3D Print Constellation Necklace

I've been wanting to make a constellation necklace for a while now and I decided to finally just go for it. You can do this with any constellation, but my favorite is Cassiopeia so that is what I made. I will talk about how I created the design and provide the files. Feel free to alter them to work for what you want. I also created a design that has a star cutout as well as the one meant to have rhinestones put in, so if you don't want to mess with rhinestones you don't have to.

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Instructable 270

Your supplies will vary depending on if you do the rhinestone design or just the basic star cutout design. I'll talk about this more in the next step.

Supplies:

• 3D Printer that can handle smaller prints - the constellations you see in this Instructable were printed on a Creality CR-10
• Filament in color of choice - I used black 1.75mm PLA. I thought it worked out nicely as the 3D print itself wasn't the focus of my design, the rhinestones were. If you use one of the star designs, I think silver or white would look nice too.
• 4.8/5mm Rhinestones with a cone back - you can use flat back rhinestones, but you will need to change the 3D file to accommodate the change, my design accommodates for a 4.8mm diameter rhinestone, the cone cutout can be altered for different sizes
• Needle Nose Pliers - for assembling the necklace
• E6000 Glue
• Fine Tip Tweezers - I used these to pry open the tongs holding in the rhinestones and to place the rhinestone in the piece to avoid them getting covered in glue
• Necklace Clasp
• Jump Rings - I used 2 small ones (4mm) and 1 larger one (6mm)
• Chain - I use a small chain, but you can use whatever you like best

I'll try to talk through how I created my constellation and I'll also attach the files and link to the Tinkercad file. You can use my technique to create your own constellation or just print the one I did.

Link to Tinercad File.

I got started on this necklace by designing the star portion. I started with a cylinder that was about 6.5mm in diameter by 3.17mm tall.

For the star versions, I used the star shape Tinkercad already has available. For the first one, I had the star cut all the way through the cylinder. For the second, I had it cut into the cylinder, but not go all the way through.

Lastly, I wanted a version I could put a rhinestone in, so I measured about the size I would need cut out (which was a cone 5.5mm in diameter and 1.5mm deep) and cut that into the cylinder making sure it did not go all the way through.

Now that I had my "star" sections, I needed the overall shape. I'm not great at winging it, so I brought in a rough outline of the Cassiopeia constellation and lined up my stars with the outline.

Once I had the stars I needed to connect them. Originally, I used a long thin cylinder, but after some prints, I decided I wanted it a bit stable, so I elongated the cylinder so that it would have more to it up and down, but not look as wide when looking at it straight on. When I had the shapes I wanted, I made sure they were long enough and used them to connect the "stars". I needed them to overlap so they would connect but not go into the cutouts on the "stars". Once I had that all right, I grouped it together.

To finish it off, I added two loops, one to each star on the end so I could connect it to some chain for a necklace.

Now that I had my print, I needed to add rhinestones to it.

I already had spare chains with rhinestones on them so I just pried those out.

I used E6000 glue and put just a little in each section of the necklace and carefully added in a rhinestone. The fit is supposed to be pretty snug, so don't use much glue as you don't want it spilling out.

Once they are all in, let it dry.

Making it a necklace is really easy. Start by getting two chains of the same length. Mine were 7" each.

Use small jump rings to attach a chain to each end of the constellation. At the end of one chain, attach your clasp, and on the other, attach the larger jump ring. That's it! Go ahead and wear it.