3DPrinting
3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.
The r/functionalprint community is now located at: or !functionalprint@fedia.io
There are CAD communities available at: !cad@lemmy.world or !freecad@lemmy.ml
Rules
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No bigotry - including racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia. Code of Conduct.
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Be respectful, especially when disagreeing. Everyone should feel welcome here.
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No porn (NSFW prints are acceptable but must be marked NSFW)
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Do not create links to reddit
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If you see an issue please flag it
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No guns
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No injury gore posts
If you need an easy way to host pictures, https://catbox.moe may be an option. Be ethical about what you post and donate if you are able or use this a lot. It is just an individual hosting content, not a company. The image embedding syntax for Lemmy is 
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Yes that's exactly it. Although I didn't start with the 3D-printed glasses: I made my first frames myself some 20 years ago. It took me a bit of trial and error to get the shape of the nose bridge to match my nose exactly, and the ear hooks to match the shape of my ears exactly also. When everything was dialed in just right, the glasses pretty much "vanished" completely, if that makes sense.
I did the same thing with the 3D-printed glasses. That's why I shared how to modify the dimensions on my Github, and if you go through the repo's history, you will find a few of the adjustments I did to get them to fit me perfectly. They have all but vanished too, and the very light weight of the 3D printing plastics make them even more comfortable: my current pair weighs around 11g.
Is there any magic way to 3D scan a face to eliminate the trial and error?
Yes and no.
You could use a 3D scanner - or photogrammetry to convert a bunch of images into a 3D scan, if you're patient enough to clean up the point cloud. That would give you a model to get close to the final geometry of the glasses.
Or you could go low-tech and, with someone's help, get a cast of your face and ears in latex, then cast an acrylic print of your face in the latex mold.
But I don't think it's really worth doing for two reasons:
The parts may look like they fit you perfectly on the model and you'll find out something puts pressure somewhere after wearing it for more than a few hours. For example, the curve in my ear hooks is a bit wider than my ears so the cables miss a spot just behind the root of my ears that gets incredibly itchy after a while, and the cables contact my ear a bit below. And so if you look at my temples they don't in fact quite match my anatomy. But they feel more comfortable.
It's only a few parameters that don't vary too much and and fairly independent of each other. Once the nose bridge fits you, it's good to go regardless of the shape and length of the temples and vice-versa. So while it can be faffy to get exactly right if you're very demanding with the comfort of your glasses like I am, it's only a few reprints to get it right once and for all.
And finally remember: you can go the usual optician's route: print generic parts once, then use hot air to shape them to your anatomy until you're happy. Then you'd only need to print them once.
The reason why I took the time to dial everything just right in the 3D models is because I want to print frames that fits me perfectly right ouf of the printer, each and every time with complete consistency. But you don't have to do that: if you have the patience each time you print new frames, you can print generic parts and shape them to your face.
I'm curious if the shape of your face has changed over the years?
The frames I made 20 years ago still fit me perfectly. So I guess it hasn't.
The only difference I'm aware of is, after many years wearing the same nose bridge without pads, it's left a little *step" or indent in the skin of my nose, which is actually very convenient if I wear library temples because it prevents my glasses from sliding off.