New 3d print / sandcast: SHG belt buckle
Belt buckles seem like the perfect intersection of 3d printing and sand casting: They’re relatively small, so they print quickly, and don’t take a lot of material to cast. Plus, they’re mainly “one sided” objects, meaning you don’t need to split them for a two part cast, and generally need no special supports when printing.
As my first attempt, I used the logo of the company I work for, Sledgehammer Games. Modeled in Maya, it printed in a couple hours on my Makerbot Replicator (in PLA), and cast (in aluminum) with no problem.
It looks a bit warped in the below pic, but trust me, it’s symmetrical 😉