

[PNSSHOGUN]

Prices on machines and costs constantly dropping, high quality 3D printers at home won't be a pipe dream in a few years.

 

Or become friends with Adam Savage from mythbusters, his youtube channel Tested is always looking at the cutting edge of 3D printing

[Andrew Ickeringill]

Bugyotsuji

Posted 27 July 2017 - 08:34 PM

Yes, great. I had idly thought about it but good to see someone go ahead like this. What is the middle blade in the shot above?

Hi Piers, the sword in the middle is the first attempt at printing, which was a fail on almost every level. The print at the top is the one I sent to Japan to have habaki and shirasaya made, this one was much better but not perfect, still some work to do.

 

John A Stuart

Posted Yesterday, 07:46 AM

Why do you need so fine a scan? It is just for a Tsunagi, a basic shape of correct dimension. John

Actually John, a great level of detail is required if habaki and saya are being made from it, especially important is the detail in the nakago. You can see below the level of detail is quite high, you can actually run your finger across the nakago and feel the yasurime.

 

PNSSHOGUN

Posted Yesterday, 11:37 PM

Prices on machines and costs constantly dropping, high quality 3D printers at home won't be a pipe dream in a few years.

This is true, at the moment the level of detail required might not be possible with home printers, but it won't be long.

 

There's some more info and pics here if you're interested - https://www.facebook.com/toukentogishi/

 

Cheers.

[BIG]

Hi Andrew, may be you can tell us more about the Naotane wakizashi you introduce on your FB site.

 

Best Regards

[John A Stuart]

Yes, I see how the yasuri and mei roughness could affect the good fit we would want. Got you there Andrew. John

[Greg F]

Great stuff Andrew! The Nihonto world is lucky to have you, especially us here in Oz. Cheers.

 

Greg

[seanyx11]

This is awesome.  Great work Andrew.  I'm glad to see someone forward thinking with this antique hobby of ours.  I'm definitely going to be following this closely, as I'm extremely reluctant to want to send my blade off to Japan to get work done.  With this, I can still enjoy my blade at home while the 3D printed tsunagi is off getting fitted for koshirae, habaki or shirasaya etc. and I won't care that its gone for 6 months to 1 year (or even more).

 

I think this would also be hugely beneficial to the preservation of polishes, where you won't have to be so worried about sending a sword in fresh polish off to get a new shirasaya made for it.  Like Andrew said, you can have the habaki and shirasaya being made while the polish is being done, saving valuable time and grey hairs from the stress of sending a freshly polished blade off to Japan.  I'm so excited to hear the results of this and I'll definitely be looking for a local place to get a professional 3d scan done if it works.

[Ken-Hawaii]

There are a number of ways to get an accurate 3D scan using just your digital camera. but if you Google "3d scanning services near me," you should find service bureaus that can create an accurate 3D STL model that can be used by that facility for output, or one that specializes in large-scale 3D printing. There are a bunch of different materials available for printing, so be sure that whichever one you choose will hold up to the way you plan to use it. A tsunagi will just sit in the saya, but one that's being shipped will require tougher material.

 

I do recommend bringing your calipers when you pick up the printed model, to make sure it matches closely with your actual pre-measured blade's dimensions.

 

Ken