Creating a 3D Print of the Yosemite Valley and El Capitan

Recently I used a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) to create a 3D Model of El Capitan, then the entire Yosemite Valley from El Capitan to Half Dome. The process was not without its problems, which has become a part of the process of digital work in the sciences. Working through the problems I was able to learn a lot about the process of using not only a 3D printer, but the software used to create 3D models as well.

The elevation data was downloaded through the USGS data service and used to create a DEM of the El Capitan area, located in the Yosemite Valley. Once the DEM was created for the area of interest, it was exported from ArcMap as a GIF image (shown below) for later use in production of a 3D model.

The 3D model was created using a software program called 3DS Max. 3DS Max allows the creation of a 3D terrain model through displacement of a plane over the DEM file such as the one shown above. The 3D Model can then be used to create a model that had closed sides and a flat base such as the one shown here for El Capitan.

Once the model has been created and the sides and bottom have been completed on the model it can be exported as an .stl file. This file can then be opened using the Makerbot software for the Makerbot 3D Printer. All settings for the print can be adjusted and set up for the print using this software. Once the settings are verified and adjusted, the file is exported to a print file, which embeds the printer settings into that file.

From there printing only takes a matter of loading your filament and telling the printer to use your print file. This process yields a very nice result as can be seen in my picture of my final El Capitan print below.

The print I created for the Yosemite Valley from El Capitan to Half dome followed the same principal as the print for El Capitan, however it covers a much larger area. Below are the pictures taking you through the process of creating the Yosemite Valley.

First a DEM was created.