Since Levar Burton will be at Trek Expo in Tulsa next weekend, I decided to make a visor for him to sign. I modeled it in 3d, and I'm currently printing it out in quarters on my reprap mendel v2 prusa. I'm using 1/8" brass tube from hobby lobby for the verticals.
Here's a picture of the 3d model, and I'll have a video up of it printing as soon as youtube finishes.
EDIT: Here's the video: Geordi LaForge Visor printing 1/4 on RepRap Mendel Prusa V2 - YouTube
Last edited by DrewSmith007; Jun 23, 2012 at 10:27 PM. Reason: Title Change
Nice! I live nearby and went to the Trek Expo in Tulsa year-before-last. It was awesome.
Right on- your model looks great. What material are you printing it in?
It's printed in yellow ABS plastic. I epoxied the bottom pieces together, as well as the top pieces. Once that sets, I'll fill it with modeling putty, sand through a few grits of sandpaper, then see how well the chrome spraypaint sticks...
Here's a shot of the printed pieces.
But, I just realized I could have printed it in another orientation in just a top and bottom half, so I'm going to scrap those pieces and print new ones.
Does anyone have a good method for cutting 1/8" brass tubing? Right now, I'm scoring it all the way around with a file, then breaking it. It works, but it's tedious for 50 1" pieces...
Sweet! Is yours a replicator? I almost bought one, but toyed with building my own design, then finally broke down and just bought a prusa kit so I would have something that prints.
It's awesome so far!
A small and inexpensive tubing cutter....DrewSmith007 said:
Lots of models out there.....
Here's a few links, but they should be readily available at your favorite local hardware store in the plumbing section.
1/8" to 1-1/8" Mini Tubing Cutter
Tube Cutter Pair, 1/8 to 1 5/8 inch, heavy duty, Plumbing HVAC t, Professional HVAC Field Service Tools
Brass Tubing Cutter | Sears.com
Shylaah
No, I wish. Mine is the Thing-o-matic. Hope to upgrade at some point to either the Solidoodle or the Replicator(have to find a new job first though :P).
Have you tried ABS cement from a hardware store(plumbing section)? It bonds the stuff together if it were one piece. I use small disposable brushes to apply it sparingly.
Or you may also want to try one of those small cut off saws like Harbor Frieght has.Shylaah said:
Bench Top Cut Off Saw
I can't believe I didn't think of a small diameter tubing cutter... I've used larger ones, but just figured they wouldn't work on tubing that small. I'll have to check it out tomorrow...
And no, I havn't tried ABS cement, but I will. I heard about it, but had epoxy on hand and it usually works pretty well...
Thanks!
While the new halves are printing, I did a quick mock up of the halves assembled.
That is astonishing.
Call me a not-quite-keeping-up-with-the-times-with-this-technology guy (sometimes), but these 3D printing machines vis-a-vis prop building leave me speechless.
Wow.
They are so much fun. It is literally as easy as drawing something in a 3D CAD program and then exporting the file as an .stl and then the printing program creates the g-code based on the options you choose. You can go from a drawing to something in your hand in less than an hour(although large complex objects can take hours to print).
Hi Guys,
That looks great, But it does have a taper from the front to the back so the brass is not all the same size. As far as glue you can also use weldon 3 or 4 to glue it together I would also brush the whole part with the weldon after it is bonded together. This melts all of the layers together. The epoxy is not as good a bond as the abs glue or the weldon. The abs and weldon melt it together. The epoxy is just a cohesive bond.
Hope this helps,
HMS Mike
Yeah, I noticed the taper as well, but I didn't feel like dealing with it in the 3d model. I just had an idea though that might be somewhat easy to implement, so I'll give it a shot. Thanks for mentioning it!
As far as the small tubing cutter, the one I got from harbor freight works, but I had to modify it so it could get down to 1/8", even though it says on the package it will work. I had an error on the print I did Saturday night, so I tested the chrome spray paint on it, and I think it will work out really well.
So, the circular cutout on the side where the attachment bolts go didn't turn out very well. I'm currently pondering whether I want to try to put it in or not...
Also, this is the first time I'm done any filling putty or bondo work, and I'm learning a ton. And on this 3d print, there is plenty of stuff to fill in. Thanks to MattMunson's tutorial video, I found some auto body glazing putty which is awesome stuff... Bondo is pretty nice too. I'm waiting on the last layer of primer to set up before the chrome paint, and then some clear. I don't think it will be done tonight, but I'm sure I'll get it done tomorrow.
The replicator is awesome... I use mine every day. Have you uploaded this to thingiverse? I bet you could print the brass bars too, but print them flat on their side and then slide them in
Well, Levar was pretty cool. Only got to talk to him for a few minutes, but he seemed to really like that they were 3d printed. We're going back tomorrow to see him and Jonathan Frakes on stage. Sounds like it will be pretty funny....
I decided not to add the circular attachment points mostly because I ran out of time. Also, the clear coat muted the chrome paint quite badly, which sucks because the chrome paint would rub off to a dark grey if you breathed on it too hard. All in all, I'm pretty happy with it.
Anyway, here's the pics.
Last edited by DrewSmith007; Jun 23, 2012 at 10:47 PM. Reason: Added Signing Pic
Awesome! That's great work. You followed through with your plan.
Great job. And Levar Burton seems like a really cool person also.
That's quite a collectible you now have.
What's your next project?
Not exactly sure what my next project will be. I've always wanted a BSG Season 1 blaster, might have to do that. Also, there's a group of people building DIY laser cutter, and I could really use one of those. If you're interested in that, check out buildlog.net - CNC Laser Buildlogs
I'm open to suggestions for projects, by the way...
Also, I added a pic of Mr. Burton signing the visor to post #21.
Here's the link to the thingiverse page. Let me know if anyone makes them!
Geordi Laforge Visor by DrewSmith007 - Thingiverse
I gots to get me one of them printers.
Great piece, and congrats!
Karl
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