Hi Metal R VT-1 3d printed fighter stand adapter

[wmkjr]

Been awhile but the DX VT-1 posts made me want to whip out the HMR VT-1. I was irritated that the regular fighter adapter included makes the legs spread out a little because it wasn't intended with the leg parts. I decided to try make a slimmer adapter so the legs don't get pushed out. It's friction fit in the arm holes like the clear version:

Edit: Updated file that can fit gunpod

HMR fighter gunpod adapter 3mm peg v1.3mf

Newer adapter with notch on top vs old:

Clear adapter too wide causing the leg to push out.

 

Shortened the front skirt, made the sides more narrow to sit flush with the arms, and added a 3mm hole with no hex.

 

Legs sit a bit better. 

 

ChaoticYeti style test lol.  Didn't put it flush but It's a tight enough fit on this generic stand. 

 

Gonna also use it for the regular valks. I'll have to check if the gun pod fits first.

Edit: It didn't fit. New one fits.

Edited December 16, 2023 by wmkjr
Added newer file that fits gun pod

[wmkjr]

You guys can have a go if you want to. 3mf file is above Disclaimer: I've optimized it so it works for my X1C printer so it might not come out the same via other FDM or Resin printers so YMMV. I used Elegoo PLA+ filament with flow calibrated. Oriented vertically with front on top at 0.16mm layer optimal profile with tree supports slim and no brim:

 

 

 

 

Edited December 16, 2023 by wmkjr
Removed old file. Added new slicer image

[Anasazi37]

3 hours ago, wmkjr said:

You guys can have a go if you want to. 3mf file is down below. Disclaimer: I've optimized it so it works for my X1C printer so it might not come out the same via other FDM or Resin printers so YMMV. I used Elegoo PLA+ filament with flow calibrated. Oriented vertically with front on bottom at 0.16mm layer optimal profile with tree supports and no brim:

 

HMR fighter adapter 3mm peg v1.3mf 129.29 kB · 1 download

 

 

Nice! I'm definitely going to try this out. I have a P1S and plenty of clear PLA and PETG filament. I might play around with the orientation and slicer settings. Right now I have a 0.2 nozzle installed and generally print small adapters like this at 0.05mm layer height. Definitely takes a bit longer, but the results are good. Here's my first cut at how I might set it up: 180 degree rotation of the design around the Y axis with Normal Snug support surfaces that are manually defined. You can get away with Normal Snug in that orientation because all of the contact surfaces, except for the round peg, are horizontal. That is going to be challenging for any support structure. It also means the visible "front" of the adapter, once installed, has a clean finish. I'll let you know how it turns out. 

[wmkjr]

Thanks for the suggestion. I should get a .2  nozzle and try that. I'll also try using PETG as a support interface. 

[Anasazi37]

I thought about it a bit more on my drive home from work and will try two arrangements. The one I mentioned this morning as well as another one where the adapter is basically upside down. You won't ever see the supported surfaces and it might look nicer in the end. Should be a fun test.

[wmkjr]

On 12/14/2023 at 2:08 PM, Anasazi37 said:

I thought about it a bit more on my drive home from work and will try two arrangements. The one I mentioned this morning as well as another one where the adapter is basically upside down. You won't ever see the supported surfaces and it might look nicer in the end. Should be a fun test.

Thanks for your suggestions. I tried printing it flat using PETG as support interface and regular PLA.. I didn't like how the flat layers looked so I flipped it the other way like you showed added tree support slim instead. I like how it looks this way. 

I redid the adapter so it can fit a gun pod. I realized I didn't notch the front so the gun pod can fit. I'll put the new file on the top and delete the other one.

 

 

 

[Anasazi37]

That's a nice addition. I'll try printing the new version today. The original one printed fine, but I think using the finer 0.2 nozzle reduced the amount of available friction when the adapter is attached to the valk, so it's not as secure as I'd like. I'm going to switch back to the 0.4 nozzle and see how that turns out. 

[Anasazi37]

Reporting back on my experiment. The new adapter printed well, but ended up being just as loose-fitting as the one I printed with the 0.2 nozzle. I pulled out my digital calipers and compared the original Bandai adapter to what I printed. The two pegs that attach to the arms were too thin, front to back (1.9mm when 2.1mm is needed), so there was no friction fit in the holes, and the spacing between the pegs and the lip towards the front was too long (24.25mm when 23.5mm is needed). I'm chalking it up to my horizontal print orientation, my PLA filament selection (SUNLU Clear), and my Orca Slicer P1S calibration for the filament. At this scale small differences add up and individual print setups really do matter, as you say. I made some slight adjustments to the part and am printing a prototype right now. Assuming it's a better fit on my end, I'll post the STL here in case folks want to give it a try.

[Anasazi37]

Ended up ditching all of my modifications except the one where the little pegs at the back are now 2.0mm instead of 1.75mm. It's snug, and takes a few seconds to get everything into place, but it fits:

[wmkjr]

5 hours ago, Anasazi37 said:

Ended up ditching all of my modifications except the one where the little pegs at the back are now 2.0mm instead of 1.75mm. It's snug, and takes a few seconds to get everything into place, but it fits:

 

Interesting. I had it originally at 2.0mm but it wouldn't fit so I made it 1.75mm. Did you print it horizontally or vertically? Horizontally the peg was too loose but vertically like you suggested worked for me. I might have to get some clear filament. It looks nicer with the clear. 

 

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by wmkjr

[Anasazi37]

4 hours ago, wmkjr said:

Interesting. I had it originally at 2.0mm but it wouldn't fit so I made it 1.75mm. Did you print it horizontally or vertically? Horizontally the peg was too loose but vertically like you suggested worked for me. I might have to get some clear filament. It looks nicer with the clear. 

 

 

Vertically this time around, and I stuck with 0.05mm layer height, which is probably why the 2.0mm peg size worked since the end result was 2.0 +/- 0.05. I've also found that the clear filament I'm using for display adapters is a lot more precise than what I normally use for everything else (Hatchbox), especially after calibration, so printed parts tend to be a lot closer to digital size. I ended up switching back to vertical because the pegs snapped off my horizontal print when I tried to remove it from the valk. Too much strain. Not an issue with a vertical print.