Building a string art machine (opens in new tab)

hehe, if anyone's interested, I built a similar machine around 2018-2020 [1], although I never automated the nail pick-and-place part of the process. I also used epoxy instead of plaster.

[1] https://www.instagram.com/string.art.bird/

Kind of the opposite algorithm behind CT/MRI, if every string required nails at the edge.

The guy from Stuff Made Here makes incredible machines, but they're mostly pointless; he seems to choose his projects based on difficulty alone (for instance, a machine that solves huge puzzles made of blank pieces).

This is useful and beautiful, so it's more interesting IMHO. I would totally buy that machine, or even order something from it.

I read (most of) the article and was thinking "got to be the only guy in the World", and the first comment on HN is another guy doing the same thing. World is a big place and HN is def a selection.

funny reading about the strength of nails comment for this. for a couple of years in a former life, i was doing 3d string art sculptures for "festival" type events out of UV reactive string. depending on the lumber/size/shape of the frame, there were times i put too much tension on the system, and the frame would bow/bend causing the string i was so concerned about keeping taut to loosen. i had to learn the right tension so it would be taut enough to not look sloppy.

Aww man, I added this idea to my project todo list last month when I saw another string art post: https://imgur.com/gallery/ljoJeal I have a small CNC engraving machine that I'm planning to use for this. I'm sure I'll get around to it one day

This looks like such an incredible engineering project, thanks for documenting it so well and sharing it with the world!

I have a bunch of EDM wire and thought a machine like this might be a good use for it.

Amazing! Nice work.