"Crafting Middle Earth: A Mechanical Engineering Student's Journey in Creating a 3D Topological Map"

Many of us have been shaped by certain films that have gradually and unconsciously influenced our personalities and interests. For me, that film is the renowned Lord of The Rings trilogy. This cinematic masterpiece is the result of nearly a decade of hard work and marks the conclusion of Peter Jackson's epic trilogy, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's timeless classic. The story follows an unlikely fellowship consisting of Men, Dwarves, Elves, Wizards, and Hobbits on their heroic quest to journey toward mount doom to destroy the One Ring, in an effort to rid the world of evil once and for all. The trilogy played a vital role in developing my love for mythology and strategy games such as 'Rise of Nations' and 'Command & Conquer: Generals.'

During my spring semester, I had the privilege of being a student in Professor Keith Green's class, "Tolkien's Lord of The Rings," where we came together to analyze the inspirations and influences that helped J.R.R Tolkien create his unique and diverse fictional world. For our final project, we were given the option of either writing a comprehensive essay or working on a creative project. As a Mechanical Engineering major, it was clear to me that I would choose to do a creative project. As I pondered over the most practical and feasible creative project that could be accomplished within the semester, several ideas came to mind.

After much consideration and deliberation, I decided to create a 3D Topological Map of Middle Earth, drawing inspiration from 2D heat-engraved topological maps seen online. The entire fabrication process took a total of 30 man-hours to complete, involving 3D model processing, CNC file generation, material preparation, CNC machining, and heat engraving.

The process began with an STL file I found online through the Thingniverse website, created by user Cadage. However, the details of the model were too complex to be produced with the limited tools available on the ShopSabre Pro 408, a 3-Axis CNC Router in the Kaplan Institute Idea Shop. To overcome this limitation, the 3D model was imported into Autodesk Netfabb to reduce the polygons, resulting in smoother curves on all its features.

Once the 3D model was prepared, it was imported into Rhino Cam, where the Machining G-Code was generated for CNC machining operations. Next, with reference from the box stock assigned in Rhino cam, the stock for the map was made by adhering two 3/4 inch MDF boards (40 inches x 40 inches) to provide the elevation required for the features seen on the 3D model. With preparation completed, the CNC operation which included roughing and finishing, took a collective 6 hours to complete. With the major bulk of the fabrication process now completed, I used a digital render of the map of Middle Earth shown in Figure 1 to carefully hand engrave each location, vegetation, and mountain onto the map.

Through this journey of creating this remarkable map, I gained valuable insights into my work approach and tested my technical proficiencies. It also taught me the importance of trust in my colleagues who helped me oversee the CNC operation when I had classes to attend and the patience required to ensure that every single detail of the design and fabrication process was checked diligently to prevent unwanted results.

I extend my gratitude to the Idea Shop and Kaplan Institute for providing me with the resources and excellent colleagues to bring my project to life. I appreciate the professional insights and encouragement that motivated me to create this topological map.

References:

“Forest - Daniels Maps: Middle Earth Map, Lord of the Rings Tattoo, Middle Earth.” Pinterest, Daniel's Maps, 18 Feb. 2021, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/87890630217737451/.?

“Https://Www.tiktok.com/@Mistymountainspyrography/Video/6944006589330328838.” TikTok, Mistymountainspyrography, 25 Feb. 2022, https://www.tiktok.com/@mistymountainspyrography/video/6944006589330328838. Accessed 8 Mar. 2023.?

Thingiverse.com, Cadage. “Lord of the Rings Map by Cadage.” Thingiverse, 22 Dec. 2021, https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5169727.?