Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[Chronocidal]

On 8/25/2019 at 11:42 AM, MechTech said:

Chronocidal, what kind of printer are you using? I've never seen one blob up like that before. Sorry about that. I'd be frustrated too.

Using brand new Qidi X-Max, I was rather shocked at how solid the reviews (and example print photos) for it were on Amazon, and decided it sounded like a better (and bigger) deal than the other enclosed printer I'd been looking at.

Honestly though, while I'm a little disappointed, I can't say I'm frustrated, or even upset.  You have to keep in mind that the part I was trying to replicate is a 1/72 Bandai Tie Interceptor gun.  I got the CAD model built just fine, but the details are nearly microscopic.  I mean, that part I pictured is only 20 mm long, and the part has details on the 0.1 mm scale.

I might try a few more temperature settings, since I think I was overcooking my ABS, but I think it's probably unreasonable to ask a 0.4 mm print head to duplicate something that tiny.  I've done a few quick detail prints to gauge the printer's ability to print engraved panel lines, and I've gotten down between 0.5 mm and 0.25 mm before things lose definition.

The printer has otherwise worked very well, and I'm in the process of refining that Wing Commander III Excalibur print I posted a few pages back.  I'm sizing it up by 50% to give me a ship about a foot long, so I'm in the process of re-working the panel lines to print around 0.3 mm deep.  Going to run a test print on a small part before I get too attached to one depth though, since the process of cutting panel lines with the software I have (3D Studio Max) is anything but trivial.

I should go find the old 3D printer topic and dig it back up for more discussion.  I'm hoping I can get the model all detailed and printed in the next month or so though.

[Sanity is Optional]

Things like that are why I want to get a resin printer. Resolution down to 15um range.

[pengbuzz]

My latest project:

After seeing the beam gunpod unit for the VF-31J in Macross Delta, I wanted to develop one of my own for my custom valk. So, I threw some spare parts and odds and ends together to see what I came up with. 

Here it is compared to the GU-11 and the original gunpod I designed for my valk; as a joke, i nicknamed it the "F-U2 Advanced Beampod" :

And of course, "in hand":

Stay tuned...

 

Edited August 27, 2019 by pengbuzz

[Chronocidal]

46 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said:

Things like that are why I want to get a resin printer. Resolution down to 15um range.

I'd probably do that if it didn't mean dealing with liquid resin, and incompatibility with styrene.  The accuracy and detail is amazing, but just not workable with what I'm using the printer for, for the most part.

[Thom]

2 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

My latest project:

That would look cool as a starship too!

[pengbuzz]

4 hours ago, Thom said:

That would look cool as a starship too!

Strangely enough Thom, I also had that thought. Talk about a "gunship"! lol

[UN_MARINE]

11 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

Honestly though, while I'm a little disappointed, I can't say I'm frustrated, or even upset.  You have to keep in mind that the part I was trying to replicate is a 1/72 Bandai Tie Interceptor gun.  I got the CAD model built just fine, but the details are nearly microscopic.  I mean, that part I pictured is only 20 mm long, and the part has details on the 0.1 mm scale.

I managed to print something smaller, and with slightly less horrifying results. The trick I use is to keep dimensions above 0.3mm in the model - the printer recognizes the detail as "large enough" so it doesn't ignore them in the g-code. But sometimes, there are way too many details to keep track of, so they don't negate each other.

Oh, and... surprise WH40K model!

[Chronocidal]

That's a pretty awesome little kit!  I might dig out my Up! printer and set it up alongside my new one, just to compare later.

What really killed that print was just purely that I was trying to replicate an injection molded part with a much smaller resolution than the printer, and a lot of very tightly-packed fine details.  The only reason I attempted it in the first place was because the printer had managed to spit out the tiny wing cannons on my Excalibur model flawlessly, and they're of a very similar size/diameter.  The big difference is that they are just simple cylinders, with no overhangs, and the only details are vertical strips at the base.  The Tie Interceptor cannon was actually small enough that entire portions of the model were ignored.

I'll post a couple better pics later of my test shots for the tail and exhaust nozzles, which turned out beautifully.  I managed to confuse my cutting profiles, so the tail wound up with 0.375 mm panel lines when I intended 0.3, so I may run another, but it looks really clean regardless.  I think the only pseudo-complaint I have with this printer is that it seems to take a really long time to produce a print, but I also think it's mostly my own fault for printing things on the finest quality setting.  In the end, I think the results have been worth the wait.

[Thom]

15 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

Strangely enough Thom, I also had that thought. Talk about a "gunship"! lol

As I recall the main canon of the Frontier is a gun-ship that can operate independently.

[UN_MARINE]

10 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

That's a pretty awesome little kit!  I might dig out my Up! printer and set it up alongside my new one, just to compare later.

What really killed that print was just purely that I was trying to replicate an injection molded part with a much smaller resolution than the printer, and a lot of very tightly-packed fine details.  The only reason I attempted it in the first place was because the printer had managed to spit out the tiny wing cannons on my Excalibur model flawlessly, and they're of a very similar size/diameter.  The big difference is that they are just simple cylinders, with no overhangs, and the only details are vertical strips at the base.  The Tie Interceptor cannon was actually small enough that entire portions of the model were ignored.

I'll post a couple better pics later of my test shots for the tail and exhaust nozzles, which turned out beautifully.  I managed to confuse my cutting profiles, so the tail wound up with 0.375 mm panel lines when I intended 0.3, so I may run another, but it looks really clean regardless.  I think the only pseudo-complaint I have with this printer is that it seems to take a really long time to produce a print, but I also think it's mostly my own fault for printing things on the finest quality setting.  In the end, I think the results have been worth the wait.

Thanks! It's in Epic scale (I think). The STL's are free if anybody's interested in it, although I wasn't able to layout the parts for proper print orientation (I figured different orientations work for different printers).

Micro Land Raider .stl files

I pretty much go for a "close enough" model for printing, it gets sanded down & improved anyway, so any fine details the printer missed is "recovered" later.

[pengbuzz]

13 hours ago, Thom said:

As I recall the main canon of the Frontier is a gun-ship that can operate independently.

That started I think in Macross 7.

Speaking of guns, I have the new gunpod (with the "official" designation of GU-49 "Gilead") painted up and sealed

 

In comparison with the smaller original gunpod; I'm planning on using both for this mech as "combat options", with the smaller one being for close-in combat/ melee and the larger one for anti-ship/ fleet ops:

Rockin' the Gilead:

Yeah...ya really don't want to be on the wrong end of this one!

[MechTech]

Cool models Pengbuzz and UN  Marine!

Regarding the 3D printers, thanks for the updates guys! Chronocidal, your print did look too hot with all the melty blobs. I'm seriously thinking of getting a 3D printer, but will have to upgrade my mill first. I'm currently taking my lathe head and swapping it out with my mill as I do one or the other. My mill machine head failed (cheap Chinese circuits). I have a Sherline lathe and bought their adaptor that I machined to fit my mill. Now the same machine head is doing double duty. I'm thinking resign printers too for detail and to minimize bias marks. The only downfalls are that they are messier and the resins can get brittle with age. I watched a factory made model of the X-32 break itself under its own weight over time as pieces got brittle. I just HATE the bias marks that spool style printers can add too. Plus the de-laminating of layers too. -MT

[Chronocidal]

I did seriously consider just printing everything clean, and then scribing the panel lines myself, since that would make the marks absolutely minimal.  

Finding the right temperature with a spool printer is the key though, and can make a huge difference.  Personally, I just prefer having a material I can work with.  Small parts I can just scratch build from styrene scrap, but large components are just nice to have ready-made.

Little bit of a cross posting, but I'm hoping we can get the 3D printing topic switched over to the Workshop forum, rather than having it buried in other off-topic discussions.  I did get a really nice tail and engine nozzle print done, but I'm still working on refining the support structure for the tail, and will probably make another test print.  Tail is about 3 inches tall and wide, while the larger engine is about the size of a gamepad thumbstick.

What I really do appreciate about this print type is how nicely ABS cleans up with a little elbow grease.  Aside from a few molding flaws I'm going to try and correct on my next test print, I was able to sand and polish that tail to a nice semi-gloss finish.

Edited August 28, 2019 by Chronocidal

[pengbuzz]

2 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

I did seriously consider just printing everything clean, and then scribing the panel lines myself, since that would make the marks absolutely minimal.  

Finding the right temperature with a spool printer is the key though, and can make a huge difference.  Personally, I just prefer having a material I can work with.  Small parts I can just scratch build from styrene scrap, but large components are just nice to have ready-made.

Little bit of a cross posting, but I'm hoping we can get the 3D printing topic switched over to the Workshop forum, rather than having it buried in other off-topic discussions.  I did get a really nice tail and engine nozzle print done, but I'm still working on refining the support structure for the tail, and will probably make another test print.  Tail is about 3 inches tall and wide, while the larger engine is about the size of a gamepad thumbstick.

What I really do appreciate about this print type is how nicely ABS cleans up with a little elbow grease.  Aside from a few molding flaws I'm going to try and correct on my next test print, I was able to sand and polish that tail to a nice semi-gloss finish.

Sorry, didn't mean to bury your post. But from now on, I'll quote your post when I post so it won't get buried.

 

[Chronocidal]

1 hour ago, pengbuzz said:

Sorry, didn't mean to bury your post. But from now on, I'll quote your post when I post so it won't get buried.

 

Oh, no, no worries at all, I'm not talking about this forum.  The "General 3D Printer" discussion topic is in the "Anime and Science Fiction" forum, when it really should probably go under the "Workshop" forum, like this thread.

[arbit]

9 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

Oh, no, no worries at all, I'm not talking about this forum.  The "General 3D Printer" discussion topic is in the "Anime and Science Fiction" forum, when it really should probably go under the "Workshop" forum, like this thread.

Yes stay right here! Its interesting for newbies like me to follow your learning process with 3D printing. 

[Kelsain]

23 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

In comparison with the smaller original gunpod; I'm planning on using both for this mech as "combat options", with the smaller one being for close-in combat/ melee and the larger one for anti-ship/ fleet ops:

 

These look very Mass Effect-y

[pengbuzz]

2 hours ago, Kelsain said:

These look very Mass Effect-y

I know, right? The bottom one was supposed to be a derivative of the gunpod for the YF-19, and the larger one was based on the smaller. Instead, I got "Mass Effect", but I think I'm just gonna go with it.

[MechTech]

I agree, the 3D thread should be here. Somebody should have told them 3D printing is no longer "science fiction"! I wish they had styrene 3D print material. It would stink the house up though.

Chronocidal, if I were you, I'd try and keep the panel lines as part of the print. I can't tell you how many times I've made crooked lines or slipped up making other etchings. And I don't even drink!

The back end/bracket is done. I drilled the heck out of it to lighten it up. The second photo shows what everything looks like without the motor. I added bearings and machined some things so the mechanism is smoother. The motor attaches to the left-hand upper bracket. The barrel is still not machined and a mechanism has to be made to feed the cap belt through the white styrene chute. Yes, this has styrene on it so technically it is still a model. - MT

[Chronocidal]

11 hours ago, MechTech said:

I agree, the 3D thread should be here. Somebody should have told them 3D printing is no longer "science fiction"! I wish they had styrene 3D print material. It would stink the house up though.

Chronocidal, if I were you, I'd try and keep the panel lines as part of the print. I can't tell you how many times I've made crooked lines or slipped up making other etchings. And I don't even drink!

Oh, absolutely, I would hate having to do those from scratch.  At the same time though, the quick motion of the print head around the panel lines is what causes the ripples in the print.  Without those, the surfaces come out silky smooth.

Agreed though, I'd love to get actual styrene.  I've done a couple prints in PLA, but it seems a bit harder to sand.  ABS just seems like the best option overall for model-like prints.

[derex3592]

Some good downtime this weekend so I've built the baby Enterprise. Tamiya Primer, Model Master Dark Anodonic Grey Buffing Metalizer (lightly buffed) and now the main draw of these kits..the decals, which so far, are going down absolutely fantastic. 

Edited September 2, 2019 by derex3592

[nightmareB4macross]

Nice builds everyone!

It’s always great to see how versatile and eclectic this group can be with builds.

Last night I decided to finally build my 1/8000 SDF-1 TV version from Bandai.

Took 2 hours to put this kit together that is roughly 70pcs.

Still not going to paint it yet as I have plans for a fleet of similar scaled Zentradi ships to arrive.

 

[mickyg]

What a great little kit!  I had no idea it even existed, to be honest.

[505thAirborne]

Interesting how the 1/8000 SDF-1 is much more poseable than the larger 1/5000 kit. I look forward to the completed kit! 

[Thom]

Nice SDF!

[derex3592]

Got the topside done. No issues whatsoever.  Magnifying goggles are invaluable I'm finding out for my now 44 year old eyeballs when doing stuff this tiny! 

Edited September 3, 2019 by derex3592

[pengbuzz]

4 hours ago, 505thAirborne said:

Interesting how the 1/8000 SDF-1 is much more poseable than the larger 1/5000 kit. I look forward to the completed kit! 

Indeed: on my 1/5000 kit, I had to install a set of elbows so the ship could bring them up like in the series.

 

10 minutes ago, derex3592 said:

Got the topside done. No issues whatsoever.  Magnifying goggles are invaluable I'm finding out for my now 44 year old eyeballs when doing stuff this tiny! 

Same here; without glasses, everything looks fuzzy and indistinct...

....except my cat. he always looks that way.

[peter]

On 9/2/2019 at 12:57 PM, nightmareB4macross said:

Nice builds everyone!

It’s always great to see how versatile and eclectic this group can be with builds.

Last night I decided to finally build my 1/8000 SDF-1 TV version from Bandai.

Took 2 hours to put this kit together that is roughly 70pcs.

Still not going to paint it yet as I have plans for a fleet of similar scaled Zentradi ships to arrive.

 

Wow, that actually looks like a pretty decent kit.

[nightmareB4macross]

I seriously have to find these builds. I made them in 2016 and have not found them since. The SDF-1 DYRL appears to be the same size as this 1/8000.

[nightmareB4macross]

Too humid to paint this kit. I will have to leave it so the paint dries and levels before going into details.

I’m really liking this milky unevenness. It will work well for what I have planned.

The 1/8000 fleet is coming very soon.

Edited September 4, 2019 by nightmareB4macross
Added last pic.

[Thom]

Man, love that Zentradi dreadnought! Looks like a good scale with that SDF-1 too.

[Nyankodevice]

On 9/4/2019 at 8:05 AM, nightmareB4macross said:

 

 

nice build!

where did you get these Zentraedi ships?

[nightmareB4macross]

Custom 3D prints.

They’re being printed in 1/8000 as we speak. 

Just using the picture as reference. These are 1/10000.

Edited September 5, 2019 by nightmareB4macross
Pic added.

[nightmareB4macross]

The guy who prints these is on FB and does these quite often in 1/10000.

He’s over at the Macross Modelers Chile group.

His stuff is pretty cool.

[Mazinger]

Mind blown, < insert jurassic park shocked removal of sunglasses gif >

Printing all that couldn't have been cheap.

1 hour ago, nightmareB4macross said:

The guy who prints these is on FB and does these quite often in 1/10000.

He’s over at the Macross Modelers Chile group.

His stuff is pretty cool.

...