Creating the Perfect ID Tag.

Aluminium Dog-tag.

Dog-Tags were designed, created and used to identify the name, family, and rank of dead soldiers on the battlefield, when their face had been rendered unidentifiable. This means they had to clearly display information in an easy-to-read format, using easy-to-read character sizes. Having gone through many iterations, the dog tag is still the go-to war identification system, though it has been adopted by the general public to organise and identify people's objects.
There are many ways you can create a dog-tag. You could make it from metal, you could 3d print plastic, you could laser cut wood, e.t.c. This post will talk about two.
Measuring, cutting, filing, and imprinting an aluminium dog-tag, and 3D printing one from plastic.

Creating an Aluminium Dog-tag.
Aluminium dog-tags are classic and will give your dog-tag an authentic look.

1. Start by deciding on the width, length, and thickness of your dog-tag. Mine will be
285mm x 35mm x 4mm, and so the instructions will be for a dog-tag of these specifications.
2. Find a strip of metal aluminium that matches or is above your specifications of length, width, and thickness.
3. Start by lining up an engineering square to the bar, and scribe along it, making a waste line (line     near the rugged edge of metal bar, to be measured from to avoid the uneven edge of your metal bar.)
4. Measure 40mm from the wasteline.
5. Use a handsaw to make a straight cut.
5. File your piece of metal down until you reach 35mm in length.
    (It's best to be exact, and use a vernier calliper to check.)
6. (Optionally) File down the rough edges into curves.
7. Find the centre of your work and create an indent by using a hammer with a centre punch.
    This indent is where you're going to use to line the drill up.
8. Move the dog-tag or the drill around until the end of the drill locks into the centre punch's indent.
9. Drill a hole in your piece.
10. Use a larger counter sinkdrill bit and drill a quarter of the way on one side your piece, cleaning up the round edges of your hole.
11. Repeat on other side.
12. Use a buffer wheel to polish your piece of metal.
      It's now time to put some letters/numbers into your work.
13. Pick out your letter prints and line them up along your work, before hammering them in one by          one. It pays to use some scrap metal side by side to your dog-tag so that you don't put them                  around the wrong way.
   
      You now have your dog-tag!

3D Printing a Dog-tag.
3D Printing your ID tag means that it can come in any shape, size, or colour.

3D Model of ID Tag.

There are two parts in 3D-printing a dog-tag:
First, you have to design and create a 3D model using Tinkercad.
Tinkercad is a simple 3D modelling tool, and using it is really easy.
The following are basic skills that will allow you to create anything you want.
1. Drag a block out from the list on the right.
2. Move the block to where you want it.
3. Colour the block.
4. Size the block to your standards.

You can resize and colour any shape provided by Tinkercad. There are the basic shapes: Cubes, Spheres, Pyramids, e.t.c. But there are also user-created shapes like korus, spirals, and different words or fonts. Once you have put different blocks together, and made something, it's time to 3D print. In order to 3D print, you first need to download your 3D model.
First, MAKE SURE YOUR COMPUTER IS CONNECTED TO A 3D PRINTER.

1. Then click 'Export' in the top right, then select to download as an '.STL' file.
2. Open UPStudio.
3. Open a new project.
4. Click the "+" symbol on the left.
5. Select your .STL file.
6. Initialize your printer. This will be different on every 3D printer, as they all have different size nozzles and canvases.
7. Once you have initialized your printer, begin pre-heating the nozzle and plastic.
8. When the plastic and nozzle are at desirable temperatures, click print.

The plastic should come out straight, not curled. usually, the 3D printer starts with a grid on the bottom, that you peel off once it's finished. This grid is put in place to stop the project from sticking to the canvas.