3D Printed Abacus

This is a 3D printed Roman abacus in designed in Tinkercad and 3D printed.

It is easy to make and very customizable.

I made this because there are very few 3D printed abacuses on the internet.

You can get the file here: https://tinkercad.com/things/cETcSl47SiY

Go to https://www.tinkercad.com/ and create an account if you don't already have one or sign in.

Create a new design and you're ready to start.

This is a basic guide on how to use Tinkercad in this instructable. It contains the terminology I use and how to perform those actions. I am using millimeters as my unit of measurement in this instructable. Keyboard shortcuts are in parentheses.

Arrow Keys: Use the arrow key to move objects right, left, up, and down. Use ctrl and the up and down arrow keys to make objects taller or shorter.

Duplicate: Select a shape. Then go to "Edit" and click duplicate. Drag the duplication off the original and place it where you want it. (ctrl+D)

Elongate: Stretch a shape out along its width.

Group: Drag to select two or more shapes and select "Group" in the top right corner. (ctrl+G)

Hole: Select a shape and in the top right corner select "Hole".

Put Together: Arrange the shape like in the picture.

Rotate: Use the arrows on the corners to rotate.(Hold shift while rotating for fourth-five degrees rotation steps.)

Ruler: Go to "Helpers" on the side bar and click on it, drag it to a shape and click on the dimensions to type in dimensions.(R)

Shapes: Go to "Shape Generators" on the side bar and go to "Geometric" drag a shape on the work plane. This instructable only uses boxes.

First start with a box and use the ruler tool and type in your desired dimensions for one side of the frame.

Then duplicate it. If you want a square frame leave it alone or adjust it for a rectangle frame.

Rotate one of these pieces 90°, put the two pieces together, and group them.

Duplicate this piece and rotate the duplication 180°.

Put these two pieces together.

Then then make another bar and put it across the top of your frame and group it all together.

Take two boxes and elongate one.

Change the elongated one into a hole.

Now use the ruler tool to make the height and width of the hole the same as the box and put it on top of the box.

Then drag the hole from all four sides to center it in the middle of the box.

Duplicate the rod and change the duplication into color make this rod about one millimeter smaller on each side. (You will need this rod for the next step.)

Group the box and the hole in it together. Then duplicate this bead to make as many beads you want.

Space these beads apart and line them up. Make the bead(s) that will be above the bar a little higher.

Group these beads together.

Take the rod you made in the previous step and put it through the center of the holes in your beads.

Group this and duplicate it as many times as rods of beads you want.

Take your frame and rods of beads and put them together.

Group this and now you are ready to print.

I printed my abacus on a Flashforge Dreamer 3D Printer with orange ABS filament.

The filament temperature was 220°F and the platform was 80°F.

The abacus is 3 inches(76 millimeters) wide, (the vertical side) 3 and 5/8 inches(92 millimeters) long (the horizontal side) and 1/4 inch(6 millimeters) high.

It didn't need any supports, but a bigger one might.

It took about 3 hours to print.

There you are now enjoy your 3D printed abacus!

There are many ways that you can customize this abacus. You can make it have more beads, or rows. You could add a handle to it, make a design on the beads and frame, or make the beads spheres. There are so many possibilities.

I am giving out 5 Pro Memberships (Four 3 month and one 1 year) to the first five people that make this instructable and post a "I Made It" comment with a picture of their abacus.

Pro Memberships remaining 5/5