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3d printed eyes with quick change lenses

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3d printed eyes with quick change lenses

Post by MannequinFan »

A while back TDF member timetraveler1 posted a thread about contact lenses for dolls here...
http://dollforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=55558

It seemed some folks were interested but there were problems - namely that contact lenses dry out without moisture from the eye, and can be rather expensive.
The thread gave me an idea though - why not just have a removable magnetic iris that could be quick changed?

This was a perfect application for 3d printing. The eyeballs are 3d printed with a natural colored (warm off-white) ABS that is somewhat translucent which is just about perfect for reproducing the sclera. An acetone vapor treatment gives the eyeball a glassy finish - almost glassier than glass. A tiny neodymium magnet (1/8" diam. x 1/32" thick) is glued to the back of the plastic lenses which provides just enough power to hold them in. The lenses can be easily removed with a small suction cup tool - a toy nerf dart works pretty well for this.
These are large 29mm eyes that will go in my mannequin Fiona, but they can be printed at any custom size - 26mm being typical for humans.
IMG_3199a.JPG
IMG_3199a.JPG (410.09 KiB) Viewed 19878 times
IMG_3197.JPG
IMG_3197.JPG (438.9 KiB) Viewed 19878 times
The plastic iris lenses are available here: http://www.glasseyesonline.com/index.ph ... ucts_id=54
These are inexpensive and not hyper realistic, so they probably wouldn't be good for ultra closeup photography, but they look fairly good at a short distance.
Currently they have 7 basic colors available in the 12mm iris. On the left side is light brown, gray blue and light blue. On the right is intense blue, intense green and a light amber. They also have a very dark brown (not shown) which is good for ethnic applications.
IMG_3210.JPG
IMG_3210.JPG (475.13 KiB) Viewed 19878 times
Here's a little YouTube showing how they work...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sirStgZlovY Oh, and by the way, they also have glow-in-the-dark printer plastic, so your doll's eyes could glow green at night!
http://store.afinia.com/ABS-175-mm-Fila ... _p_33.html

MF
:)

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Re: 3d printed eyes with quick change lenses

Post by Cubiko »

If there's ever a new world war I'm flying out to you and staying at your place where I can be around your brain and your 3D printer.

That is some truly fascinating stuff!

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Re: 3d printed eyes with quick change lenses

Post by rubherkitty »

Great idea!
Would save a much of $ and hassle of owning and changing out multiple sets of eyes.

RK :thumbs_up:
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Re: 3d printed eyes with quick change lenses

Post by Tybalt »

Neodymium could get costly. Is it possible to get 2 just for the white balls and then glue metal to the iris instead of buying neodymium for each pair of iris?

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Re: 3d printed eyes with quick change lenses

Post by DominoAmore »

Wow! This is amazing

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Re: 3d printed eyes with quick change lenses

Post by MannequinFan »

Thanks Domino!
mandos wrote:If there's ever a new world war I'm flying out to you and staying at your place where I can be around your brain and your 3D printer.

That is some truly fascinating stuff!
Thanks Mandos, I really appreciate that! Let's hope there's not another world war, but you'd certainly be welcome!
rubherkitty wrote:Great idea!
Would save a much of $ and hassle of owning and changing out multiple sets of eyes.

RK :thumbs_up:
Thanks RK. Yeah it could save on eyes and maybe help save a few eyelashes in the process. :)
I just wish the iris color was a bit more realistic.
I've been talking with TDF member fiberglass guy about this quite a bit. He found that you can remove the paint from the back of the plastic iris with mineral spirits so you could print an iris from a photo and glue it to the back instead.
I'd need to use a 1/2" hole punch to cut them out cleanly - I think you can get those at craft stores. I could use images like these for some wild looking eyes...
iris colors.jpg
iris colors.jpg (578.7 KiB) Viewed 19823 times
Tybalt wrote:Neodymium could get costly. Is it possible to get 2 just for the white balls and then glue metal to the iris instead of buying neodymium for each pair of iris?
That's a good point - I thought about using a small washer on the iris but I couldn't find any small enough and thick enough to provide enough attraction. The magnets really need something with a little more mass to attract to - it's a fairly weak hold as it is.
The magnets are fairly cheap - less than 8 cents each - 150 for $11 at Home Depot, so the cost is really no big deal.

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Re: 3d printed eyes with quick change lenses

Post by dollman2 »

great idea saves a lot of possible damage too :thumbs_up:

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Re: 3d printed eyes with quick change lenses

Post by Tybalt »

8 cents at home depo? Shit i spent $50 from various hobby lobby and internet sites.

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Re: 3d printed eyes with quick change lenses

Post by MannequinFan »

Tybalt wrote:8 cents at home depo? Shit i spent $50 from various hobby lobby and internet sites.
Yep.
Here's the link...
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Magcraft-Rar ... /204721290
They are online only but you can ship to store for free shipping. :)

They do get more expensive as they get bigger though. These are tiny little magnets.

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Re: 3d printed eyes with quick change lenses

Post by Fiberglass guy »

COOL! Yeah I successfully removed the paint with mineral spirits and a q tip with slight elbow grease. They come out crystal clear after a wash in windex, and yes a suitable sized punch is available at most craft stores! only thing now is an easy way to install these in a standard MQ without the need for the eye unit as that's hard for the novice to install properly! I need to photograph mine as it looks great painted and blended in!! Eyelashes were a pain to align though, a printed groove would be a nice touch to your unit!

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Re: 3d printed eyes with quick change lenses

Post by MannequinFan »

Hey FG thanks! :)
The problem with MQs is that they tend to have flat eyes.
Even with the large 29mm eyes they will gap at the corners. Maybe the lids could just be epoxied to the inside of the face without the socket unit, eyes just glued in not movable.
I haven't got around to installing eyelashes on Fiona - I'll probably have the same problem.
I'm going to experiment with a few lid options, so I'll have to look at that issue and see if I can locate a groove properly for the lashes.

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Re: 3d printed eyes with quick change lenses

Post by AlexKnight »

Great idea!!

Just a tip for future use, Realdoll eyes are 24mm in diameter.
Check out Kayla's Christmas dress by clicking here. - December 17, 2015
or have a look at Ashley's Coverdoll release by clicking here - June 13, 2015

A must-see video on Realdoll softness! Click here!
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Re: 3d printed eyes with quick change lenses

Post by MannequinFan »

AlexKnight wrote:Great idea!!

Just a tip for future use, Realdoll eyes are 24mm in diameter.
Thanks Alex! :)
I was really surprised to find out that RD eyes are that small. I would have expected them to be at least 26mm.
So far the smallest I've printed are 26mm for my Abby project - I'll have to print a 24mm set sometime.
I'll have to make some adjustments in the depth of the recess for the iris, but it should work OK.

I'm curious, could you use a larger eye size in an RD, let's say 26mm or 27mm? Or do they have to be exactly 24mm for some reason?
Any issues fitting into the skull?

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Re: 3d printed eyes with quick change lenses

Post by MannequinFan »

I've been playing around with Photoshop to create custom irises that could be printed out and adhered to the plastic lenses.
I think I've found the right combination of filters to create some fairly realistic looking irises.

As an experiment, I wanted to see if I could duplicate the iris in this picture...

Image

Here's the Photoshop created version...
photoshop iris3.jpg
photoshop iris3.jpg (293.99 KiB) Viewed 19629 times
And installed in the eyes...
eye unit render.JPG
eye unit render.JPG (801.89 KiB) Viewed 19629 times
Adding slit pupils is easy :) ...
eye unit render-slit.JPG
eye unit render-slit.JPG (805.92 KiB) Viewed 19629 times

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Re: 3d printed eyes with quick change lenses

Post by AlexKnight »

MannequinFan wrote:
AlexKnight wrote:Great idea!!

Just a tip for future use, Realdoll eyes are 24mm in diameter.
Thanks Alex! :)
I was really surprised to find out that RD eyes are that small. I would have expected them to be at least 26mm.
So far the smallest I've printed are 26mm for my Abby project - I'll have to print a 24mm set sometime.
I'll have to make some adjustments in the depth of the recess for the iris, but it should work OK.

I'm curious, could you use a larger eye size in an RD, let's say 26mm or 27mm? Or do they have to be exactly 24mm for some reason?
Any issues fitting into the skull?
Not sure about that, the silicone will stretch to fit them, but it could look like the eyes are bulging or appear wide open, or the eyes become difficult to move around.
I've never tried larger eyes in my dolls.
Check out Kayla's Christmas dress by clicking here. - December 17, 2015
or have a look at Ashley's Coverdoll release by clicking here - June 13, 2015

A must-see video on Realdoll softness! Click here!
_____________________________
A Spark of Kindness may start a Fire of Love.

Here's my Doll Album, with pictures of Jenna*, Melissa*, Kayla & Ashley, and some other things: Doll Album Gallery
*I no longer have Jenna or Melissa.

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