Topographic Tables

A collection of tutorials and musing about making 3D printed periodic tables.

BCCE 2018

At the 2018 BCCE, I presented a workflow for creating topographic 3D printed periodic tables where the height of the blocks corresponds to a trend of interest.  The process involves using Mathematica to process the trend data and generate the file for 3D printing.  Here are links to some of the information I discussed.

At some point, these files will be moved to a location that allows for more facile sharing and updating.

  • The Mathematica package that is needed to create the periodic table objects: PTrends.wl. (Right Click and save this file in the desired location)
  • The Mathematica notebook that shows you how to use the package: MakingPeriodiTables.nb. (Should download properly without having to Right click; however, make sure it is moved into the same location as PTrends.wl.)
  • A guided inquiry activity that uses the atomic radius and ionization energy tables: PeriodicTrendsActivity.pdf.
  • An Excel template, which you can use to create your own periodic trend: ElementTemplate.xls.
  • A collection of STL files depicting common (and a few uncommon) periodic trends to be printed right now.