Summary

This is a simple design but since I havn't seen one on here I thought I would upload it. This is my first OpenSCAD project. An apollonian cone is a teaching tool to illustrate "conic sections." Starting with a basic cone: a horizontal slice reveals the circle, a slanted horizontal slice reveals the ellipse, a straight vertical cut reveals the hyperbola, and a slanted vertical cut reveals the parabola. Simple, elegant, conversation piece.

Instructions

I have seen these made out of wood and usually stands about 10-12 inches high with alternating colors (brown/light brown). This should be easily achieved with the print volume available these days. The total cone height here is 5cm.

I have created insets on the inside to leave room for text such as "circle" in the circular section etc. Of course a logo/image can also be used.

The original solid pieces are easily recreated (simply intersect a cone with various boxs) but I will upload all the scad scripts in a zip file. caveat: I used a polyhedron to create the ellipse piece - not recommended! As I said this is my first project and now I know its much easier to create two planes(thin boxes) and hull them together

**Update: The files for the center piece and the SCAD scripts have been updated since original post...

I have hollowed out the center piece even more. This saves on materials and should make it easier/cheaper to print. I have also added a lip to the center piece to be sure the upper levels remain steady.

**Update #2: Text is in...
I have included both sets of stl files. The larger files are the ones with text.

If anyone plans to print it, two alternating colors looks good. (print the ellipse piece upside down - clearly) Would make a great gift for a math teacher. Let me know if you need me to make any adujustments.

Thanks to everyone out there making great tutorials for OpenSCAD!

Apollonian Cone