A zoetrope is a pre-cinematic animation technique where a series of animation frames are placed inside a spinning cylinder. Slits in the drum make the frames of the animation visible for only a fraction of the second, as it spins the frames blink in and out of view with the passing of each slit.

My 3D zoetrope relies on the same principles but instead of flat 2D frames I am using 3D models and instead of the slits I use a strobing LED light to illuminate each frame for a fraction of a second. The strobe and slits are necessary to freeze the frames, otherwise you would just see a blur.

I have a detailed write-up of the project at my site:

http://kellyegan/2014/09/19/3d-printed-zoetrope/