The World Globe was created on a whim but turned out to be a fun accessory for the kids dollhouse…and a fun desktop toy for me. The kids were quite impressed by the simple design since the world spins around it's axes - "just like a real World Globe mom".
The idea of creating a world globe popped up maybe two weeks ago. A globe stand was quickly created from parts of one of my old water pump designs.
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Once the stand was in place a globe with a map on was needed. I wasn't sure if I wanted it to be a real world map or just some fake one, in the end I decided to try with a real world map. It was surprisingly simple and I ended up doing it in Microsoft's 3D builder. I created a sphere and used the relief feature with an inverted black and white world map…and voila a world globe was created. Since my son is using Microsoft 3D Builder it's in Swedish, so I guessed a translation in the picture of the relief settings below. Emphasis on using inverted picture colors when creating reliefs.
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The Globe is tilted 15 degrees and the picture below shows the end result.
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I recommend printing the globe in two halves to get the most detailed print and to not have to use any support which might ruin some details. Once the halves are printed, try pushing filament thread through their center holes and verify that they spin freely, clean the hole otherwise. Don't clean the edges of the globe halves until after you glued them together, just make sure the flat surfaces of the halves are absolutely flat. Once the halves are glued together (use a very thin layer of super glue or similar) you can scrape off any raft residue. After scraping, the split between the halves should more or less be invisible. If you paint the globe they disappear completely.
Assemble the globe with a cut off filament which is thread through the globe center and used as the axis which the globe can spin around.
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I had a world map next to me to get some support when scraping and painting the globe since it's quite tiny. The relief is accurate but at times it's slightly difficult to tell if it's supposed to be a tiny island or if it's just some print residue. I might have missed some of Italy's boot heel if I hadn't looked at the map too. There are probably a few mistakes in my painting but I believe it's accurate enough for a dollhouse.
So, how big is the world globe then? In a Sylvanian dollhouse it is sized to be a world globe standing on the floor.
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I was almost sad to hand it over to the kids, it's been working as my "desktop finger spinner" toy for the last week…might need to print one for myself too :)
In Work in progress you can read about all ongoing designs and prints. I appreciate early feedback!
Feedback
Feedback is appreciated and if you have any questions related to The bakery or 3D printing, don't hesitate to ask :)
Please send an email to enelyalonde@gmail.com or contact me on Thingiverse / Prusa Prints if you have new ideas, improvement suggestions or would like an item updated.
If you do print any of my designs, it would make my day if you send me a picture of the print :)
Files for download
All files are available at Thingiverse and Prusa Community \ World Globe at Thingiverse \ World Globe at Prusa Prints
Prop \ The Book