So I’ve been wanting to make those Clear Keychains for some of my Artist Friends that we saw at a Convention, with my first idea being Resin 3D Printing, a thing that I am very much unfamiliar with!

My Idea is to 3D Print out a Transparent shape, then Print the same shape but mirrored, then take both and Sandwich a Paper Print picture of one of my Friends Characters between the 2 and bind it all together!

There is a concern that I have Before I go out and get myself setup with a Resin 3D Printer… how Clear is Clear Resin anyway? All I can seem to find Online is Prints made by the Resin Sellers, which lets be real, cannot be trusted on its own. Given that the Paper Picture Sandwiched in the 2 Resin Shapes needs to be very Visible, the Resin Shape must be basically Near Perfectly Clear. What is your Folks experience with Clear Resin? Would you recommend using a Resin 3D Printer for this or should I go look for other Methods?

Edit: Thanks too all of you for shimming in with your Many Detailed Experiences, Ideas and Suggestions! After considering everything, I’ve decided that the best Route I should take is utilising a Laser Cutting Machine with Acrylic. A thing I’ve somehow not considered before! I want to choose the Lasercutting method in Particular as I think it’ll also allow for many other Possibilities to Create things in the Future! Now I do have to do my Research on what machines are on the Market for Transparent Acrylic, as from what I’ve read only certain Laser Types can Handle those. But I think I’ll find something that Suits me! Much thanks for everyone who Commented here!

  • morbidcactus@lemmy.ca
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    2 days ago

    I posted this a while back, came across a post on hackaday on doing clear lens on a resin printer with lower effort, the article links an older one about doing clear resin prints that might be helpful. To me they look pretty decent, certainly a heck of a lot better than any transparent prints I’ve done with a filament printer.

    As others said though, easiest would probably be doing something like laser cut acrylic and sandwiching the picture between them.