This is my very first 3d model! I have been using some variation of this emblem/logo since I was 11 years old. I've iterated and tweaked and remade it dozens of times over the years in 2d, even recreating it in the old Call of Duty emblem customization. So I figured it would be the perfect first project for teaching myself CAD. And what more perfect use case for a circular logo than a drinks coaster? I took the dimensions from an old rubber coaster I'd been using for years (100mm diameter, 7mm tall rim).

It was originally inspired, despite appearances, by GoldenEye 007 which I played on release back in 1995. The spiral pattern on a black background originally came to me from the intro to that game (and I later realized, all 007 films), when Bond is walking across the screen being tracked by the camera inside a rifle barrel. The spirals represented the rifling, and originally didn't extend all the way to the center. The “aperture" itself also, strangely enough, does not originally come from Portal. The triangles were originally much more angular, pointing straight towards the center as an homage to my favorite sci-fi series ever, Stargate! That's why I still call them “chevrons” in the model's part names. ^_^ Of course, Portal did come along and hook its claws in me eventually, and the larger triangles obscured most of the rifling spiral. So I extended it towards the center to not get lost. Which gets us to what you see today. A little homage to some of my favorite games and shows, and reminders of the time I spent playing them with friends. I hope you enjoyed this little history of my logo and the meaning behind it!

Please let me know if you have any suggestions. This print is set up for PLA, but if you have the option for multi-color TPU printing, I do highly recommend it. I babysat a single multi-color TPU print of one of my earlier test iterations (the one beneath the Gatorade bottle) and I definitely prefer that little bit of flex. That one will never leave my desk again. But it's special to me. I don't think it's worth the hassle of manual filament swapping, so recommended only if you have a printer capable of multi-color flexible filaments.

[For reference, the coaster in the picture was printed using Blue SunLu Silk PLA+, Black SunLu PLA+, and Purple InLand Silk PLA. I used the built-in profiles for the SunLu filaments, but I couldn't find an InLand filament profile. So I've been using the default Bambu Silk PLA profile in the slicer for that filament and it's come out beautiful, but your mileage may vary. The TPU print of the earlier version used CookieCAD TPU, though I can't remember which and have since used it up.]