Making DIY Optical Lenses at Home Workshop with SLA 3D Printer or CNC

Manolo printed the lenses on his SLA 3D printer and polished them with sandpaper  with some chemical treatment.





Brauns CNC is using his CNC mill to cut them out from acrylic plates. He is also using polishing to get better optical properties. The finished lenses can be used as a magnifying glass or camera macro lense.

Low Cost DIY Smart Glasses Based on Arduino

YouTuber DdelectroTech.com made this sub-10 USD DIY smart glasses based on Arduino. Cool cheap project!

Low Cost 3D Printable Eye Movement Tracker

Crazy Eyes. Is this art? Is this science? Is this just a joke? It could actualy have many uses ...

Project description:

The project consist in developing a lightweight wearable/portable animatronic system that track the user's eyes and moves in real time a pair of robotic eyes in response to the users eye movement, "looking" at the same place where the user looks. The device should be ultra low cost ( under $30 ), DIY-able, and easy to be included in costumes, cosplay, Halloween props or any crazy devices that the user can think of.

They are actualy working:



Project homepage:

https://hackaday.io/project/13156-crazy-eyes

3D Printed Automatic Sunglasses

Yousif Ashoor developed a 3d printable sunglasses that automatically move to cover his eyes when exposed to sun.
He wrote that he did it: "To protect my virginity and my eyes". Mission accomplished.



But seriously: Cool shades bro! Cooooooooool shades. Share the design. It could become the new style.

3D Printable Smart Glasses based on Raspberry Pi Zero

Ricard Ferro developed the DIY smart glasses based on Raspberry Pi Zero. They have a 3d printed frame that holds everything together.  Interesting project with many possible applications, hopefully it will be developed further and get a community of contributors.

Here is a video showing OCR recognition:




Project description:

At a lose for words? Can't describe an object? PiZero SmartGlass can help you with that by using image recognition tech. Make your own smart glasses easily with the Raspberry Pi Zero! Affordable and easy to build, retro-wearable 3D Virtual Stereo Digital Video glasses are around $75 along with the Pi Zero. This display uses composite video to connect the Pi Zero's video out pins and are easily customized. There are many applications for image recognition, which allows computers to translate written text into digital text. The PiGlasses can help with the field of machine vision, recognizing people and objects. Add a battery pack and your PiGlasses are ready to go!

Project pages:

https://hackaday.io/project/13332-raspberry-pi-zero-smart-glass

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1654678

3D Printed PICK Smart Glasses Frame

Hyeon Han from South Korea developed smart eye glasses frame with 3d printing shell. He named it “PICK glasses 3.5”.
It features a very small custom PCB (45mm x 10mm), Arduino, vibration motor, acceleration sensor, serial port (TTL), battery charger and Bluetooth 4.0. There is no description of what it actually does but if you have a platform you will find a purpose :-)

Han's blog with project description:

http://baehyunhan.tumblr.com/post/139110072315/my-smart-glasses-project-pick-glasses-35-pcb

For a MUCH more cyberpunk project take a look at:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.hr/2013/11/dyi-3d-printable-google-glass.html

How To Repair Broken Eyeglasses Frame with 3D Printing

Since I wear eyeglasses since my early childhood, I have broken them may many times. To repair the frame is not easy and replacement is always costly. You can use some superglue or other hacks but it's problematic if the part has shattered in several pieces or you just can't find it.

Matias Mamone published his tutorial on Instructables featuring a easy step-by-step process how to design the broken part and 3d print it to make a solid bridge to fix the frame. Nice! Thank you Matias for this cool tutorial!

3d printed part that perfectly matches the lens

eyeglasses with broken part missing from the frame

Detailed guide can be found at:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Repair-Broken-Glasses-With-3D-Printer-HowTo/?ALLSTEPS

How to make cheap Oculus Rift DK1 clone with help of your 3D printer

OpenVR is a cheap DIY virtual reality headset project based on Oculus Rift DK1 made on a 3d printed frame. It is relatively easy to make and will cost you around 150 USD. Project was developed by Ahmet Yildirim.

Main components:

• Arduino Mini Pro
• GY-85 9DOF IMU
• USB to TTL Converter
• 5.6” 1280×800 LCD Display
• 12V Power Adapter for
• 2x (50mm 5x Aspheric Lenses)
• 3D Printed Case
• Shoulder Sponge Pad
• Some wires

Most of the software is open source.

Headset looks great. I'm huge fan of this '90tis cyberpunk look.

Here is a video of it in action playing Portal:



Detailed build guide with software and setup instructions:

http://www.instructables.com/id/OpenVR-Opensource-Rift-for-only-150/

for all the files look at: https://github.com/ayildirim/OpenVR

And check authors blog at: http://mclightning.com/

Another SF tech coming to relaity :-) Cheap homemade VR head set!

How to design 3d printable eyeglasses with Blender and free pince-nez library

There have been some guides on 3d printing DIY eyeglasses in the past but Jenny made a dedicated Blender library that will enable you to create high quality 3d printable frames from SVG (scalable vector graphics) images of commercial glass frames.
The library will allow you to adjust all the parameters to get a perfect fitting frames where you can insert your prescription lenses.

Here is a video of how you insert the lenses in a frames designed with this method:


She made two post detailing the process:

https://caretdashcaret.wordpress.com/2015/02/27/3d-printed-glasses/

https://caretdashcaret.wordpress.com/2014/07/21/3d-print-your-own-glasses/

You can download her eyeglasses Blender library here:

https://github.com/caretdashcaret/pince-nez

Great work Jenny! As a life long glasses wearer I salute you!

How to 3d scan your prescription eyeglasses lens and design a 3d printable frame

Aaron Porterfield created two tutorials which I as a eyeglasses wearer appreciate. He (and I) often brakes his glasses so here is a solution if you can use some CAD software and have some equipment.

Here is detailed tutorial on how to 3d scan prescription eyeglasses lens by taking photos of a lens covered by masking tape:

http://www.instructables.com/id/3d-scanning-a-glasses-lens/

When you have a scanned lens (or lenses) you can design your custom 3d printable frame:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-design-3d-printed-glasses/?ALLSTEPS

There are a few simple(ish) steps involved, but nothing an average user can't master ...

And here is the final result:

You can print the frame on your home FDM machine but the results will be more rougher. For best quality use a SLS or PolyJet 3d printer.

Great work Aaron!

New from Adafruit: 3d printable DIY virtual reality headset

Adafruit is continuing to make this cool wearable electronics projects with parts you can customize and 3d print at home.
Here is a cool VR eyewear project made with Ninjaflex flexible filament and PLA. It could also be classified as home made Oculus Rift.

I would like to see some people who made some of Adafruit wearble projects and how they use them.

Detailed construction guide: https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-wearable-video-goggles/

All the files: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:417201

3D printable low cost foldable Bluetooth head mounted display

Tony created this very cheap piece of DIY wearable eyespace technology. It is foldable wearable display that connects via Bluetooth with your Android or computer.

Everything displayed on this head mounted display is controlled by either an Android phone or a Bluetooth connection to a desktop. Using relatively simple display and simple Arduino means it is limited to text and very simple graphics, but this is more than enough for some useful applications like reading SMS messages and checking email.

From project description:

The OLED display is a small .96" display controlled by an arduino nano board. The display receives text and commands from a HC-05 serial Bluetooth module connected to the arduino. There is also a small speaker and RGB LED connected to the board. The OLED display, RGB LED, and speaker are all controllable over Bluetooth. 

The device is powered by an Adafruit powerboost module connected to a small 0.7Wh lipo battery. The optics are a small mirrored right angle prism and a magnifying lense. The frame and casing is all 3D printed with ABS using a Solidoodle 2 pro printer. 

The Arduino communicates with the OLED display using i2c (inter-integrated circuit). The RGB LED and the speaker use the arduino's digital output pins. The display is controlled over blue tooth using a application running on an Android phone or Linux terminal. The glasses are very portable and foldable.

Total cost ~$60.

Kudos Tony!

All the files on Thingiverse: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:408099

http://hackaday.io/project/2068-%2460-bluetooth-head-mounted-display.-

For a similar wearable device take a look at this one made by 13 year old:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/07/wearable-arduino-based-display-on-3d.html

Wearable Arduino based display on 3d printed glasses frame made by 13 year old

13 year old Clay Haight made this sub-100$ dollar simple wearable eye display. There are many other DIY Google Glass projects that involve 3d printing, but non with such a young maker.

From the source:

Clay’s DIY “Google Glass” uses the sensors on the Arduino Esplora along with the Arduino LCD screen and a 3D printed frame.

He can use voice commands to bring up a calendar with his schedule, local maps, and temperature and weather info.

A headband on the back keeps it from tilting to one side.
“Now they are extremely comfortable,” says Clay. “In fact I wear them around my house and tell my parents the temperature just for fun!”

Source and more info: http://makezine.com/2014/07/16/diy-google-glass/

Update:

Here is a similar project: http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/07/3d-printable-low-cost-foldable.html

DIY wearable RaspberryPi display project by Adafruit

Adafruit has another great DIY project with wearable technology. They show you how to make wearable RaspberryPi display where the display attachment is 3d printed and can be attached to standard glasses frame. It's a sort of DIY Google Glass but with separate processing unit, no camera or even mobile internet access.

Here you can get the STL files:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:302243

Detailed guide on Adafruit learning platform:

https://learn.adafruit.com/diy-wearable-pi-near-eye-kopin-video-glasses

Thingiverse user D10d3 made his version which doesn't need standard glasses frame:

http://www.thingiverse.com/make:75851

Here are some other similar projects:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2013/08/3d-printed-wearable-glasses-computer.html

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/search/label/google%20glass

EyewearKit for your 3d printed eyeglasses frames

Eyewear Kit offers lenses of various properties, including prescription one, for your 3d printed eye glasses frames. They offer various colors and shapes including 3d model files to help you design the frame. As I wear prescription glasses due to astigmatism, I like this concept. Products like this one could enable entire new revival in DIY eyewear and optics field.

http://www.eyewearkit.com/


Check other cool 3d printed glasses projects:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/search/label/eye%20glasses

Nooka and Cubify partner up to deliver custom watches

From product description:

With custom 3D printed watchbands made just for you and paired with your favorite Zub 40 timepiece, the NOOKA limited edition collection is one of the first hybrid accessories lines to pair the freedom of creation of 3D printing with high quality fashion.
This special edition has been made using technology of the future; 3D printed bands are fused into shape by a high powered laser, one layer at a time. Each band is created from an individually unique file and dyed in a small batch, using high quality fabric dyes. Over time you may see some wear in the color of your band, just like your favourite pair of jeans.

About NOOKA

NOOKA is a New York fashion design company founded by artist/designer Matthew Waldman. The ethos of NOOKA is universal language, which guides the creation of products with enhanced functionality and a technoprogressive philosophy. NOOKA delivers the revolution in interface design to lifestyle—MINDSTYLE™—optimism, progress, our future. We believe the future should not look like the past.

http://cubify.com/nooka

http://www.nooka.com/

Update (17.1.2014):

here is Nooka in partnership with 3D Systems on CES 2014 with interesting presentation about their 3d printed watches. Nooka founder Matthew Waldman is presenting and he claims "3d printing will be ubiquitous":

3d printed glass frame for prescription lenses by JZ411

As a glass wearer I like projects involving 3d printed glass frames. JZ411 presented his project on instructables and they look interesting. The lenses don't fit perfectly but they stay in frame. Also the edges on the frames look sharp which could irritate the skin on contact spots (nose, ears).

http://www.instructables.com/id/3d-printed-prescription-glasses/ by JZ411

Hacking Google Glass with the help of 3d printing to get eye tracking and new input methods

From video description:

In this video we demonstrate a custom eye tracker for Glass that can be built for $25 and using a Makey Makey with Glass.
Glass supports touch gestures (e.g., swipe, tap, scroll), head gestures (e.g, tilt up turns display on, gesture down turns display off), and voice controls (e.g., "ok glass", voice input). By using the IMU sensors directly (as we show here) it's simple to extend the range of head gestures. There is a proximity sensor that is used by Glass to determine if the device is being worn. It is capable of recognizing wink/blink gestures but it cannot actually track the gaze of the user.
We hope that these new input methods can be used to expand when Glass is relevant for use (e.g., with your hands full) or who can use it (e.g., users with disabilities). They are intended for developers and researchers, we don't intend for people to use our eye tracker while walking around. It's essentially a very cheap and easy way for all of us to have this feature before it is integrated into the device directly (eventually some manufacturer will do it) and if we find interesting use cases it may even advance the timeline for their inclusion. All of the code and 3D models are available in http://www.WearScript.com.

http://blog.brandynwhite.com/new-glass-input-methods_eye-tracking_touch-sensitive-clothing

DIY 3d printable Google Glass alternative by Codeninja

Wearable technology is growing trend. Codeninja made his version of Google Glass technology with help of 3d printing and modified Raspberry Pi. It has retractable and motorized eye piece display, invisible camera inside display box and various sensors, like 3-axis IMU and some environmental sensors.
Not many technical details are available, I REALLY hope that the plans and files will be made available. Please Codeninja! He notes that he is working on making it even smaller.

BTW: it has a cool BORG-ish look doesn't it? I like it. I would even wear it to town.

First prototype

Modified Raspberry Pi: removed most connectors, removed chip for lan/2nd usb, added usb hub + wifi + bluetooth

Version with pico LCD display / Eye piece 

Resistance is futile

Source:

http://codeninja.de/glasses/

I think that we will see explosion of wearable technology DIY projects in near future including several versions of  DIY Google Glass devices.


For another Raspberry Pi powered wearable glasses project with full build instructions see:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2013/08/3d-printed-wearable-glasses-computer.html

New 3d printed eyewear: Mykita Mylon and Patrick Hoets custom titanium frames

I found two new examples of 3d printed eyewear:

Mykita Mylon 2012 3d printed collection

Their collection is customizable for each buyer and it is produced by SLS in patented polyamide material.

From company page:

In 2007 MYKITA began experimenting with the polyamide material, aiming to pioneer it in the production of spectacles. After years of research MYKITA developed a complex process that creates a sophisticated finish in several steps and gives the frames a unique visual and tactile appeal. MYKITA named the new material MYLON and has since won recognition for the development process in the shape of the 2011 iF material award.

Patrick Hoets custom 3d printed titanium frames

Company is based in Belgium.

From company page:

HOET proudly presents a new concept in eyeglasses.

After four years of research and development, Hoet has launched the ‘Made in Belgium’ 3D laser-printed eyeglasses made of titanium. The 3D technology offers a number of unprecedented options in terms of design. In addition, this technology is eco-friendly – a feature that must not be overlooked. The form is essential; the technique is a tool to achieve that form…
The Hoet Couture eyeglasses fit in well with the “classical” Hoet collection. They too, are modern and beautiful. Quality and comfort as always are the basic precepts.
The eyeglasses are rust-free and anti-allergic, light, yet durable and well-fitting.

Conspicuously inconspicuous and inconspicuously conspicuous

Sources:

http://www.eyespectacle.com/2012/10/Mylon-Mykita.html

http://eyewear.hoet.eu/nl/hoet-couture/NTMx


Related post:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2013/08/protos-eyewear-3d-printed-and-custom.html