ZNN Aliens Club — 3D printed high-tech NFTs
Introduction
3D printing or additive manufacturing is the process of making three-dimensional objects from a digital file.
3D printing and cryptocurrencies are two examples of innovative technologies that are changing the world. One way they are both doing this is through “decentralization”, i.e., giving people more direct control over aspects of their lives. 3D printing can be considered as decentralizing mass production, allowing people to produce their own products while cryptocurrencies help people decentralize their finances. Although both technologies rose to prominence in the public eye at roughly the same time, 3D printing technology is much older than cryptocurrency.
We are looking to bring these two concepts together by creating unique objects exclusively for the Zenon Community.
What have we done so far?
In 2021, we released the first edition of a pillar, named PhyS PillarZ. This project comprised of ten, 3D-printed renderings of a Zenon pillar. The pieces sold out quickly. It was prototyped with regular 3D printers and then built using a CNC machine.
A few months ago, we opened a small studio dedicated to building a new and more complex product, namely a floating, 3D-printed Sentinel. Almost everything on this project has been developed and built in-house, starting from the digital 3D model, prototyping, planning, and testing of the internal electronic components, polishing, painting, etc. These objects are built from the ground up to create a unique product that transforms the Zenon aesthetic into physical objects.
The sentinels will float using magnetic levitation and there will be five powerful (but dimmed) LEDs inside, two Arduino controllers and a Bluetooth LED strip. Every part of a sentinel, including light and wire, is welded and put together by hand in our studio. It is planned that sentinels will eventually charge wirelessly and we are currently exploring ways to achieve that. It takes 12 hours of work to finish one sentinel. You can follow us on Twitter, @TBD2239.
ZNN BAG
While brainstorming solutions for the sentinels we came up with several Zenon-themed objects. We had a lot of fun creating these and they look pretty cool. We will be giving these out free to all our club members.
ZNN ALIENS CLUB
The website will serve as a hub for our members. It will have a marketplace, a download page, and a section for video guides. Digital NFTs will act as the membership pass to our club. Currently, only 300 cards will be minted. There will be two tiers to the membership card.
The first tier, for 200 QSR is where members can claim a free ZNN BAG.
The second tier will be available for 300 QSR but limited to 100 members. They will receive a ZNN BAG and will be able to purchase one of the limited edition Sentinels (only 100 available).
Our team
- Dr.Greenthumb4211 (@Ishenuts) — Head of Operations. Responsible for everything to do with 3D design, prototyping, and printing.
- Dom (@DomCZek) — Member of the community, started his own AZ project, he will help us build the website.
- LazyPrius (@LazyPrius) — Digital media producer. In charge of photo/video production.
- Schumyi — Electronics engineer. Designs and develops the electronic components that power our sentinels.
How will the Zenon community benefit from our work?
We are a group of people with a passion for new technology and dedicated to the Zenon ecosystem since way back.
We believe that our objects will bring positive attention to the Zenon brand. We will be marketing constantly to raise awareness of the Zenon Network and other AZ projects.
In a project never done before, we will be bringing together the worlds of NFTs, 3D printing, and cryptocurrency. We are extending Zenon visuals to physical objects by bringing digital concepts into the tangible world.
We already have connections in the Zenon ecosystem and so we are going to offer our services to the community and other Accelerator Z projects with promotional 3D objects and logos, either printed or digital.
Goals and Budgeting
In the first phase, the first thing we will do is expand our studio so that we can start mass-producing objects. We will also build the website and commence photo/video production.
This means buying three large-size 3D printers, looking at Photon M3 Plus or something similar, $2100.
Printing resin and other consumables are estimated at $1500.
Photo, video production, and website creation will cost around $2500.
These machines will allow us to keep printing sentinels while also producing ZNN BAGS in parallel. The resources will allow us to print up to 100 sentinels and we are going to split production into batches of 33 units. We expect the first batch to be ready for shipping 4 months after we start printing.
All components to build a sentinel are $200. Thirty-three sentinels will cost $6600.
Our goal for this phase is to build, sell and distribute the first batch of sentinels and build a good-looking, functional website.
In the second phase, the main target will then be building and delivering the second batch of 33 sentinels, components cost $4800. We also aim to build the prototype for another product, a Zenon sentry.
The third phase means building the last batch of 33 sentinels. $4800 for parts. We will build the model and prototype for a Zenon satellite.
For the entire project, we are going to request 4000 ZNN and 40000 QSR split like this:
Stage 1: 2200 ZNN and 22000 QSR. The goals for this stage will be to expand the studio, shot promotional videos and pictures, create a website and deliver 33 sentinels. A secondary goal is to double the total number of items in the ZNN BAG. Delivering these goals would take us about 4 months.
Stage 2: After completing stage 1 request another 900 ZNN and 9000 QSR to build and deliver another batch of 33 sentinels. Designing a sentry is the secondary goal.
Stage 3: Delivering the second bundle leads us to the last bunch of 33. 900 ZNN and 9000 QSR. Finishing the objects series will be the Zenon satellite.
