ArtBiology

Bacteriophage Redux

A couple weeks ago, I cobbled together a prototype bacteriophage bot that skittered around. It worked OK but it really didn’t look very aesthetically pleasing.

A few days ago, I designed a nicer version in Blender, uploaded it to Shapeways, scaled it to 100mm (about 4″), and ordered a print.

Here’s what I got back.

3D print of bacteriophage

I taped a phone vibrator motor and a button battery to the bottom. (I added the disc to the model for exactly this purpose.) Oh, and a pair of googly eyes, of course.

underside of phage, showing motor and battery

And here’s the result…

If you want to make your own, the STL file is available on Thingiverse or get it directly from Shapeways.

Steve DeGroof

Steve is an expat Canadian who now lives in North Carolina. He has worked, at one time or other, as: a TV repairman, a security guard at a children's hospital, and a janitor in a strip club. His current day job is as a computer programmer for a bank, which doesn't involve nearly as much being electrocuted and cleaning up vomit. He has a patent for a "Folding Stereoscopic Computer Display", which sounds a lot more impressive than it really is. He has created various "artworks", including: a baby woolly mammoth with a jetpack (which doesn't actually fly), a Giger counter (not a typo), a clockwork orange (a bowler-hat-wearing, wind-up piece of fruit that plays "Singing in the Rain"), a clock in the shape of Rick Astley that chimes "Never Gonna Give You Up" on the hour (for which he is sincerely sorry). His first book, "Dandelion Seeds", was written largely by accident (it's... complicated).

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