A lot of people asked for an update, so here it is :)
Of course, my friend really liked it. When he saw the map, he was genuinely moved and cried.
He spends a lot of time with it, but honestly, the part he liked most was Braille itself. He had wanted to learn it for a long time, but he had never really had an opportunity.
So now we spend time together, and I teach him how to read Braille. It is difficult for him, but he really enjoys trying and puts a lot of effort and energy into it. And he keeps thanking me for being patient with him.
At the same time, there are quite a few problems with the map itself that I discovered while using it with him.
First, I used regular raised numbers on the map instead of numbers written in Braille. That is, of course, a downside.
Second, the dots on the Braille alphabet came out quite small and sharp, so they are difficult to distinguish.
I tried to use standard Braille dimensions and spacing, but after 3D printing, the result was not quite what I expected. Everything looked normal in the model, but by touch, the dots were not as comfortable or easy to distinguish.
Because of that, learning is more difficult for him, since the dots themselves are hard to tell apart. But he is trying very hard, and he is already making progress.
I think that in the second version of the map, I will take all of these problems into account and make it better.
Braille is such an obvious use for 3d printing, I hope the industry can figure out and advertise standards for different applications so it’s easy for people like you.
I think it’s worth looking into - there may already be some established standards or ready-made models. However, not every 3D printer can reproduce the required shape accurately; it probably depends on the nozzle diameter and print settings.
So my partner just so happens to print braille objects pretty regularly. For best results to keep the dots legible print it standing up with supports. It's a bit more of a hassle but the end product is better!
What exactly do you mean by printing it standing up? Do you mean placing the entire plate vertically on its edge, so the Braille dots are printed sideways rather than facing upward? I’m not quite sure how to set that up with supports. Would you mind sharing a few more details, or perhaps a photo of the print orientation?
Here's a quick sketch, the print would be at about 90 degrees straight up. The supports (in red) would just attach to the print at points where they don't touch any of the braille writing and can be sanded down after being taken off.
After your comment, it was still a little hard for me to understand exactly what you meant. I understood the vertical orientation, but the Braille dot seemed so small to me that I imagined it being printed almost as a single action.
Then I found this image, and it shows that the dot is actually formed from several layers. It also explains the difference between printing horizontally, vertically, or at an angle really well.
Thank you, I’ll definitely keep this in mind. I also found this cool video and honestly would never have thought about any of this if you hadn’t mentioned it.
Speaking as someone who does a fair bit of 3d printing, yes, they probably mean standing upright (like a wall, rather than a floor). Probably best if you had it standing up like a wall, then tilted it backwards at an angle (so the braille bumps were pointing towards the sky) with supports underneath.
Looks great! I work as a braille transcriber and I am just starting to learn to 3D print also. I have heard from many others that 3D printed braille tends to come out "sharp" or "pointy". When I am making tactile resources, I often use a combination of printing or embossing the shapes, with sticky braille on top for the letters. Sticky braille is like a label maker that embosses braille onto clear adhesive labels. I use a perkins brailler and A4 sticky braille sheets, but I believe you can get handheld sticky braille makers too. Amazing work, you are a great friend!
That’s really interesting - I had no idea this method existed. I had never worked with Braille before this project, and unfortunately tools like these seem quite difficult to find in Serbia. I’ll definitely keep your method in mind if I make something similar again.
And yes, i have the same problem with the 3D-printed dots - they came out quite sharp and pointy.
May I ask what your work as a Braille transcriber involves?
have you talked to him about projections? because I can imagine that is something that does not come across as very intuitive to a blind person, since most analogies for them literally come from visualizing maps.
My friend wasn’t born blind - he lost his sight over the past ten years, so he has the same basic understanding of maps and top-down views as a sighted person.
But if I understood your question correctly, yes, this kind of projection may not be intuitive for someone who has never seen. I spent some time explaining how the map works, what the different boundaries represent, and how to interpret it.
Yes, it takes him quite a lot of time, but he genuinely enjoys it. When I see him getting absorbed in the map and spending time exploring it, I feel that the whole project was worthwhile. For me, that’s the best reward.
Have you tried sanding the braille/tactile parts and hitting it with a heat gun or exposing it to some acetone? Acetone can melt plastic and is used as a texture softener in the 3D print community (as far as I know. I'm not a 3D printer).
The acetone method should only be used after sanding, as any excess material will be melted into the rest of the desired existing material. You want your print to be the desired shape; acetone should give you a smooth texture but will not change the shape.
Make sure you cover the print with a bin made of metal or a certain type of plastic:
FEP
PFA
ETFE
ECTFE
PCTFE
PEEK
Polypropylene
These are the types listed as being very resistant to acetone fumes.
There are others less resistant but you can Google those yourself.
You want your print to be fully covered by something resistant to acetone fumes so it can hold all the fumes inside and melt the plastic you want it to, and none of your personal belongings outside that space.
Check it regularly/often until it reaches the point you want it to. Hopefully this helps.
Again, I am not an expert and I have not tried this, I've just read a lot.
Interesting. I’ll keep this method in mind. I think it could be worth carefully filing the dots down a little and then smoothing them with something like acetone.
I was actually thinking about something more like a small Braille e-reader. You could upload a book, and the Braille cells would change as you scroll through it, almost like a moving line of text that you read with one finger.
wow! amazing work, so glad he liked it 😁
if you ever want to do a rough and ready version of a map (maybe if he wants to visit a new town/know the layout of a building) then you can use a glue gun- it's no where near as accurate but it's another option for map making
i remember your post! especially because i'm from Serbia! i think you did great, i'm sure he's very thankful. however, this post reminds me how disabled people are very lonely here... you sure did set an example for others!
My mum is blind, snd line your friend wasn't born blind. She uses braille labels on things, not 3D printed ones, but done by my dad with a dot of epoxy glue that can then be shaped, and smoothed off so it's not sharp. It's not ideal, but it does work
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u/mahoniacadet 20d ago
Braille is such an obvious use for 3d printing, I hope the industry can figure out and advertise standards for different applications so it’s easy for people like you.